Best Romanian documentary movies
Get ready to binge. We've found a collection of must-watch documentary films from Romania, now streaming on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and other top services!
Romanian (2014)
Romanian (2014)
A fantastic short documentary that explores an event that is staged in a cave in one of the oldest forests in Romania. The premise of the film - that people are bored and need something to do or perform is beside the point - there are people in Romania who will move an entire orchestra into a cave in the forest and thousands of people will arrive to watch a classical performance there. Breathtaking and fun at the same time.
Acasă, My Home (2020)
Acasă, My Home (2020)
In the wilderness of the Bucharest Delta, nine children and their parents lived in perfect harmony with nature for 20 years – until they are chased out and forced to adapt to life in the big city.
The Chalice. Of Sons and Daughters (2022)
The Chalice. Of Sons and Daughters (2022)
Traditional Roma-communities of Romania are culturally rich communities, ruled with complicated rituals and customs. Marriage is maybe the most set in stone such custom, with everything about it being under very strict community control. What keeps everyone alert is Roma marriage’s highest stake: fertility and conceiving boys.
Nasty (2024)
Nasty (2024)
1972 was a turning point in Ilie Nastase's career: he won his first US Open, while also reaching both Wimbledon and Davis Cup finals. Moving back and forth in time and featuring amazing archive footage and exclusive interviews with top athletes, the documentary explores Nastase's highs and lows, the controversies that surrounded him and the enduring impact he has had on the world of tennis. Lovable, charming and generous, yet temperamental, arrogant and obscene, Mr. Nice'n'Nasty disrupted the old-fashioned etiquette of the sport in the 70s thus becoming its first rebel rock star.
Infinite Football (2018)
Infinite Football (2018)
“Last autumn, a good childhood friend of mine, Florin, told me that his brother, Laurentiu, invented a new sport by changing the rules of football. One month later I went to Vaslui, my hometown, with a small film crew in order to learn more about this new sport...”
TWST / Things We Said Today (2025)
TWST / Things We Said Today (2025)
A time capsule of New York City between August 13-15, 1965, framed by the Beatles’ arrival in the city and their first concert at Shea Stadium. The film consists exclusively of archive material from the period (ABC, CBS, NBC), 8mm home movies and images of the concert, which was recorded with fourteen 35mm cameras. Four teenagers are sent on a trip through time and inserted in the archive material by means of animation.
The Distance Between Me and Me (2019)
The Distance Between Me and Me (2019)
Poet, musician, intellectual, and committed communist Nina Cassian wrestled for decades with the central contradiction of her life: how to reconcile her artistic ideals with the strict censorship imposed by Romania’s Communist Party — a tension that put her at odds with the totalitarian Ceaușescu regime and eventually led to her exile. Interweaving archival footage with firsthand interviews, this thought-provoking documentary illuminates the complex relationships between art, politics, and personal truths.
30 Years of Democracy (2019)
30 Years of Democracy (2019)
Two journalists born in the mid '80s decide to take a look back at how their country changed in the last 30 years since the fall of communism. The end product is a documentary containing footage of political events and historical milestones significant to Romania accompanied by a narrator's voice walking the viewer through the events, and also interviews with Romanian politicians and other influential public figures sharing their thoughts and their different views on those events.
Between Revolutions (2023)
Between Revolutions (2023)
A semi-fictional correspondence between two women: one goes to Iran in 1979 to topple the Shah; the other experiences the onerous years of Ceaușescu’s Romania. Their biographies run in parallel via images of everyday life and videograms of revolution.
The Marshal's Two Executions (2018)
The Marshal's Two Executions (2018)
The film confronts two different views of the execution of General Ion Antonescu, Romania's leader during the Second World War.
In the Heart of the Soccer Team (2024)
In the Heart of the Soccer Team (2024)
The film tells the story of a Euro 2024 qualification and a team in which no one believed anymore. Or almost nobody. A behind-the-scenes story of the Euro 2024 qualification campaign for Romania's national football team.
The Trail of Dracula (2013)
The Trail of Dracula (2013)
Diabolical. Seductive. Immortal. Vampires have been an icon of evil in folklore and popular culture for more than three centuries, yet only one name still personifies the ultimate aristocrat of bloodlust. Now join the world’s foremost experts on Dracula – including academics, authors and horror historians – as they explore the untold story of the Transylvanian Count, from the legend of Vlad The Impaler and Bram Stoker’s celebrated novel through its landmark stage productions and classic movie adaptations.
