Director Alexander Nanau on the Romanian documentary ‘Collective’

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Alexander Nanau directed the documentary “Collective,” which follows a group of journalists who uncovered a massive scandal in Romanian hospitals. Photo by Alex Galmeanu / Magnolia Pictures.

The documentary “Collective'' follows a group of journalists in Bucharest who uncovered a massive scandal in Romanian hospitals that led to dozens of needless deaths. These were not reporters who normally covered health care but rather, sports. 

Director Alexander Nanau says that actually worked to their advantage. “Doctors and health care officials that thought they are the smartest guys in the country, thought that these are just sports journalists asking some stupid questions, and they will go away.”

The journalists did not go away, and neither did the filmmaker who followed them.

Nanau tells us about convincing the reporters to let him film them and learning that the government tapped his phone while he was making the movie. 

And he describes watching the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol from Bucharest.

Credits

Host:

Kim Masters

Producer:

Kaitlin Parker