Serge Ioan Celebidachi’s The Yellow Tie, the biopic following the life and career of conductor Sergiu Celibidache, will open the Romanian Film Festival in Munich, set to take place from November 5 to November 14.
The film festival, at its 20th edition this year, presents a selection of films exploring memory, identity, family relationships, and the transformations of contemporary society, bringing together both established filmmakers and representatives of a new generation.
Among the films to be screened are Mihai Mincan’s Milk Teeth, a thriller about fear and suspicion which looks at the disappearance of a young girl in the final months of the Ceaușescu regime, and Maria Popistașu and Alexandru Baciu’s Y, following a young woman’s investigation into her family’s past and its connections to illegal adoptions during the communist era.
Audiences will also be able to see Paul Negoescu’s Atlas of the Universe, an adventure set in rural Romania, and Tudor Cristian Jurgiu’s On Our Own, which tells the story of young people seeking independence in the absence of their parents.
Moldovan cinema is represented by The Circle, directed by Valeriu Andriuță, a film about the investigation of a suspicious death in a rural community, and The Border, by Ion Borș and Ruslan Moroșan, a black comedy about a long-running conflict between two families.
The program also offers an introduction to the cinematic universe of Andrei Epure, with his short film Intercom 15 and feature film Don’t Let Me Die, as well as a screening of Diary of a Chambermaid (Le Journal d’une femme de chambre), the latest film by Radu Jude. The director, who won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, explores social inequalities and the relationship between Romania and Western Europe in his new film. Social satire is also present in Catane, the feature-film debut of Ioana Mischie, which turns an administrative inspection into an absurd comedy about bureaucracy and rural life.
The festival closes on November 14, with Kîzîm, directed by Radu Potcoavă, the story of a teenage girl from a Tatar family in Dobrogea who finds herself caught between family traditions and her desire to determine her own future.
Romanian cinema will also be represented during the same period at the 36th edition of the Cottbus International Film Festival (FilmFestival Cottbus), taking place in Germany until November 8. Nine Romanian films and co-productions involving Romania are included in the festival selection, which brings together works by established directors such as Radu Jude, Cristian Mungiu, Tudor Giurgiu, Florin Șerban, and Radu Muntean, alongside films by a new generation of filmmakers.
Romania’s participation also extends to the industry program, with producers and filmmakers taking part in professional events and the feature-film project Adventure, directed by Andrei Crețulescu, selected for cocoPITCH, part of the Connecting Cottbus platform.
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