Cristian Nemescus's last film before his death in a car accident, California Dreamin (2007), winner of a prestigious Cannes award, is based on a true story: a NATO train transporting military equipment is stopped in the middle of nowhere by an overzealous chief of a Romanian train station. Set against the backdrop of the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the film explores with humor and gritty realism the impact that the arrival of the American soldiers led by Captain Jones has on the small village community. A cinematic tour de force not to be missed! (155 min, R for some sexual scenes, English subtitles)

American Romanian Festival Executive Director Marian Tanau and Ramona Uritescu-Lombard, an expert in Romanian cinema and lecturer in the German and Comparative Literature departments at UM, will introduce the film and host a Q&A after the film.