FESTIVALS: Transilvania IFF Romanian Days Unveils Programme

13-05-2012

FESTIVALS: Transilvania IFF Romanian Days Unveils Programme

By FNE Staff

{mosimage}CLUJ: Eleven feature films and 16 shorts will screen in the TIFF (www.tiff.ro) Romanian Days section, 6-9 June 2012.

Florin Piersic Jr.' s second feature film Killing Time will premiere at TIFF 2012 with Piersic as director, actor and scriptwriter. The story follows two hitmen killing time before the arrival of their victim in a black comedy with a flavour of film noir. Also a premiere, Dan Chisu's Chasing Rainbows tells a story about the illusion of getting rich overnight. Another world premiere is Of Snails and Men directed by Tudor Giurgiu, the amusing story of a group of workers from a bankrupt factory at the beginning of the '90s, whose lives change when one of the boys comes up with an original solution for saving the factory from closing and his colleagues from unemployment.

The selection includes other recent Romanian productions: Everybody in Our Family, Radu Jude's family drama with thriller accents; Somewhere in Palilula, directed by the acclaimed theatre director Silviu Purcarete; and Adrian Sitaru's Best Intentions, winner of Best Director and Best Actor (Bogdan Dumitrache) at Locarno 2011.

Romanian Days, the filmgoers will present its first Romanian feature animation, Crulic - The Path to Beyond (directed by Anca Damian). Selected in festivals worldwide, the film was also in competition at the most prestigious festival for animation in Annecy, France. Another surprise film comes from Radu Gabrea: 3 Days till Christmas, a docudrama about the last days of Dictator Ceausescu's life, from his helicopter escape to the execution line.

Documentaries are well represented this year in Romanian Days. Ivana Mladenovic presents Turn off the Lights, a documentary that follows the destiny of three youngsters who were just released from prison. Ana Hirte's Teodora Sinner and A Dream's Merchant directed by Bogdan Ilie-Micu complete the selection.

In the short film section, the selected films come from well-known directors as well as from beginners. 2012 will be a breakthrough year for women filmmakers, who are represented by seven of the 16 shorts in Romanian Days.

A preview of Romanian Days can be seen here: http://youtu.be/a_q82ndo4P0

The Jury for Romanian Days is composed of Michel Ciment, film critic at Positif and author of more than 15 books on cinema, Guilhem Caillard, film critic at Panorama-cinéma and selector for Cinemania Film Festival, Montreal and Vicenzo Rossini, Artistic Director for Milano International Film Festival. The Jury will award the Romanian Days Award for Best Feature Film and Best Debut.

Romanian productions will also be seen in parallel sections of festival. Kiddo directed by Millo Simulov will test the audience with an interactive screening where the fate of protagonists in the key moments will be chosen live by spectators. Dan Curean's mesmerizing documentary Gone Wild tells the story of the last wild horses from Letea forest. Developed in Discovery Campus MasterSchool for Franco-German TV network Arte the documentary will have a premiere at TIFF. Stefan Constantinescu, a Romanian director who lives in Sweden, will bring Family Dinner, a short film selected in Semaine de la Critique, about a woman who exchanges kinky text messages while her family is preparing dinner.

The HBO Day will screen two Romanian documentaries: Radu Muntean and Alexandru Baciu's Visiting Room and Pavel Cuzuioc's Digging for Life.

A complete listing of films from Romanian Days follows:

Feature Film

1. Killing Time, directed by Florin Piersic Jr.

2. Of Snails and Men, directed by Tudor Giurgiu

3. Chasing Rainbows, directed by Dan Chișu

4. Turn Off the Lights, directed by Ivana Mladenovic

5. Somewhere in Palilula, directed by Silviu Purcărete

6. Crulic - The Path to Beyond, directed by Anca Damian

7. Best Intentions, directed by Adrian Sitaru

8. Teodora Sinner, directed by Anca Hirte

9. 3 Days Till Christmas, directed by Radu Gabrea