European Film Festival kicks off in Bucharest this week
<p>The 28th edition of the <em>European Film Festival</em> opens in Bucharest on Europe’s Day, May 9. The event, which takes place in several cities in the country, will end this year’s run in Chișinău on June 8, the weekend of the EU Parliament elections.</p>

<p>The program covers 40 feature films, 34 of them national premieres, and two short film selections. Of the latter, 16 films are directed by women, and two are co-directed by women.</p>

<p>“We mark 35 years since the [1989] Revolution with films about rights won. Perhaps most importantly, we enjoy the freedom of movement, the very premise of the Austrian documentary&nbsp;<em>Tomorrow I Leave</em>, shot mostly in Romania.&nbsp;<em>The Rye Horn</em>, the winner of the grand prize of the San Sebastian festival, references the freedom to decide on our bodies. At last,&nbsp;<em>Direct Action</em>, the big winner of the Berlinale’s Encounters section, is a tribute to freedom of speech and protest,” Cătălin Olaru, the artistic director of the festival, explained.</p>

<p>“This doesn’t push aside the perspective of abuses, as we learn from&nbsp;<em>Blaga’s Lessons</em>, the winner of the top prize at the Karlovy Vary festival, or of inequities, which infuse&nbsp;<em>Il pleut dans la maison</em>, screened for the first time in the Semaine de la critique section of the 2023 Cannes festival. Still, we hold on to the reasons for joy: we are free to choose the content we consume, comment on them, and dream.”</p>

<p>In Bucharest, the festival takes place between May 9 and May 15 at Sala Luceafărul (the opening gala on May 9), Elvire Popesco and Union cinemas (May 10 – May 15) and Cinemateca Eforie (May 11 – May 12).</p>

<p>The event also takes place in Botoșani (May 10 – May 12), Târgu Mureș (May 16 – May 18), Sibiu (May 17 – May 19), Chitila (May 17 – May 19), Curtea de Argeș (May 18 – May 19), Brașov (May 24 – May 26), and Chișinău (June 6 – June 8).</p>

<p>The full program is listed <a href="https://ffe.ro/2024/filme-program/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">here</a>. Tickets for the Bucharest screenings are available at Eventbook.ro and at the ticket office of the cinema halls. Access is free in the rest of the cities.</p>

<p><em>(Photo:&nbsp;Festivalul Filmului European&nbsp;on Facebook)</em></p>

<p><em>simona@romania-insider.com</em></p>