Collective: Oscars contender described as ‘one of the greatest movies about journalism ever made’ drops trailer
Romanian film follows chilling investigation into health industry corruption
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The UK trailer for Oscars contender Collective has arrived, The Independent can exclusively reveal.
Made by Alexander Nanau, the searing Romanian documentary has been listed as a frontrunner in the 2021 Oscars race.
The film’s narrative kicks off with a fire that broke out in a nightclub called Colectiv in Bucharest, Romania, in 2015.
The incident was one of the worst tragedies in Romanian history, with 27 people killed on the night and 180 injured. Some 37 more people who were hurt in the blaze subsequently died in hospital in the weeks that followed, after contracting a bacterial infection.
What follows is a chilling investigation into corruption at almost every level of the country’s healthcare system, that results in the resignation of the Romanian health minister.
The staggering exposé features the victims’ families, the journalist who headed up the investigation – Catalin Tolontan – and Vlad Voiculescu, the politician who replaced the resigned health minister to try to turn the country around.
It was described by IndieWire’s David Ehrlich as “one of the greatest movies about journalism ever made”.
Director Nanau said: “The hospital corruption and subsequent government cover up in Collective took place in Romania. Yet this not just a local story.
“There is a universality which is even more relevant post Covid. Government corruption is sadly all too familiar across the world and the need to safeguard social justice and press freedom feels more urgent than ever.
“These are freedoms that have been compromised lately in the UK and it could not be a more important time to bring my film to a UK audience.”
Collective is available on digital platforms from Friday 20 November.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments