Rural Revival

Programme Outline

00.00-00.40	Images contrasting Europe at start of the third millennium with horse and cart transport in rural Romania
00.40-00.55	Map and commentary set scene for footage about rural life near Cluj in Transylvania – Dirja Village in particular
00.55-02.40	Commentary, footage and interviews paint a picture of the Tarziu family and their subsistence farm
02.40-03.08	Comparisons are made with Western Europe in the nineteenth century. Interview with 14-year-old Claudiu shows why the long, hard, underpaid hours of this lifestyle make him want to leave for the city
03.08-03.36	City life isn’t the easy life some country people imagine. In Cluj, population 380,000, some struggle, some survive, others prosper
03.36-05.50	Cameras follow 13-year-old Cora Silvestru, who comes from a relatively affluent family, through her day. Her father gives a potted history of the days of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and the destruction of town and rural life under his reign
05.50-07.18	Footage and commentary give details of the desolation in the city of Cluj caused by Ceausescu
07.18-08.55	Mr Kallos gives further details from his own experience, especially about the now defunct Clujana shoe factory in which his family all used to work
08.55-10.03	Some, like Daniel Rosca, start their own businesses
10.03-12.04	There are signs that for some the city is recovering. Cora and friends go shopping in Benetton. EU funding is putting a new water supply into the city
12.04-15.24	Hopes for the future also depend on exploiting the resources of the countryside, especially the striking scenery and the scope for skiing
15.24-17.25	Large grants are available to help farmers, and to get a proper communications network set up across the country. Most farmers don’t even have phones
17.25-18.44	International communications, especially the Internet, are feeding the imagination of those already in touch. Many Romanians are now so much better informed about conditions in the rest of the world that they are becoming discontent with their lot. Commentary poses the question of whether there will be enough people willing to push through plans for rural revival
18.44-End	Credits