The 25th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) opened in Cluj-Napoca on Friday, marking a major milestone for one of Central and Eastern Europe’s most prominent film events.
Running from 12–21 June, this year’s festival features 210 films from 49 countries. The competition programme includes 10 documentaries and 12 feature films, among them Hungarian director Gábor Holtai’s thriller Feels Like Home.
The film follows a woman who is kidnapped and taken to an apartment where a man forces a group of lonely and vulnerable people to pretend they are members of a family.
Hungarian cinema will receive additional attention during the festival’s Hungarian Day on 17 June, when more than a dozen Hungarian productions will be screened. Among the highlights are László Nemes’s Orphan, Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend, and György Pálfi’s Hen, which will be shown at the festival’s prestigious open-air venue on Cluj-Napoca’s main square. Several recent Hungarian productions will also be introduced to festival audiences.
To mark its 25th anniversary, TIFF has established a new award named after Jenő Janovics, a pioneering figure of Cluj-Napoca’s early film industry. The prize, which honours filmmakers who break new ground and shape the future of cinema, will be presented for the first time at the festival’s closing gala next Saturday.
The inaugural recipient will be Polish producer and festival founder Roman Gutek, who is also serving on this year’s international jury. Other jury members include Dutch film executive Sandra den Hamer, Serbian director Ivana Mladenovic, Irish actor Aidan Gillen and Romanian-born filmmaker and composer Noaz Deshe.
The festival will also honour Italian screen legend Ornella Muti and Romanian actress Anda Onesa with lifetime achievement awards. British cinema will be represented by director Ben Wheatley and actor Sam Riley.
This year’s TIFF Focus section is dedicated to Dutch cinema, while a special retrospective programme will revisit some of the most significant films screened during the festival’s 25-year history. Audiences will have the opportunity to watch classics by Luis Buñuel, Quentin Dupieux and the Coen brothers, alongside works by Romanian New Wave filmmaker Corneliu Porumboiu, who will receive a special award during the festival.
Among the most anticipated screenings is Romanian director Radu Jude’s latest film, Diary of a Chambermaid. Another highlight will be an outdoor screening at the historic Bánffy Castle in Bonțida, where audiences can watch Pedro Almodóvar’s newest feature, Amarga Navidad.
The anniversary edition also includes a wide range of accompanying cultural events. A dance performance will pay tribute to Italian composer Ennio Morricone, while exhibitions will celebrate the centenary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth and the achievements of Romanian gymnastics icon Nadia Comăneci, who famously earned a perfect ten at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
Comăneci will attend the festival’s opening gala, where organizers will present a preview of Nadia, an upcoming film about her directed by festival president Tudor Giurgiu. The festival opened with Giurgiu’s latest comedy, 3 Days in September.
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