Collective (2020)

This is an observational documentary that captures events leading from a fire at a Bucharest nightclub in October 2015.  The fire resulted in 27 people dying and 180 being injured.  Inexplicably, then, over the next four months, 37 of the injured died in hospitals.  Collective gives us a front row seat to what really happened.

It follows a team of journalists at a sports newspaper, with a track record of investigative reporting.  They took it upon themselves to uncover the truth behind the hospital deaths.   Collective is largely made up of footage from sustained live access to those journalists: you see their investigations as they unfold.

It is a documentary of exceptional power, and one that plays out like a tense thriller.  It is a gripping testimony to what fearless investigative journalism can accomplish. It is also a chilling reminder of the fragility of a democracy, and what callousness, corruption, and lack of government accountability can lead to.

Here’s a link to the trailer.