Alyssa, a rebellious 19-year-old girl, and her friend Mehdi, an introverted 23-year-old man, use their imagination to escape their unpromising reality.
Schedule
Friday 13.06
TIFF 2025 OPENING GALA: CHRISTY
The 24th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (Cluj-Napoca, June 13–22, 2025) will open with Christy (dir. Brendan Canty, Ireland/UK, 2025), a hopeful coming-of-age story about resilience and the power to start over, recently awarded at the Berlinale.
November
In 19th-century Estonia, werewolves and spirits roam free, and Jesus co-exists with kratts, the farmers’ mythological helpers made of tools and bones.
Saturday 14.06
Islands
Tom is the tennis coach at a luxurious island hotel, filling the time between lessons with alcohol and one-night stands. He strikes up a relationship with guests Anne, her husband Dave and their son Anton.
The Man from London
After witnessing a crime during his night shift as railway switchman near the docks, a man finds a briefcase full of money. While he and his family step up their living standards, others start looking for the disappeared case. Based on the thriller novel of Georges Simenon!
Dreams (Sex Love)
Johanne falls in love for the first time… with her teacher. To preserve her feelings, she documents her emotions and experiences in writing. When her mother and grandmother read the account, they were shocked by its intimate content...
The Black Hole
When the aliens land on Earth, they will change the lives of everyone they meet. Sirje and Maret, dreaming of finding work abroad, end up in an extraterrestrial science experiment. Jüri, still living with his mother, falls in love with his lustful neighbour, Gertrud.
Sunday 15.06
Noise
A woman with a hearing impediment who is haunted by sounds linking to her sister's disappearance and the presence of a malevolent spirit. It leads to a dark secret and the revelation of a mysterious entity.
Being Maria
Maria is a young, struggling actress with promise. When an emerging Italian director casts her to
The Home
Years after leaving the small town behind, Joel returns to move his mother Monika to a home for the elderly struggling with dementia. However, Monika’s health takes a turn for the worse soon after her arrival.
Monday 16.06
Cine-concert Aurora
Aurora (Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, 1927), directed by F.W. Murnau, is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of early cinema. The story follows a farmer (George O'Brien) who falls under the spell of a femme fatale from the city (Janet Gaynor), who persuades him to murder his wife. However, the film transforms into a profound meditation on love, remorse, and redemption.
The Return
After 20 years away, Odysseus washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognisable. The King has finally returned home but much has changed in his kingdom since he left to fight in the Trojan war.
Alpha.
After his mother passes away, Rein moves to a small village in the Alps to be immersed in nature, meditate and work as a snowboard teacher. His quiet bubble bursts when his extroverted father Gijs comes to visit.
Imago
Late 1980s, at the Polish Coast. The old communist order is in decline, but a new order is yet to be established. Ela is just entering adulthood - already knowing she will not fit into any of these worlds.
Tuesday 17.06
Electric Child
Sonny and Akiko’s joy upon the arrival of their first child quickly turns to panic when their doctor gives them unimaginable news.
And the Rest Will Follow
Famous film director Levent is completely unaware of Aliye, a housekeeper at the hotel where he is staying. However, Aliye, who is trying to tailor a new life story for herself, knows Levent and his films very well.
Wednesday 18.06
World Between Us
Marie no longer feels at home in her native Mikulov, nor does she feel like she belongs to America. The phenomenon of pulling up one’s roots, migrating elsewhere, and finding a new home in a foreign land is a universal theme.
Family Nest
Irén lives with her daughter in a small apartment of her in-laws, in the center of Budapest. Her husband Laci just came back from his national service and his relationship with Irén is deteriorating.
Embrace of the Serpent
The story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people, and two scientists searching the Amazon for a sacred healing plant.
Special screening in honor of director Ciro Guerra, who serves as a jury member at TIFF 2025!
New Dawn Fades
It’s been years since Akın has been in and out of the hospital. He’s relentless, angry, and shell-shocked from being stuck in the system. Since his discharge, he’s well aware that his old life is long gone.
Thursday 19.06
A Hunt for Hedgehogs
Bogi, a talented opera singer student, earns money by babysitting the children of her cousin, whose marriage is in crisis. On the day of her final exam, she is under pressure and commits an error while she is with the children.
Tooth and Nail
Two filmmakers follow an entrepreneur turned eco-activist as he exposes Romania's timber mafia. Their journey takes a dramatic turn when, in the middle of a forest, the three are attacked by a group of 12 angry men.
A Whale
Ingrid is a hired killer with a special power: she can use the darkness to enter a parallel world and reappear somewhere else in the real world. This allows her to get into the homes of her victims and get out again without leaving any trace.
Werkhmeister Harmonies
An innocent young man witnesses violence break out after an isolated village is inflamed by the arrival of a circus and its peculiar attractions: a giant whale and a mysterious man named “The Prince”.
Friday 20.06
Moor
Ex-military Beibars, nicknamed Moor, returns from prison to look after his brother's family, but finds that his brother has disappeared, leaving huge debts behind. It's up to Moor to pay. If you ever wished for a Kazakh Rambo, here it is!
Little Syria
Shot over 20 years, Little Syria follows the quest of a brother, his sister and her boyfriend trapped between Syria, from where they ran for their lives, and Europe, which seems at times to embrace them and and then to push them back where they came from.
Saturday 21.06
The Marching Band
Thibaut is an internationally renowned conductor who travels the world. When he learns he was adopted, he discovers the existence of a younger brother, Jimmy, who works in a school cafeteria and plays the trombone in a small marching band.
Beyond Rock Bottom
In the shadow of addiction, Boróka and Szilveszter join a Recovery Centre to confront their inner demons through methods of rock climbing, embarking on a transformative journey of self-discovery, and the reevaluation of their past lives.
Sunday 22.06
Cine-concert Amadeus LIVE
After performances at the New York Philharmonic and Royal Albert Hall London, the film Amadeus (dir. Miloš Forman, 1984), depicting the life and work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, will be screened at the Transilvania International Film Festival (June 13–22, 2025, Cluj-Napoca).