Focus Romania @ Short Waves Festival in Poland, with recent short films presented at the latest BIEFF editions
A wide selection of recent local short films is preparing to meet the Polish public at the 14th Edition of the Short Waves Festival. Organized in 3 thematic programs, the titles included in the Focus Romania section are representative for the diversity of cinematographic styles and themes approached by contemporary filmmakers, addressing issues specific to the cultural context of our country. The selection curated by Oana Ghera, artistic director of BIEFF, also includes a series of titles from the program of the latest editions of the festival.
The Focus Romania program is presented at the Short Waves Festival with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute. The films will be made accessible to the hearing impaired, and the Q&A sessions will be translated into sign language in collaboration with the Deaf Respect Foundation.
When Night meets Dawn (d. Andreea Bortun), winner of the BIEFF Grand Prize in 2021, and I was sleepwalking when I saw all these colors (d. Bogdan Balla), awarded in the same year with the Award for Best Romanian Film, will open the list of films presented on June 14, 15 and 16 at the Short Waves Festival. Composed of fictional films whose realism formally recalls the long-appreciated Romanian New Wave, as well as charming animations, surprising cinematic experiments and challenging documentaries, the selection depicts a vibrant cinematic landscape, populated by young authors with diverse formal and thematic concerns.
Good Intentions, the first thematic program in the Focus Romania section, will bring to the big screen a series of representative works for the neorealist stylistics of contemporary cinema. A mirror of a society defined by individualism and division, the films capture a world in which family ties and traditional values have come to define most social interactions, while all outsiders are seen as potential enemies. The selection presented on June 14 includes titles such as: Last Trip to the Seaside (d. Adi Voicu, 2019), Black Clothes (Octav Chelaru, 2017), Candy Can, (d. Anton Octavian, 2021), Contraindications (d. Lucía Chicos , 2020) and Interfon 15 (d. Andrei Epure, 2021).
On June 15, the Polish public is invited to discover the Searching for Connection program, which consists of a series of films that address the need for their characters to connect with each other. Wrapped in a dreamlike atmosphere, the almost surreal approach of the directors who are present in this thematic program moves away from the conventional image that moviegoers might have of the landscape of Romanian cinema. The series includes titles such as: When Night Meets Dawn (d. Andreea Borțun, 2021), The Bed of Procrustes (d. Adrian Împărățel, 2018), Two nights in April (d. Andrei Inizian, 2017), Fairy Fever (r. Tudor Jurgiu, 2020) and Cradle (d. Paul Mureșan, 2021).
Longing for Belonging, the program presented on June 16, talks about longing and the need to belong. “I’m not part of this reality,” says the narrator of the first film in the series, invoking a general state characteristic to all the characters that the audience will meet in this selection, be they human or otherwise. In this program, the spectators of the Short Waves Festival will see: I am here (d. Alina Manolache, 2020), I was sleepwalking when I saw all these colors (d. Bogdan Balla, 2021), My mother is just one (d. Teona Galgoțiu , 2018), Kaimos (d. Sarra Tsorakidis, 2021), Invisibles (d. 4inaroom, 2020) and the The trophy of youth (d. Răzvan Oprescu, 2019).