Dacia Tales

MY BEAUTIFUL DACIA from stefan constantinescu on Vimeo.

How do the objects we surround ourselves with influence how we look at the world, and the ways in which the world impinges upon us?

"The Last Analog Revolution / A Memory Box" at the 2011 Venice Biennale includes a wonderful 75 minute documentary film by Stefan Constantinescu entitled "My Beautiful Dacia". The Dacia is a brand of auto produced in Romania since 1968, the year the film maker was born. Constantinescu depicts the story of his own life through the history of the Dacia (particularly the ubiquitous model 1300), as well as the relationships of many other Romanians to this car.

Constantinescu provides this description:

My Beautiful Dacia is a light hearted and humoristic portrayal of the evolution of Romania from Communism to Capitalism, seen through the eyes of its most emblematic symbol, the Dacia automobile. In our film, we will follow different generations of Romanians - from the old nostalgic to the young entrepreneurs - showing the present transformation of Romanian society. The connecting point between the different stories is always the Dacia car: first, a symbol of the ambitions of Communist technology and now a reflection of the new global economy. In 1999, Dacia was bought by Renault and nowadays it’s a best-selling car in developing markets.

There is also a copy of an autobiographical children's book by Constantinescu for browsing at the Biennale, complete with pop-up Dacias and pull-out pictures.

Well worth a visit - if youre in Venice! Until November 27th, 2011.