also been affected by the intensified ideological
campaign of mid-1971. In general, the regime has attempted to further
limit the importation of foreign films, particularly those from the
West, which are considered violent and decadent. There has also been a
move to stimulate the production of more native films with a truly
"profound ideological content which will express our Marxist-Leninist
world outlook, convey the message of our own society in highly artistic
terms, and reflect the life of the new man." Until more Romanian films
of the appropriate type can be offered, the industry has been advised to
utilize additional films from the National Film Library and to emphasize
foreign presentations that are based on socialist concepts.

Production

Film production, distribution, and exhibition were controlled by the
National Center of Cinematography, a state agency that operates under
the supervision of the Council on Socialist Culture and Education. The
national center operates two production studios: the Alexandru Sahia
Film Studio in Bucharest, which produces documentaries, newsreels,
cartoons, and puppet films, and the Bucharest Film Studio, which
produces feature films at Buftea, a suburb about fifteen miles northwest
of the capital.

In 1970 cinema production consisted of thirty-nine feature and short
pictures, about 1960 documentary films (including animated cartoons),
and seventy-six newsreels. This output reflected a two-fold increase
since 1960 in both feature and documentary films but a decrease of about
15 percent in the number of newsreels. The largest growth in the motion
picture industry occurred between 1923 and 1930, when production rose
from about seven motion pictures per year to about twenty-five. This
increased output was a combination of native films and features
coproduced with France, Germany, and Hungary. After the communist
takeover of the government in 1948, film production fell drastically and
did not again reach its pre-World War II level until 1955.

Romanian films, until 1968, continued to reflect much of the earlier
French influence. Both the native and coproduced pictures of this period
were of high quality, and several won awards at film festivals in
Cannes, Trieste, and Chicago. Subjects treated were well diversified and
included historical adventure, strong dramas, and both satirical and
classical comedies. Beginning in 1968, the regime launched widespread
criticism of the indust