The Romanian Days selection made by Artistic Director Mihai Chirilov gathers 11 feature films and 20 short films, some of them world premieres.
TIFF audiences will have the chance to watch the world premiere of Alexandru Maftei's (Hello! How Are You?) new feature film, adapted from Mircea Eliade's eponymous fantasy novel, Miss Christina. The film's protagonists are Tudor Aaron Istodor, Anastasia Dumitrescu, Ioana Anastasia Anton, Ovidiu Ghiniță, Ioana Sandu, Maia Morgenstern and Ioan Andrei Ionescu.
Another world premiere is The București Experiment, by Tom Wilson. Starting from the conclusion that the 1989 revolution was, in fact, a coup d'état, the British born but Bucharest settled DJ and journalist directs a mockumentary about a Securitate experiment, which actually never happened: to turn the "socialist man" into the "capitalist man". The characters are played by Andrei Juvină and Carmen Anton. Wilson is also the director of a short film presented this year, Before the Fall.
Another experiment and world premiere is Dan Chișu's newest film, Déjà Vu. Mirela Oprișor, Ioana Flora and Gabriel Răuță are the protagonists of a peculiar story: after 20 years of marriage, a man decides to ask for a divorce and to bring his mistress for the first time into his home. Shot entirely from the POV of the man, Déjà Vu has only six scenes, which were rehearsed two weeks and shot in 10 days. The whole film was naturally lit.
Matei, Child Miner, Alexandra Gulea's feature film debut, premieres domestically at TIFF after its world premiere in the Rotterdam International Film Festival. This Romanian-German-French coproduction tells the story of Matei (Alexandru Czuli), an 11-year-old boy raised by his grandfather (Remus Mărgineanu) in a poor mining area after his parents went to look for work in Italy.
Another Romanian Days debut is Love Building, by Iulia Rugină. In a camp designed to mend broken relationships, 14 young couples have seven days to re-design their love lives. But the 3 trainers meant to assist them – played by Dragoș Bucur, Alexandru Papadopol și Dorian Boguță - have problems of their own and things gradually get out of hand.
Other Romanian Days titles are the documentary Here... I Mean There (by Laura Căpățână Juller), and the feature films Domestic (by Adrian Sitaru), Rocker (by Marian Crișan), A Month in Thailand (by Paul Negoescu) and A Farewell to Fools (by Bogdan Dreyer). Romanian Days will begin on June 6 with the Unirii Square screening of this year's Golden Bear, Child's Pose (by Călin Peter Netzer), presented out of competition.
The short competition encompasses 20 films. Among them are Shadow of a Cloud, by Radu Jude, selected in Cannes' Directors’ Fortnight section, In the Fishtank (by Tudor Cristian Jurgiu), selected in Cannes' Cinéfondation competition, The Cement Maker (by Liviu Săndulescu), which premiered in Clermont-Ferrand, Bad Penny (by Andrei Crețulescu), My Baby (by Luiza Pârvu), The Ditch (by Adrian Silișteanu), Family Pictures (by Andrei Cohn) or Maria (by Claudiu Mitcu). Last year's winner (with the short film Blu, which also received the Gopo for "Young Hope"), Nicolae Constantin Tănase, returns to TIFF with 12 Minutes.
The Romanian Days jury is composed of director/producer Mona Nicoară (Our School), film critic and FIPRESCI member Yael Shuv and film critic and Rotterdam IFF selector Evgeny Gusyatinskiy.
FEATURE FILMS
1. Child’s Pose/ Poziția copilului (by Călin Peter Netzer) – out of competition
2. Here... I Mean There / Aici... adică acolo (by Laura Căpățână Juller)
3. A Farewell to Fools/ Condamnat la viață (by Bogdan Dreyer)
4. Déjà Vu (by Dan Chișu)
5. Domestic (by Adrian Sitaru)
6. Miss Christina/ Domnișoara Christina (by Alexandru Maftei)
7. The București Experiment/ Experimentul București (by Tom Wilson)
8. Love Building (by Iulia Rugină)
9. Matei, Child Miner/ Matei, copil miner (by Alexandra Gulea)
10. A Month in Thailand/ O lună în Thailanda (by Paul Negoescu)
11. Rocker (by Marian Crișan)
SHORT FILMS
1. 12 Minutes/ 12 minute (by Nicolae Constantin Tănase)
2. Bad Penny (by Andrei Crețulescu)
3. Before the Fall (by Tom Wilson)
4. The Cement Maker/ Betoniera (by Liviu Săndulescu)
5. Tape no. 4: Alexandra/ Caseta numărul 4: Alexandra (by Cristian Pascariu)
6. Claudiu and the Fish (by Andrei Tănase)
7. As You Like It/ După fel și chip (by Paula Oneț)
8. Family Pictures/ Fotografii de familie (by Andrei Cohn)
9. Grindcore (by Ioachim Ciobanu)
10. I'm a Walking Contradiction (by Raia al Souliman)
11. In the Fishtank/ În acvariu (by Tudor Cristian Jurgiu)
12. Maria (by Claudiu Mitcu)
13. My Baby (by Luiza Pîrvu)
14. The Pill of Happiness/ Pastila fericirii (by Cecilia Felmeri)
15. Rio 2016 (by Bianca Rotaru)
16. The Ditch/ Șanțul (by Adrian Silișteanu)
17. Shadow of a Cloud/ O umbră de nor (by Radu Jude)
18. The Finnish Cow/ Vaca finlandeză (by Gheorghe Preda)
19. Waste (by Anton Groves)
20. Weekend at the Seaside/ Weekend la mare (by Răzvan Tache)
