1897-1939 The beginnings of Moldovan cinema are difficult to trace, owing largely to the divergent cinematic histories of the left- and right-bank regions, a division which continues today.
After Bessarabia, now part of Moldova’s current territorial boundaries, was absorbed into Romania in 1918, the USSR created the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (MASSR) on the left bank of the Dniester River in 1924.
This newly created Soviet republic included land taken from Ukraine as well as modern-day Transnistria, a breakaway region that remains unrecognized by any UN-member nations.
1939-1952 In the right-bank region, filmmaking in Bessarabia was virtually nonexistent since its cinematic identity was bound up with that of Romania’s, which, due to devastation occasioned by World War I, was progressing at a modest pace.
This cinematic growth came to an end, though, when Nazi Germany and Romania, which had recently aligned itself with the Axis Powers, moved into Bessarabia and crossed the Dniester River into modern day Transnistria.
But the Bessarabian region also faced additional hurdles, as noted by Leonid Brezhnev: Because it was not part of the USSR during the 1920s, Bassarabia remained undeveloped in comparison with its Soviet counterparts.
Afterwards, more Moldovan filmmakers began to participate in local productions, which caused the MSSR to take an increased interest in the state's role in developing a national film culture.
It was during this period that many notable Moldovan filmmakers began receiving training at VGIK in Moscow and returning to Moldova to shoot films in their home country.
However, as in the rest of the Soviet republics, the state exercised a considerable influence in the content of these films, and with the rise of Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary came a resurgence of official censorship.
Socialist Realism, once de rigueur under Stalin’s leadership, became, again, the artistic model for film professions; and critiques of Soviet history were vehemently disfavored by party leaders.
But by the 1980s, perestroika and glasnost occasioned a resurgence of artistic freedom and impressive Moldovan films, like Valeriu Jereghi’s Iona (1987), Gheorghe Urschi’s Whoever Swears, He Pays (1989), and Victor Bucătaru’s Crucifix (1990).
From Independence to the Present After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the transition to a market economy, Moldova’s film industry faced significant challenges.
In the early 1990s, directors Vlad Druc and Mircea Chistruga created two parable films, Cheamă-i, Doamne înapoi and Mâine iar va răsări soarele.
Around the same time, a series of documentaries highlighting historical figures such as Dimitrie Cantemir, Ștefan cel Mare, and Mihai Eminescu were also produced, reflecting a focus on national identity during a period of transition.
[7] In 1957, the first fiction comedy film was called Cînd omul nu-i la locul lui (When the man is not himself) after a script written by Ion Druta.
The Moldovan breakthrough in the world's cinema industry was a film written by Ion Druţă and producer and cameraman Vadim Derbenev - Last Month of Autumn (Russian: Последний месяц осени).
Very few films have been made in Moldova since independence: the government has failed to protect its domestic industry and funding is rare (save for occasional co-productions).