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The docu-drama THREE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS is a detailed chronicle, based on testimonies, documents, reconstructions and archival images, of the last three days of the couple Elena and Nicolae Ceaușescu before their execution on Christmas Day 1989. On his last night as absolute ruler of the country, Nicolae Ceaușescu remains in the headquarters of the Communist Party, to coordinate the repression. He does not sleep more than three hours. In the morning, on December 22, for fear of being lynched by the crowd forcing its way into the building, Ceaușescu accepts to be evacuated by helicopter. Once lifted into the air, however, he becomes a prisoner of the one he had just appointed to command the Army: General Stănculescu. Ceaușescu's escape is a mixture of improvisation, arrogance, absurdity and desperation. The old Stalinist seeks refuge not to save his own skin, but to organize his return to power. He is almost 72 years old, but he cannot give up his status as “the most beloved son of the people”. The helicopter first takes him to the Palace in Snagov, from where Ceaușescu inquires, by phone, about the peace in the country. He decides to fly in the direction of Pitești, where he relies on several armored divisions and loyal commanders. He requests two escort helicopters, but they refuse to take off from the ground. The pilot of his twin-engine Dauphin abandons him in a barley field, on the side of the Bucharest-Târgoviște road, near the town of Titu. Soon, the “beloved leader” will come face to face with his people. Why did the officers in Târgoviște refuse to suppress the fugitive dictators without trial? They had two great fears: that they would be executed in turn, to cover their tracks, or that they would later be tried for murder. This is how the solution of a summary trial was reached, decided in Bucharest and staged in Târgoviște. A trial with a pre-established verdict: the death sentence of the fugitive dictators and the immediate execution of the sentence. This is how Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu ended up being shot "like wild animals", as Mihai Gorbachev would express himself in April 2010, during his first visit to post-communist Romania. The execution took place on December 25, 1989, on Christmas Day. Directed by Radu Gabrea Starring Victoria Cociaș, Constantin Cojocaru Genre Documentary Duration 90 minutes Premiere in Romania 12/14/2012