Mona Nicoara

Mona Nicoara

History

Mona Nicoara was born in Communist Romania and, until 1989, dedicated her early years to becoming a poet in a small, largely underground community of young writers who did not abide by the creative conventions of the Ceausescu era. She started working in film in 1997 as an Associate Producer for Children Underground (2001), which received the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary. Her directorial debut, Our School (2011), premiered in the US at the Tribeca Film Festival, went on to over 60 festivals worldwide, was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Best US Feature at SilverDocs, and was nominated for Best Eastern European Documentary at the Silver Eye Awards and for Best Romanian Documentary at the Gopo Awards. The film was released theatrically in Romania, Switzerland, and the US. Since 2014, she has been programming the One World Romania and fARAD film festivals, and since 2017 has been teaching film at NYU Tisch and Rutgers University.

Profile

Mona Nicoara

Movies

The Distance Between Me and Me
The Distance Between Me and Me
Director
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.
Collective
Collective
Editorial Consultant
In the aftermath of a tragic fire in a Romanian club, burn victims begin dying in hospitals from wounds that were not life threatening. A team of investigative journalists move into action uncovering the mass corruption of the health system and of the state institutions. Collective follows journalists, whistle blowers, and authorities alike. An immersive and uncompromising look into a dysfunctional system, exposing corruption, propaganda, and manipulation that nowadays affect not only Romania, but societies around the world.
Toto and his Sisters
Toto and his Sisters
Consulting Producer
Totonel (10) and his sisters, Andreea (14) and Ana (17), are waiting for their mother to come back home from prison. As they grow up, each of them learns how to survive on their own, hoping that when their mother returns, the family will be reunited.
Our School
Our School
Director
Three Roma children from a small Transylvanian town participate in a project to desegregate the local school, struggling against indifference, tradition and bigotry with humor, optimism and sass.