COLLECTIVE (COLLECTIV) Documentary

Following the film, AFI Festivals Senior Programmer Ken Jacobson leads a conversation between filmmaker Alexander Nanau and subject Cătălin Tolontan.

In 2015, a fire roared through the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, Romania, killing 27 people and leaving over 100 injured. Following the tragedy, the Romanian Health Minister declared that the burn victims would receive the highest quality treatment. Nothing could be further from the truth. Due to a corruption scandal as horrifying as the fire itself, the treating hospitals used diluted disinfectant leading to 37 additional deaths.

Alexander Nanau’s riveting exposé follows the investigative journalists at Gazeta Sporturilor as they unpeel the scandal, layer by layer. When public protests bring down the government, a patient rights advocate becomes Health Minister. Nanau, with amazing access, now pivots to track the investigations from inside the Health Minister’s office. COLLECTIVE is an unsparing portrait of evil acts and the courage required to uncover the truth. –Ken Jacobson