Irina Margareta Nistor
Irina Margareta Nistor, born 26 March 1957,[1] is a Romanian translator and film critic.[2][3]
Nistor worked as a translator of TV programs in Romania under the Communist regime, and is known for secretly dubbing over 3,000 banned movie titles on VHS tapes smuggled in from the West.[4] During the time of the Cold War, these tapes quickly spread throughout Romania, and her voice became widely known throughout the country. In a recent New York Times video about Nistor, one of the interviewees observes: "We did start to wonder why all the films were dubbed by the same voice… (Nistor’s) is the most well known voice in Romania after Ceausescu’s...” [5]
Nistor worked for The Romanian Television from 1980 until 1999, first as a film translator, then as a program producer.[6] In 1993, she produced, in French, for TV5 Europe a one-hour program called “The Romanian Cinema after 1989”.[6]
A documentary has been produced about Nistor, Chuck Norris vs Communism, directed by London-based Romanian filmmaker, Ilinca Calugareanu.[5][7] Its European premiere was at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 24 and 25 June 2015.[8] The film was screened at the Hawaii European Cinema: Hawaii's European Film Festival on 17 October 2015.[9][10] The film also screened at Cinequest 2016, in San Jose, California, USA.[11]
Nistor remains active within the Romanian film industry. In 2012, she launched the Psychoanalysis and Film Festival, headed by psychoanalyst Andrea Sabbadini, which was the Romanian extension of the European Psychoanalytic Film Festival presided by Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci.[12] For nine years, she has presented a weekly one hour Sunday program on Radio Guerrilla, The Voice of the Movies.[6] In 2006, she published a book about her mentor, film critic D.I. Suchianu.[6] She was an HBO adviser and a member of the screenplay jury in film financing procedures of the Romanian National Fund of Cinematography.[6] She has also been the film selector for the DaKINO international film festival.
References
- ^ Imedia Plus Group SA. "Irina Margareta Nistor". Cinemagia.
- ^ "Child's Pose fiction film selected to represent Romania in 2014 edition of the Academy Awards". mae.ro.
- ^ Department of Foreign Affairs
- ^ Matt Novak. "This Woman Secretly Dubbed American Movies During the Cold War". Paleofuture. Gawker Media.
- ^ a b "'VHS vs. Communism'". The New York Times. 18 February 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "Irina Margareta Nistor". artviva.ro.
- ^ "CHUCK NORRIS VS COMMUNISM". CHUCK NORRIS VS COMMUNISM.
- ^ "How video brought down Nicolae Ceausescu". scotsman.com.
- ^ "Hawaii European Cinema: Chuck Norris vs. Communism". Hawaii European Cinema: Hawaii European Film Festival. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "Hawaii European Cinema: All Films". Hawaii European Cinema: Hawaii European Film Festival. 16-–24 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); External link in|publisher= - ^ "Cinequest Film Festival". Cinequest. 1–13 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ The Butler’s preview on Nov 24 at International Psychoanalysis and Film Festival