Story

INSPIRED BY TRUE EVENTS

Eastern Europe, Romania, 1987. Living under the Communist regime, Nelu, a father and husband risks everything when he gets involved in the smuggling of religious books and bibles. He strongly believes that the freedom of speech and the freedom of thought are worth making the ultimate sacrifice. Some 33 years later, Ligia his oldest daughter feels ready to reconcile with the unsettling past.

About The Smuggler (Contrabanda)

A Bit of Background

The Smuggler has been a very personal project. During the first 10 years of my life I lived under communism in Romania (Eastern Europe) and as a child I experienced first-hand some of the restraints imposed by a totalitarian government on the country's population. Later on I've also learned about people of faith or artists living under constant threat, some of them having their phones tapped, being prevented from going to university or holding management positions, being interrogated or even killed. I wanted to bring to light some of the untold stories of "unsung heroes" who'd been willing to live uncompromisingly for the sake of truth.

The main objective of the film is to pay homage to countless families persecuted during the communist dictatorship (1945-1989) in Romania only because of their political or religious views.

Although one might argue that this is quite a niche story, coming from a particular place and time, it's nevertheless a universal one as it deals with issues like freedom of speech and freedom of thought, redemption, forgiveness and sacrifice.