Cabbage, Potatoes and other Demons (2017)
The Shukar Collective Project (0)
The Shukar Collective Project (0)
Shukar Collective play bear tamer music using spoons, wooden barrels or daraboukas, whilst a couple of DJs add layer after layer of urban sound over this traditional music. It is this kind of eclectic environment that best describes what the documentary deals with: culture contact.
The Hunt for Transylvanian Gold (2017)
The Hunt for Transylvanian Gold (2017)
The mysterious appearance of massive golden bracelets in int'l antiquarian circles uncovers an inside story of the looting of a 2000 yr-old Transylvanian golden-hoard. Police investigations...
The Bridge (2014)
The Bridge (2014)
A funeral procession pushes across the florid stillness of a deserted Romanian village.
Eight Postcards from Utopia (2024)
Eight Postcards from Utopia (2024)
A found-footage documentary assembled exclusively out of post-socialist Romanian advertisements, this brings together these documents of Romania’s long transition period, they are made to speak about life, love and death, about the body and human frailty, about nature and the supernatural, about recent history, and, of course, about socialism and capitalism.
Maria Queen of Romania (2018)
Maria Queen of Romania (2018)
Queen Maria of Romania, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, ruled the country during World War I and 1918, achieving international recognition. Despite personal struggles, she was banished from court by Carol's son.
The King's War (2016)
The King's War (2016)
Few know what happened, in fact, on August 23, 1944, and who were the main actors of change. Words like "coup", "war" and "communists" are used often in the same sentence, without knowing anything about the courage that a king nor 23 had when it was across Hitler's plan.
The World According to Ion B. (2009)
The World According to Ion B. (2009)
The fascinating portrait of Ion Bârlàdeanu. The touching and inspiring story of a man who literally lived in the gutter for 20 years - and in the meantime managed to create paintings and collages which are now exhibited alongside works by Andy Warhol or Marcel Duchamp.
Nunți muzici și casete video (2008)
Nunți muzici și casete video (2008)
A "behind-the-scenes" insight of the Romanian wedding industry, with cameramen, photographers and singers from all around the country in the spotlight. Their life stories, their editing styles, their hands-on-approach know-how and, of course, their performances at weddings, mix up in a shortcut-style film. George Stirbat, the 30-something one-man-show singer from the small town of Onesti returned home after a mini-Broadway career and Petru Manici, the coal mine electrician from the mining town of Petrosani, are just two of the most interesting characters the film follows in their quest to achieve perfection for the bride's and groom's memories. Something to remember.
Alice On & Off (2024)
Alice On & Off (2024)
Shot over the course of ten years, the story revolves around 16-year-old Alice who becomes a mother to Aristo, a child conceived out of her deep affection for Dorian, despite their remarkable 35-year age difference. However, their trajectories quickly separate, compelling Alice to make the heart-wrenching choice of parting ways with both Dorian and Aristo.
Everything Will Not Be Fine (2020)
Everything Will Not Be Fine (2020)
At the end of a long-term relationship, a half-blind director, born in 1986, whose mother blames his illness on the Chernobyl nuclear accident, leaves his life in Romania behind and embarks on a journey out of the desire to find and other people affected by the same disaster. He falls in love with a young woman from Ukraine and his life changes completely.
Carol I (2009)
Carol I (2009)
The last days of the first Romanian king, Carol I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and the tough decisions he had to make in the summer of 1914 in order to please both Romanian Parliament and his relatives from the German Empire.
Timebox (2018)
Timebox (2018)
Professor Ioan-Matei Agapi, an 80-year-old photographer and cameraman from Iași, Romania, owns a unique collection of 16mm films and photographs documenting almost fifty years of the city’s history. His daughter, also a filmmaker, has decided to make a film about her father's archives. In the unconventional surroundings of his old apartment, he reminisces about the past until one day, Ioan is informed that he must leave or be evicted from the apartment where he has spent the past 40 years. Ioan’s years of work suddenly transform into a huge burden, and the film unexpectedly changes into drama in which conflicts with city officials reveal old and hidden conflicts within the family.