The European Film Festival (FFE) (5-29 May 2016) wrapped up with a country tour, in five local editions: Baia Mare, Cluj-Napoca, Tg Mureș, Hunedoara and Timișoara. To the over 110 screenings held during the Festival, around 8,100 admissions were registered, of which 5,200 inBucharest. „Our Festival is being built thanks to the contribution of each country in Europe, and might be seen as the most eloquent metaphor of European multi-culturalism and of the success of the co-operation between various schools and trends”, Liviu Jicman, Vice-president of the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) stated. The anniversary edition of the European Film Festival presented 85 films to the audience, offered by the Embassies of 29 countries, by the European ParliamentOfficein Romania, by One World Romania Festival and Romanian distributors (4 Proof Film, 42 KM FILM, Aparte Film, HiFilm Productions, Independența Film, Mandragora, Mobra Film, Rova Film, Strada Film and Transilvania Film). The tenth HonoraryAmbassador was Anca Damian, who offered
the idea for the promotion spot, which she also directed and produced. Her guest to this project was Olimpia Melinte.
The Festival blended toget her visual arts with music (within the events Imaginarium and CineConcert Jazz), with education (the workshops hosted by Ileana Bîrsan and the CinEd screenings), with photographic exhibitions and with debates hosted by representatives of some of the screened features' filming crews.
The four cities disputing the title of 2021 European Cultural Capital (Baia Mare, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara) benefitted from local editions of FFE. The viewers of the Bucharest edition ruled on the winners of the two Popularity Awards for feature film – Little England (Greece, 2013), and for short and medium-length film – to the feature Echos (Republic of Moldova, 2015).
The Festival's guests were: actors Lars Ranthe, Levente Molnár, Ștefan Velniciuc, Cristian Priboi, Adrian Loghin, Oana Tudor and Radu Romaniuc; directors Cătălin Mitulescu, Roxana Stroe, Alina Manolache, Iulian Stanciu, Lari Gligor, Dumitru Grosei, Valeriu Jereghi and Ivan Nitchev; plasticartist Sabine Pleyel an photographer Silviu Gheţie, musicians Alessandro Giachero, Horia Maxim, Mihaela Arnica and Georg Hamann, film reviewers Cristian Tudor Popescu, Mihai Fulger, Iulia Blaga, Cătălin Olaru and Ileana Bîrsan; cameramen Florin Mihăilescu and Laurențiu Răducanu, editor Gabi Basalici andsound technician Ciprian Cimpoi.
The four special sections of FFE were as follows:
1. 10 Festival's special friends: a retrospective of films made available by the honorary ambassadors of the latest 10 editions: Cristi Puiu, Corneliu Porumboiu, Cristian Mungiu, Marian Crişan, Radu Jude, Radu Muntean, Cătălin Mitulescu, Adrian Sitaru, Tudor Giurgiu and Anca Damian.
2. Shakespeare 400, set up with the support of the British Council, on the occasion of the anniversary of 400 years since the passing of the great playwright.
3. LUX, section set up with the support of the European Parliament Office in Romania, and including the 3 finalists of the latest edition of the LUX Award granted by the European Parliament.
4. Fuga în Europe/Escape to Europe, a section about the refugees and immigrants' crisis, with films offered by One World Romania Festival, and by the Information Office of the European Parliament in Romania.
The European Film Festival is organised by the Romanian Cultural Institute, under the aegis of EUNIC Bucharest, together withthe European Commission Representative in Romania, with the Romanian Filmmaking Unions and the National Film Archives, with the support of the embassies and cultural centres of European countries, of the European Commission Representative, the Czech Centre, Cervantes Institutes, „Vito Grasso” Italian Cultural Institute, the Austrian Cultural Forum, the British Council and Balassi Hungarian Institute.
and of the success of the co-operation between various schools and trends”, Liviu Jicman, Vice-president of the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) stated..jpg)
the idea for the promotion spot, which she also directed and produced. Her guest to this project was Olimpia Melinte.
Festivalul Filmului European - Ediția a XX-a, 2016
