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How to film a documentary in Romania? All you need you know about filming in Romania. Tips and tricks from a video production fixer

From restaurants and bodegas to sheepfolds and virgin forests to museums, ministers and prisons, a local producer working for an international film crew aka Fixer should provide you access to any filming location the production script has proposed.

Getting filming access in Romania should be easy, given the availability of free public spaces and remote wilderness locations. But most of the time, clearing access for video productions in Romania is more challenging than you might have thought.

First Romania is one of Europe’s most bureaucratic countries, owing lots of landmarks buildings, and infrastructure connections.

Therefore, if you want to film inside a train station, airport, public market, or prison, you would need a film permit from the Romanian state.

Negotiating takes time and it depends a lot on the quality of the communication. Most of the Romanian state operators are not familiar with email communication therefore once you write an email you need to be clear and specific with the production’s needs.

English is still alien for most of the Romanian state workers so you should don’t try to charm the RO authorities with English because it won’t work. Once you have written the info it is a must to follow up, because offline interaction always works best in Romania.

It is never enough to ask for something, you have to always keep in mind that making the other one feel important is another must in Romania. I always find it helpful to give a person the space and sense of understanding and security. Especially when dealing with high restricting filming locations. The filming access negotiation could take up to 1 month, depending to the complexity of the location involved.

Clearing filming access for international video production it also involves lots of paperwork that needs to be filled in order to have everything covered. So arm yourself whit patience.

When it comes to private proprieties things tend to be less complicated, but they require a firm communication and friendly approach, respecting the status of the filming location involved.

Famous locations like the Bran castle aka Dracula castle have been  very flexible and open for filming having experienced many video productions. In some other cases, like a sheepfold or a villager’s household getting a filming permit is a bit tricky. The countryside in Romania is widespread and varies from region to region.

Transilvania and Maramures are two of the best-preserved areas in Romania.

Many international video productions have been shot in these two historical regions. Transilvania people tend to be very conservative, but also extremely open and eager to share their stories. Once you have opened a person’s house in Romania, is hard not to feel like you belong there. Because once you got the trust of a Romanian you are considered part of the family. So, you’ll get food and palinka as a welcome gift. And from there things get really easy. But again, gaining trust is not a small thing. As a fixer, you always need to inform about all the aspects of the video production involved, especially when working for documentaries. Using simple, clear words and having a straightforward approach is always best when dealing with villagers.

Last but not least, an important aspect if you want to film a documentary in an exclusive location in Romania is the security aspect. Some communities require special treatment, like the Roma community in Romania. Filming in ghettos, remote secluded Roma communities it is always appealing for a creative video producer. But filming inside a remote location in Romania always requires an insider who knows the language and can create that trust-based relationship. It is never recommended to step inside a Roma community without having at least one trustworthy source that can get you in.
In the end filming in Romania is one of the best filming experiences you can get in Europe. The mixture of the urban ex-communist vibe of Romania’s city life and wilderness and the simple, caught-in-time countryside is amazing due to its simplicity and unique authenticity.

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Blog Date

January 23, 2025

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