Romanian film review – Este Film Festival, American Independent Film Festival & French classics
<p>If you are in Sibiu until Sunday, drop by at <a href="https://estefilm.ro/">ESTE FILM Festival</a>, celebrating its 8th edition. The competition, featuring Romanian short films, is accompanied by a special programme dedicated to Mexican cinema, more precisely Mexico City, and what must be the loveliest mix of recent films, with Bas Devos’ tender <em>Here</em> (easily my favourite of 2023), Aki Kaurismäki’s deadpan <em>Fallen Leaves</em>, and Alice Rohrwacher’s magical <em>La Chimera</em>, all stories of romance and wonder.</p>
<p>In Bucharest, the <a href="https://filmedefestival.ro/american-independent-ff/en/">American Independent Film Festival</a>, also at its 8th edition, will kick off on 7 June (until 13 June, and also travelling to Bran castle), and it brings both fresh fare and some fab classics. The new(er) films include Rose Glass’ lesbian romance/ small-town crime genre bender (featuring bodybuilding) <em>Love Lies Bleeding</em>, Alexander Payne’s period comedy <em>The Holdovers</em>, with a potential to become a perfectly acerbic Christmas classic, and Nathan Temple’s wonderfully sweet, awkward and uplifting <em>Between the Temples</em>. The classics are no less impressive, from Roger Corman’s homage to Edgar Allan Poe’s Gothic horror <em>The House of Usher</em> (1960) to another horror classic, David Lynch’s must-see <em>Twin Peaks </em>(1990), season 1, screened in all its brilliant, twisted, mind-spelling glory of seven hours. I cannot praise this series enough; it was formative viewing when it hit TV screens in the 1990s. Once seen, never forgotten. Lynch creates images and moods that burn into your retina and brain.</p>
<p>To bridge the time, Elvire Popescu cinema, always reliably good, has been screening classics to celebrate 100 years of the French Institute in Romania, such as Carl Theodor Dryer’s masterpiece <em>The Passion of Jeanne d’Arc</em>, one of the most shattering, powerful films ever made. On a lighter note, but no less wonderful, François Truffaut is one of THE hugely influential French directors, and his endearing coming-of-age marvel <em>The 400 Blows</em> (1959) has lost none of its freshness. I am particularly happy to see they've also programmed my favourite Truffaut, the hilarious, self-referential <em>Day for Night</em> (1973), about a movie set and all its challenges. A hard-to-direct cat steals the show. Check out the screenings <a href="https://eventbook.ro/hall/cinema-elvire-popesco?page=1">here</a>.</p>
<p><em>By Ioana Moldovan, columnist, <a href="mailto:ioana.moldovan@romania-insider.com">ioana.moldovan@romania-insider.com</a></em></p>
<p><em>(Photo info &amp; source: still from </em>Here<em> @ESTE FILM Festival)</em></p>
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