No Elephant in the Room (2022)

Two huge plastic elephants are being pulled down from the top of the colorfully decorated great arena of the State Circus of Bucharest. Change has finally become unavoidable for the circus built by the communist regime in 1961. Wild animal shows have been suddenly forbidden and with it the circus loses its main attraction. Adi and his long time partner in training, Mioara, now have to see their pupils off to the Zoo and are left without the occupation that meant their life to them. The circus is in crisis, so the director must decide for a risky move: he calls in Adrian, the progressive show director from Las Vegas, who has been working for the famous Cirque du Soleil. This means revolution as Mioara, Adi and their fellows are put before a seemingly impossible task: make the sleepy circus put on a spectacular world-class show by the end of the year. We see mentalities clash, East confront West and so called modernization challenge the old ways. The former trainers try to become clowns or acrobats, Mioara starts learning a new discipline, intensive training and a harsh pace of work are imposed on everyone, but are their efforts enough to make the new show into a resounding success?