Schedule:

November 2, 2023

FREEDOM (Libertate) - 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

In the chaotic days of the December 1989 revolution that overthrew the Communist regime, the Transylvanian city of Sibiu becomes the scene of a violent assault on a Police unit that quickly escalates into a bloody confrontation between soldiers, policemen, civilian protesters and representatives of the secret police. In a desperate attempt to escape the siege, Police captain Viorel is captured by the army and thrown into an empty swimming pool along with hundreds of prisoners accused of being terrorists.

Director Tudor Giurgiu
Member of the European Film Academy, Tudor is the founder and President of the “Transilvania International Film Festival” (TIFF), the most prestigious film-related event in Romania.
His directorial debut feature “Love Sick” was selected in Panorama section of 2006 Berlinale and awarded in several int’l festivals. His short “Superman, Spiderman or Batman” (2011) won Best European Short at the 2012 edition of European Film Academy Awards. Tudor’s 2nd feature, “Of Snails and Men”, was awarded in Warsaw IFF and Valladolid IFF. “Why Me?”, an unsettling legal thriller based on a real case of corruption in present-day Romania, premiered in 2015 Berlinale Panorama.

November 3, 2023

ANOTHER LOTTERY TICKET (Înc? dou? lozuri) - 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Sile gets out of prison with the idea of getting rich by mining cryptocurrencies. Together with Dinel and Pompiliu, they meet Ionu?, the county prize winner, with whose help they manage to mine cryptocoins worth 6 million euros, which they store on a USB stick. Dinel is responsible for keeping the stick safe, but he manages to lose it very quickly, so the three go in search of it.
The film is a sequel to the movie “Two Lottery Tickets” which was released seven years ago and enjoyed a resounding success, with full cinemas and critical acclaim at film festivals in Romania and abroad.

Director Paul Negoescu
Born in 1984, Paul Negoescu studied film directing at the National University of Theatre and Film, Bucharest (UNATC). His short films were selected in many international festivals. His debut film, “A month in Thailand” premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2012, while his second feature, „Two Lottery Tickets”, became one of the most successful Romania film at the box office. “The story of a summer lover”, his 3rd feature, was distributed

November 4, 2023

TO THE NORTH (Spre nord) - 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Based on a true story. 1996, open sea.
During his shift on a transatlantic ship’s deck, Joel, a religious Filipino sailor, discovers Dumitru, a Romanian stowaway hidden between some containers. If he is spotted by the Taiwanese officers running the vessel, Dumitru is at risk to be thrown overboard. Joel decides to hide him, as a sign of his gratitude towards God. Soon, a dangerous cat and mouse game begins. When his crew, his own friends, even God Himself starts to turn their backs on him, Joel learns that he has to face his cruel destiny alone.

Director Mihai Mincan
Mihai Mincan, born in 1980, graduated from the University of Philosophy in Bucharest in 2002, and with and MA in Philosophy of Architecture, from the University of Poitiers, in 2003. Mihai studied Philosophy, dreaming of writing „the ultimate“ treatise on anonymity, which never saw the light of day. He was a journalist for 13 years, writing every day about events varying from funerals of unknown people, big court cases and poverty, to interviews with writers, musicians, and theatre or film directors. Since his first script, back in 2008, he wrote and directed short films, documentaries and long features, while still searching for the perfect short sentence. In 2022, his debut feature, “To the North” premiered in the Orizzonti competition of the 79th Venice International Film Festival.

DAY OF THE TIGER (Tigru) - 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Vera is a small-town veterinarian from Transylvania, whose marriage with actor-director Toma is going through a difficult period. On a particular day, while a new tiger is brought to the zoo where she works, Vera finds out that her husband is hiding something. While going through an emotional breakdown, Vera has to search for an escaped tiger.

Director Andrei T?nase
After graduating from the National University of Theatre and Film, Bucharest (UNATC), Andrei T?nase worked as a translator, tour guide, freelance writer-director for a couple of television shows, participated in Sarajevo’s 2010 Talent Campus and made a few critically acclaimed fiction shorts. The most recent one, “First night”, premiered in Venice, 2016 and received several awards in festivals around the world. Andrei is now preparing his debut feature.

“Day of the Tiger”, written and directed by Andrei T?nase, is one of the most anticipated debuts of the year. In an interview published by Films in Frame, Andrei T?nase said: “I like it when drama is deflated by the absurd”. The director manages to perfectly describe, in just one sentence, a vital essence of his feature film debut.

November 5, 2023

BOSS -  4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Romanian director Bogdan Miric?’s second feature centers on a troubled character torn between his secret criminal affairs and his dysfunctional romantic relationship.

It follows Bogdan, who takes part in an armed robbery with three men he barely knows. While fleeing the crime scene, he accidentally runs over a witness who ultimately dies. This will disrupt the very core of his moral being.

Director Bogdan Miric?

After graduating from Journalism, Bogdan Miric? works as an editor, copywriter and novelist, until 2005 when he becomes the youngest Creative Director in the European advertising industry, at the age of 27. Nonetheless, his interests in cinema lead him to study Screenwriting and Producing at the University of Westminster, London and then to a career in the industry.
While he starts working as a script reader in London, he also attends several workshops taught by Martin Scorsese, Ken Loach, Bruce Robinson, etc. Ultimately he decides coming back to Romania where he works as a screenwriter, his present credits including two feature films and a TV series.

In 2011 Bogdan writes and directs his first short film Bora Bora, winner of Best European Short Film in Premiers Plans (Angers, France), winner of Best Romanian Film at Transylvania Film Festival and selected amongst others at Festival del Film Locarno, Warsaw Film Festival and Thessaloniki Int’l Film Festival. His feature film Dogs (Câini), 2016, received the FIPRESCI award at Cannes International Film Festival

MEN OF DEEDS (Oameni de treaba) - 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Followed by a Q&A with film critic Mihai Fulger

Ilie, a small-town police chief, wants to build a modest comfortable life for himself, but ends up making the wrong choices. Middle-aged and alienated, he feels the need to be a part of something – to build an orchard, even a home. Although dubious things happen in the village, Ilie only sees what suits him. The moment he gets involved in the village marks the beginning of his collapse. In a vacuum of solutions, he tries to be what he has never been before: the justice seeker who arrests everyone guilty.

“An exceedingly mordant comedy that gradually bleeds out to tragedy, Paul Negoescu‘s “Men of Deeds” is another Romanian exercise in finding personal and institutional corruption under every upturned stone, behind every unlocked small-town door, in every heavily conditional handshake. Audiences won’t be nearly as startled, but it’s bleakly compelling all the same.” (Variety)

Date: November 2 - 5, 2023

Location:

Landmark's E Street Cinema -

555 11th St NW

Washington, DC 20004

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