For I have eaten ashes like bread and mingled my drink with weeping (Psalm 102:9)
Wonders occur in Heaven, but reflect on Earth, through special people and their works. Man blesses the place he dwells in.
Such a place is Screzii Valley village in Romania, where the social work of Father Nicolae Tănase is gifting, for 25 years now, a new life to abandoned children, single mothers, old men and disabled people.
Screzii Valley is beautifully perfumed. Not of lily or roses, but of benefaction.
Not telling the story of this Valley of Tears would amount to sacrilege. We are duty-bound to be a voice for the thousands of souls who were born for the first time, but also born again, here.
The feature film Nothing but Ashes will tell the story of the miracle of Screzii Valley and Plopului Valley, Romania’s most beautiful utopia. The story of a champion born from the ashes.
Find out moreScrezii Valley
It is thought that the Garden of Eden actually was located in ancient Mesopotamia. In fact, it is only a two hour ride away from Bucharest. A unique spot, where the battle between Good and Evil takes place everyday, and where Good wins. A place where giving up is never an option.
Beauty and deformity. Happiness and suffering. Anguish and hope. Sickness and health. Loneliness and togetherness. Screzii Valley is a realm of contrasts. But it is also the film set for the greatest Director of them all: God.
In 2020, after 26 years of tribulations and unsuspected triumphs lived here, we put the spotlight on the Screzii Valley and tell its story to the whole world.
Find out the Screzii Valley story
Timeline
1979
Father Nicolae Tănase settles in Plopului Valley, in the vicinity of Screzii Valley. One year later, he builds his church solely at night, bypassing Communist surveillance.
1989
Romanian Revolution breaks out, increasing problems in the country’s orphanages. Romanian orphans become a Western attraction, but also an unsettling media topic.
1994
Father Nicolae Tănase embarks in Screzii Valley on a social project designed to help abandoned children and orphans in Romania.
2000
With no help whatsoever from the Romanian State, but supported by good Samaritans all over the world, Father Tănase erects a social facilities center of 28 buildings, housing hundreds of needy people.
2017
Romanian - American movie director Andrei Negoiţă Zagorodnâi finds out about the orphans of Screzii Valley and gets a firsthand view of their tribulations. Consequently, he decides to kick off a fundraising campaign to produce Nothing but Ashes, a feature film telling the unique story of the phenomenon he encountered in the area.
Images may be worth a thousand words, but tears and small victories of forlorn souls, are beyond words. Every day spent in Screzii Valley is a battle against an unflinching Fate. It is here that winners are forged, here Spirit toughens, here grit is tested.
The following teaser, featuring well-known personalities like George Ogăraru - one of the good Samaritans for Screzii Valley and Plopului Valley - and the man who started it all, Father Nicolae Tănase, is meant to win people over and make you join our campaign.
The video you are about to watch evokes the atmosphere of Valea Screzii, featuring never before seen footage filmed for the past 20 years by Cristi Dinu, who settled here in 1997, as an assistant to Father Nicolae Tănase. An icon painter turned cameraman and video editor, Cristi caught on tape, in over 340 hours of footage, the heart-wrenching drama of people in Screzii Valley. We give you 5 minutes of heartwarming Life.
Ambassadors
George Ogăraru
PlayFather Tănase
PlayCristi Dinu
PlayAndreea Ogăraru
PlayMelon Gibson
PlayWe are a small team working (and dreaming) big, so every vote of confidence is highly appreciated. Thank you for choosing to share the story of the NothingButAshes movie and to be the ambassador of this project! You can subscribe to our newsletter or follow the evolution of the project on nothingbutashes.net and on social media.
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