Transilvania IFF rounds up a week packed with events. From the moonlight screening of Méliès'masterpieces to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odissey, from masterclasses to lifetime awards, Cinema was celebrated properly in the first week of June.
On June 1st, Transilvania IFF opened with two premieres: 110 years after its first screening, George Méliès' masterpiece A Trip to the Moon was seen for the first time in Romania in a fully re-mastered color version. The Romanian comedy Of Snails and Men, directed by Tudor Giurgiu, had its first public screening. The cast and crew of Of Snails and Men walked on the Opening Gala Red Carpet.
What was it like to watch a film in the 1900's cafes? TIFF's audience found out on Sunday, from Georges Méliès grand granddaughter, Marie-Hélène Lehérissey and from her son, Lawrence Lehérissey, who presented Cine-concert Georges Méliès on June 3 at Banffy Castle in Bontida in front of a record number of 1500 spectators.
Personalities of International Cinema came to Transilvania IFF this week and met with the public. Famous directors and producers arrived in Cluj for special events and ceremonies.
One of Transilvania IFF most special guests, French director Claude Lelouch (74 years old) was celebrated on Wednesday, June 6th, when he received The Lifetime Achievement Award. Afterwards, the special screening of his masterpiece A Man and a Woman, the wonderful love story that brought him the Palme d'Or and two Oscars in 1966, closed the ceremony.
One of this week's surprises was the visit of Melissa Leo. The Oscar winner American actress held a masterclass on film acting on June 4 and met with the audience at the screening of her short film The Sea is All I know directed by Jordan Bayne.
Director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, one of the leading talents of new wave in Thai cinema, was another special guest at Transilvania IFF. The filmmaker had a Q&A session after the screening of his most recent feature film Headshot. Moreover, on June 6th, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang held a masterclass, within the framework of TTL (Transilvania Talent Lab).
In another masterclass, on June 7th, Christine Vachon, founder of the legendary Killer Films production company, discussed financing and selling strategies. One of her latest achievements, the 5 episode mini-series Mildred Pierce, was also screened in a marathon program.
An astonishing sci-fi comedy from Finland - Iron Sky and a legendary Slovenian band- Laibach were the highlight of an electrifying night, on June 6th, at Transilvania International Film Festival. One of TIFF's most spectacular films, Timo Vuorensola's Iron Sky, the sci-fi comedy about a secret Nazi base built on the dark side of the Moon, descended on Ursus Open Air. Ground-breaking for his fund-raising policy, the Finnish director held a masterclass on June 5th as part of the events organized for TTL. After the screening, the avant-garde band Laibach, composer of the soundtrack for Iron Sky, performed an exceptional concert in the very hip location of Hotel Continental.
An exceptional program still running is the complete retrospective of Stanley Kubrick's films. 100% Kubrick brought his visionary work on big screen, in fully restored film prints. The event was completed with two masterclasses and a book launch.
On June 6th, Michel Ciment, film critic and Honorary President of FIPRESCI, starred in a masterclass entitled Stanley Kubrick, entre raison et passion, and made a presentation of the world famous magazine Positif, now in its 60th year of existence. Another special event was Jan Harlan's masterclass on June 7th. He talked about Napoleon the late filmmaker's project that never got to be made and launched his encyclopedic tome Kubrick's Napoleon: The Greatest Movie Never Made in a limited release. The event was completed by a major Artificial Intelligence retrospective with Chris Baker's amazing sketches. This exhibition was part of the graphic concept ordered by Stanley Kubrick in 1995 for his project Artificial Intelligence, the film finally made in his memory by Steven Spielberg, who continued the collaboration with Chris Baker. A special screening took place on June 5th.
