TIFF Sync
At its 25th edition, TIFF launches TIFF SYNC, a platform dedicated to the meeting point between cinema and music, created for professionals from both industries: directors, producers, composers, sound designers, music supervisors and artists interested in the role of music in cinematic storytelling.
TIFF SYNC proposes a series of masterclasses and conversations that open up a space for dialogue about the ways in which music can shape a film’s story, rhythm and emotion. From music scoring and cine-concerts to music as narrative architecture and the increasingly important role of music supervising, the programme brings internationally experienced professionals to Cluj in a setting designed for learning, exchanging ideas and creating the premises for future collaborations.
"For a long time, within the realism of Romanian cinema, there seemed to be room only for diegetic music. Generations have changed, filmmakers now have the courage to explore new genres, and I believe the time has come for film professionals and music professionals to meet, to create the premises for future collaborations, to connect with experienced practitioners and to learn from the mistakes others have already overcome. We are opening this new meeting platform, TIFF SYNC, at the 25th edition, and I hope it will remain, for many years to come, a component of the programme dedicated to industry professionals." Oana Giurgiu, TIFF Executive Director
The first TIFF SYNC session will take place on Friday, June 19, from 14:00 to 18:00, at Edison House of Music, 51 Ploiești Street, and will feature Alex Simu & George Dumitriu, Balz Bachmann and Gary Welch as invited guests. The programme will be moderated by Andra Vasile and Adina Popescu / Sync About It.
The masterclasses will be held in English.
FREE ENTRY, based on prior registration
Project supported by tthe Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Romania and Swiss Films
Internationally awarded Romanian clarinetist, saxophonist and composer, Alex Simu works at the intersection of jazz, world music and film music. Based in the Netherlands, he developed his artistic path between Groningen and Amsterdam, where he studied jazz, before continuing at the Manhattan School of Music in New York as an HSP Huygens scholar. During this period, he won major competitions such as the Utrecht Holland Casino Jazz Contest and the Dutch Jazz Competition, and in 2009 he was selected for the European Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Peter Herbolzheimer.
After completing his studies, he co-founded the quartet Arifa, whose albums received major distinctions in the Netherlands for Best World Music Release. As a bandleader, he released Echoes of Bucharest (2019), an album praised by the specialised press, while also building an active career as a film composer, writing scores for numerous award-winning international productions.
Active on the jazz and world music scene since 1999, Alex Simu has toured in 46 countries across five continents and collaborated with artists such as Alvin Queen, Brian Lynch, Benny Golson, Mari Boine and Aynur Doğan. Since 2015, he has been teaching at Codarts University for the Arts in Rotterdam and is involved in the research and development of wind instruments, contributing to the contemporary revival of rare members of the clarinet family.
Violist, violinist, guitarist, composer and improviser, George Dumitriu is a Romanian musician based in Amsterdam, active at the crossroads of jazz, improvised music, contemporary music and music theatre. Trained first in Bucharest and later in Groningen, Amsterdam and New York, he has developed a personal language that brings together the discipline of classical music, the freedom of improvisation and a deep interest in sonic exploration, using both acoustic and electronic instruments.
He is present on the international scene through numerous projects and collaborations, working with artists such as Ambrose Akinmusire, Kaja Draksler, Jim Black and Ab Baars, and performing with ensembles including North Sea String Quartet, Brainteaser Orchestra and Kaja Draksler Octet. In parallel, he leads his own projects — DUMItRIO, Monk on Viola and George Dumitriu Hazard Ensemble — each reflecting a distinct and personal artistic direction.
His solo album Monk on Viola was enthusiastically received by international critics, included in best of 2023 lists and mentioned in publications such as The New York City Jazz Record, Jazzism and All About Jazz. Also active as an educator, George Dumitriu teaches violin, viola and guitar at the Utrecht Conservatory, contributing to the development of a new generation of musicians.
Swiss composer, producer and musician Balz Bachmann has been writing music for film, theatre and media art since 1997. He studied double bass at the Swiss Jazz School in Bern before shifting from instrumental performance — guitar and bass — towards composition. Over time, he expanded his sonic vocabulary to include electronics and piano, creating a musical universe that moves between electroacoustic, orchestral, experimental, noise, electronic and ambient environments.
Throughout his career, he has collaborated with artists and directors such as Jasmila Žbanić, Sophie Heldman, Dani Levy, Sabine Lidl, Lisa Brühlmann, Andro Wekua, Sophie Hunger, Thomas Imbach, Ramon and Silvan Zürcher, Sabine Gisiger and Academy Award winner Xavier Koller. These collaborations reflect his interest in developing film and art through a musical language built in direct dialogue with image, space and sound.
For Balz Bachmann, each project demands its own internal logic and its own musical DNA. Music must act physically, on the body, but it can also withdraw, fracture or resist the image. His compositions have received awards and nominations from the Locarno International Film Festival, the Swiss Film Award and the German Documentary Film Music Award, and in 2024 he was selected for the “Spot the Composer” programme at the Festival de Cannes.
Gary Welch is an independent film music supervisor specialising in feature films and documentaries, and is widely regarded as one of the leading supervisors for music-led films. In 2024, he won Best Film Music Supervision at the British Independent Film Awards for Kneecap, and in 2016 he was named Best Film Music Supervisor of the Year at the Music Week Sync Awards. He has received several nominations from the Guild of Music Supervisors Awards, including for documentary work, and was recently nominated at the 2025 Hollywood Music & Media Awards for The Ballad of Wallis Island.
Throughout his career, he has collaborated with leading directors such as Werner Herzog, Kevin Macdonald, Edgar Wright, Sophie Fiennes, Chris Smith, Euros Lyn, Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, working across commissions for major platforms, broadcasters and streamers. With over one hundred film credits, Gary Welch has worked on numerous music documentaries, including The Greatest Night in Pop, The Sparks Brothers, Kneecap, Disney’s Camden, Cyndi Lauper: Let the Canary Sing, Meet Me in the Bathroom, Dio: Dreamers Never Die, Nothing Compares, Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande and KSI: In Real Life.
His recent drama credits include The Ballad of Wallis Island, starring Tim Key, Carey Mulligan and Tom Basden, and Four Letters of Love, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Pierce Brosnan. Gary started out in the music industry in 1994 through record distribution, before moving into club promotion, label management, PRS for Music and sync licensing within music publishing. Before becoming one of the UK’s most respected music supervisors, he was also active as a DJ, club promoter and radio presenter.
