While people in Western Europe were used to choose between hundreds of brands, the communist Romania used to have a different experience: one brand for each basic product. Imagine the importance these “monobrands” acquired in the lives of those who made them and who used them.

Directors Ana Vlad and Adrian Voicu examine the secret lives of objects in this fascinating glimpse at the consumer industry behind the Iron Curtain. Iconic brands of communist Romania—the Relaxa mattress, Dragasani sneakers, the Pegas bicycle—are more than just objects to the people that made them.