The 15th edition of the Bucharest International Film Festival (BIFF) opens on June 24 with the Romanian premiere of the film
High Life (2018), directed by Claire Denis, featuring Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche. For one entire week, the viewers will have the chance to watch 18 films, divided in more sections, at the Peasant Museum Cinema, Elvire Popesco Cinema and the Garden with films – cinema and more. The special guest of this edition is the well-known Filipino Brillante Mendoza. Winner of the Special Award of the Jury in San Sebastian,
Alpha: The Right to Kill, 2018, is B
rillante Mendoza`s latest film and it will be screened in the presence of the director, who on Friday night will take part in a discussion with the viewers.
Eight films, out of which seven in Romanian premiere, compete for the three trophies in the international competition: the Big Prize (4,000 Euro), the Best Director Award (2,500 Euro) and the Best Screenplay Award (2,500 Euro). The awards are supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR), the traditional partner and supporter of the BIFF.
Two titles of this year`s edition of the Cannes International Film Festival can be seen for the first time in Romania in the BIFF competition:
Sibyl, the film with which the French director Justine Triet competed for the Palme d`Or and Homeward, the feature debut of the Tatar-born Ukrainian director Nariman Aliev, presented in the Un Certain Regard section. The Japanese film
Asako I & II (2018), by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi was also part of the Cannes competition, but in 2018. The film was really well received by the critics and it travelled a lot in international festivals, such as San Sebastian, Busan, BFI, Rotterdam or Viennale. BIFF also brings
Piranhas / La paranza dei bambini (2019), of the Italian director Claudio Giovannesi, awarded for the screenplay in Berlin this year and also
Hellhole (2019), of the Belgian director Bas Devos, which was also screened at Berlinale, in the Panorama section. The BIFF competition also includes the shocking film of Sundance
Divino Amor (2019), the third feature film directed by the Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro and the Romanian film One and a Half Prince (2018), by Ana Lungu, included in the Sarajevo competition last year.
The international jury that will decide the winners is formed of the artistic director of the Haifa International Film Festival, Pnina Blayer (president), the actor
Dan Nuţu, the German director
Sandra Nettelbeck, the director
Paul Negoescu and the French producer Anthony Bobeau.
The Panorama section of BIFF will include three interesting films:
Loro (2018), the film about Silvio Berlusconi, made by the famous Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, which will be screened at the Closing Gala on Sunday,
Synonyms (2019), directed by the Israeli director Nadav Lapid, which received the Silver Bear of the Berlin Festival at the beginning of this year and
Give Me Liberty (2019), the second film of the director Kirill Mikhanovsky, which had the premiere at Sundance and then was included in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs section in Cannes.
Two titles are part of the Focus France section, included in the Romania-France Cultural Season:
Un homme fidele (2018), the second film directed by Louis Garrel, the famous French actor, which received the Best Screenplay Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival. The second French film presented at BIFF is the animation
Les Hirondelles de Kaboul (2019), directed by Zabou Breitman şi Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec, recently presented in the Un Certain Regard of the Cannes Film Festival and in the Annecy competition.
This year, the Romanian film section of the BIFF
pays tribute to the cinematographer Vivi Drăgan Vasile and the production designer Cristian Niculescu. The Garden with Films – Cinema and More, of Creart will host the screenings of three films that the two of them worked on together:
Kino Caravan / Caravana cinematografică (2008, directed by Titus Muntean),
Q.E.D. (2013, directed by Andrei Gruzsniczki) and
Moromeţii 2 (2018, directed by Stere Gulea). There is free access to the three screenings. They will be followed by Q&As with Vivi Drăgan Vasile and Cristian Niculescu. On Saturday, from 18:00, the Teatrelli Theatre will host a Masterclass held by Vivi Drăgan Vasile about the film cinematography; the access is also free.
Bucharest International Film Festival is organized by the Charta Foundation under the High Patronage of his HRH Prince Radu. The event is organized as part of the Romania-France Season 2019. This cultural project is financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Identity.
Supported by: Bucharest City Hall, throughCreart – the Center of Creation, Art and Tradition of the city of Bucharest, the Garden with Films – Cinema and More, Teatrelli, The Romanian Cultural Institute, the Rom
anian Film Center, Elvire Popesco Cinema, Romanian Peasant National Museum, Romanian Filmmakers Union (UCIN), DAcin Sara. Partners: DHL Express Romania, Independența Film, Icon Films, Grand Hotel Continental, Journey Pub, El Grande Comandante, Doncafe Brasserie, La Mama, Restaurant DaDa, Green Hours jazz&theatre-café, Simbio, Le Boutique Hotel Moxa - Bucharest, Reber, NESCAFÉ, Cerealele Nestlé, Tiriac Auto și Hyunday. Parteneri media: RADIO GUERRILLA, Zile si Nopti Bucuresti, TV5MONDE Romania, Catavencii, Blitz TV, Ziarul Metropolis, Aarc - All About Romanian Cinema, LiterNet.ro, CineGhid, Verbs describe us. Special Thanks to PINK STRIPE Group & Zenith Media România.
Details:
biff.ro