A new edition begins with reference titles by producer John Florescu, 150 years after the birth of the beloved Queen Marie.
The National History Education tour kicked up on Tuesday with a cluster of epic documentaries about the royal family – “Marie, the Heart of Romania”, “The King’s War”, “King Michael, The Road Home”, films which aim to educate all corners of society about Romanian history.
Chainsaw Film Production productions which made the films is also showing: “Comrade: The Making, Glory and Undoing of a Dictator” (about the life of Nicolae Ceausescu) and “The Enigmas of Romania” presented by Marcel Iureș. Nicholas of Romania – the great-great-grandson of Queen Marie and the grandson of King Michael, the actor Marcel Iureș and the writer Lavinia Betea were the guests of honor at Tuesday’s launch.
Romania’s history has been falsified and distorted by the pro-Nazi government during World War II and then during decades of communism. Producer John Florescu, the son of famous Romanian historian Radu Florescu, is attempting to set the record straight and bring an authentic version of the country’s often troubled history to a wide audience.
The National History Education Tour said it was paying tribute to Queen Marie, as Romania marks the 150th anniversary of her birth, an event which will be celebrated at various events. Her great-great grandson Nicholas of Romania is joining the Tour and will talk about his grandfather, King Michael, and Queen Marie. “Queen Marie defined the role of being ‘Royal’. He had a sense of duty. Duty to our nation, to traditions and history. Through Queen Mary, royalty was modernized. He will always be an inspiration, an example to follow. We need this model of “warrior” more than ever, now in 2025, 150 years after the birth of Queen Marie,” said Prince Nicholas of Romania on Tuesday.
Thanks to the generosity of sponsors, access to the screenings is free everywhere. The National History Education Tour aims to reach out to young people and help them learn about the people and events that have shaped the history and destiny of Romania. The tour begins with screenings in specially picked spots: at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant on March 19, in the royal town of Curtea de Argeș (where Romania’s royal family are buried) on May 10, at the Tismana Monastery, at the I. L. Caragiale National College and the Saint Sava National College in Bucharest. It will also be screened in Piatra Neamț, on April 15 and 16, to coincide with the National History Contest.
John Florescu, the executive producer of the documentaries said: “These are not just film screenings, it is an educational approach that, so far, has reached not only festivals, cinemas and universities, but also factories, factories and cultural centers in villages. We chose the most diverse places and communities because the tour is, as the name suggests, about educating people about history. This year we will also screen the documentary about Nicolae Ceaușescu, with testimonies and archive images which haven’t been available inaccessible to the general public until now.”
“Comrade: The Making, Glory and Undoing of a Dictator” will also be screened in Scornicești, home of Nicolae Ceaușescu. The three-part documentary was included in the Tour after its premiere release on Voyo, where it was in first place for eight weeks, and later on PRO TV, at the end of last year, when the miniseries attracted an unexpectedly large audience share on the opening night. A real contribution to the contemporary history of Romania, “Comrade” tells the story of Nicolae Ceausescu’s life, through unpublished archive materials and the testimonies of those who knew him closely.
Also a recent addition to the Tour, the production “Marcel Iureș Presents the Enigmas of Romania” is a series of nine original programs, with 30-minute episodes, about Eminescu’s death, about the disappearance of Vlad the Impaler’s body, the assassination of the first prime minister of modern Romania or the Maglavit phenomenon – where the “divine visions” of the controversial mystical shepherd Petrache Lupu attracted hundreds of thousands of people in the 1930s. The series premiered on the HISTORY Channel.
Supported by CPI Romania and Regina Maria Clinics, the Tour will go to 15 counties.. Thanks to the partnership with CPI Romania, there will be screenings in the shopping centers in the company’s portfolio in major cities in Romania. In March, the documentary “Maria, The Heart of Romania” will be screened at VIVO! Cluj-Napoca, ALIVE! Baia Mare, VIVO! Constanta and VIVO! Pitesti.
“It is a privilege to be with producer John Florescu and Chainsaw Film Production in promoting this extremely valuable project, especially for young people in Romania. The documentary films from the National History Education Tour are precious life lessons, not just history. We support such initiatives, hosting a series of screenings in our shopping centers, because it is important to facilitate people’s access to culture. It is, in fact, an initiative that is part of CPI’s effort to offer local communities not only the best shopping solutions, but also new, quality experiences that add value to the time spent in our commercial spaces”, said Fulga Dinu, Country Manager CPI Romania.
As in previous editions, it was designed so that the documentaries can be watched by an audience with different backgrounds, including people from isolated communities, who will have an opportunity to find out important facts and details about Romanian history which hasn’t been available before.
Also, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the screenings will continue in diplomatic missions around the world, from Beijing, Manila and New Delhi, to Islamabad and Cairo and, further, to the Vatican, Madrid or Toronto. In total, there will be 44 screenings for “Marie, The Heart of Romania” and 32 screenings for “The King’s War”. The 5th edition of the Tour comes with another premiere: the documentaries will be screened in Chisinau, in the Republic of Moldova, on March 27.
Dan Drăghicescu, executive director of the History Education Tour and associate producer in the making of the films: “We are starting the 5th edition and we are convinced that the films will be received with the same enthusiasm and interest that we have witnessed in previous years. The public is impressed and excited to see unaired images of King Michael or Queen Mary and to find out lesser-known things. And let’s not forget that we are talking about documentary films that analyze and explain important moments in national history, which we all need to know and understand. History properly understood in the present reflects the future.”
The documentary “Marie, the Heart of Romania” was released in 2018, directed by Trevor Poots and presents the story of a very important era in Romanian history, from the perspective of Queen Mary, who was at the center of the fight for the Great Union of 1918. The film included unique images from before the First World War, taken from 15 archives abroad, which went through a special colorization process. Queen Marie’s voice can be heard in the documentary, rendered in a version as close to reality as possible after eliminating the sounds produced by the technology of the time.
The National History Education Tour was launched in 2019 and, there have been free-of-charge screenings in more than 20 counties, about half of Romania. The three films about the royal family, made by Chainsaw Film Production, cover 160 years of Romania’s history (1860-2017).
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Images from previous editions of the tournament:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmxDuq2X7M8
Images “Comrade: The Making, Glory and Undoing of a Dictator”, 2024, Director: Trevor Poots / Executive Producer: John Florescu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmK6Rq5BFhY
Images “The Enigmas of Romania”, 2023-2024, directed by: Marin Dinescu / Executive producer: John Florescu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MeIE4YzCjw (we don’t have images without the History logo)
Images “The King’s War“, 2016, directed by: Trevor Poots / Executive producer: John Florescu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw2laWaygR0
Images “Maria, The Heart of Romania”, 2018, directed by: Trevor Poots / Executive producer: John Florescu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBhL3R097oY
Images “King Michael: The Road Home”, 2021, Director: Trevor Poots / Executive Producer: John Florescu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=V5NGNZDVyoc
