European Film Promotion (EFP) once again is reaching further East. The ROMANIAN FILM PROMOTION Association (APFR) has joined EFP, the European-wide network of film promotion and export organisations, during the 59th Cannes International Film Festival. In February 2006, the POLISH FILM INSTITUTE and the SLOVAK FILM INSTITUTE were the most recent organisations to become a member of EFP which now has 27 member organisations. EFP is financially supported by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union.

APFR’s main objective is to promote the Romanian cinema throughout the world and support the positioning and release of Romanian films on the international market. After a long period of absence, Romania is participating this year in the International Village at the Cannes Film Festival and organising a Romanian pavilion as part of the 2006 Marché du Film. Recent successful features like How I Spend The End of the World, Was it or Was it Not and Marilena From P7 have been selected for Cannes 2006. In previous years, Romanian films like Mr. Lazarescu’s Death (Award for the best film Un Certain Regard, Cannes 2005), Love Sick (screened this year in the Panorama section of the Berlinale) or shorts like Coffee And Cigarettes (Golden Bear 2004), Traffic (Palme D’Or 2004) drew attention to Romania as a film country.

Although APFR is not a governmental body, it is encouraged by the National Center for Cinematography. APFR is the organiser of the already well-known Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) which takes place at the end of each May/ beginning of June in the old city of Cluj (Romania). 2005’s edition screened 90 films and the total admissions were more than 33.000 spectators, with 150 local and foreign journalists accredited as well as 320 Romanian and foreign guests.

Mihai Gligor, Project Manager of the Romanian Film Promotion Association, sees great opportunities in being part of an EFP network:
“Having three Romanian films in Cannes this year, we hope to build on last year’s success of the award-winning Mr. Lazarescu’s Death (Award for the best film Un Certain Regard). Becoming a member of the network of European Film Promotion, and having a pavilion after a long time of absence, we are looking forward to having a greater visibility within the international film business and becoming more involved as a part of the film industry at international film festivals and markets.”