Completed - ROMANIAN, ENGLISH - Documentary, First film - 75 minutes
1980s Romania.The TV show “Dallas” becomes a huge hit and inspires a young woman to immigrate to America.
Year of production : 2016 Director(s) : Livia UNGUR, Sherng-Lee HUANG Cast : Patrick DUFFY, Livia UNGUR
Playfully mixing fiction and documentary, “Hotel Dallas” is a surreal parable of communism, capitalism, and the power of art.In the 80s, in the twilight of communist Romania, “Dallas” is the only American show allowed on TV. It offers a vision of wealth and glamour that captures the imagination of millions.Among them are Ilie and his daughter Livia. He is a small-time criminal and aspiring capitalist; she is in love with the show’s handsome leading man, Patrick Duffy. After communism falls, Ilie builds the Hotel Dallas, a life-size copy of the “Dallas” mansion. Livia immigrates to America, becomes an artist, and directs a film starring Patrick Duffy, as a soap opera character who dies in Texas and wakes up in Romania, in a hotel that looks just like home.
Country(ies) : ROMANIA, USA
DocCorner 2017Berlinale - EFM 2016 (Panorama)Hot Docs Canada 2016