Occasional Spies
“Occasional Spies” is a documentary directed by Oana Giurgiu. The film examines a particular episode of the Second World War, when, in the spring of 1944, the MI5 secret service office in Cairo decided to recruit potential spies to organize the escape of prisoners of war from Eastern Europe. The film is constructed primarily as an extensive montage of photographs, offering a unique cinematic experience enhanced by sound effects and an original soundtrack. I took the photographs over a period of at least 10 days of photo shoots, spanning mid-2017 to early 2020. During those days, I created more than 48,000 images, working under conditions similar to those of film production. I photographed in Bucharest and Oradea, through the Transylvanian mountains and across the plains of Teleorman. Of the 48,000 images, approximately 2,000 were included in the film, comprising about 80% of the material, alongside archival photographs and documentary footage (original photos from the era), as well as several testimonial interviews. “Occasional Spies” premiered at TIFF 2021 and was also screened at Astra Film Festival 2021, TIFF Oradea 2021, and Cinefest Miskolc Film Festival 2021 (Hungary). The film had its gala premiere in Bucharest in 2022, after which it entered the Romanian cinema network. “Occasional Spies” won the Best Documentary Award at the Romanian Filmmakers’ Union Awards Gala (UCIN) 2023, as well as the title of Best Documentary Film at the Gopo Awards Gala 2023. Thus, Occasional Spies received the two most important distinctions the Romanian film industry had to offer in 2023.