First edition - 2002

The first edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival took place from June 3 to June 9, 2002, in Cluj-Napoca.

A total of 43 films from 15 countries were screened, 11 of them in competition. Over the seven days of the festival, 65 screenings took place in two cinemas.

The main red-carpet attraction was the presence of Canadian actor Jason Priestley, internationally famous for his role as Brandon Walsh in the hit series Beverly Hills, 90210.

The two historic cinemas in Cluj-Napoca where the films were screened during the first edition of TIFF in 2002 were Cinema Republica, later renamed Cinema “Florin Piersic”, and Cinema Victoria. At the time, the festival started on a much smaller scale than today, offering audiences screenings hosted exclusively in these two venues. Cinema Arta was added to the festival circuit only starting with the second edition, in 2003, while open-air screenings were introduced beginning with the third edition, in 2004.

The first edition of TIFF brought together 8,701 spectators.