How did “Sofia Meetings” exact­ly help in the production of movies of young Bulgarian filmmakers and in finding partners? It helped in establishing contacts with extremely helpful and experienced people, with sharing of the experiences of these people by raising the level of writing the screenplays, screenwriting development, the basics of the regula­tion mechanisms for doing co-produc­tions. It turned into a know-how on how to do the things and how they happen. Which a...

The new wave of Romanian film sweeps across the world. In January, it will hit Sweden in full force when Göteborg International Film Festival, in co-operation with Romanian Cultural Institute, shows six of the past year's strongest films from Romania. This section also includes four Romanian classics, seminars, short films and a Mihail Livada retrospectiv. Aurora
 Viorel has a rifle in a bag and spends much of his time observing a family from a distance. Slowly, slowly, we understand his ...

  The revolution in Romanian cinema that began several years ago with the astonishingly original films THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU (2005), 12:08 EAST OF BUCHAREST (2006) and 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS (2007), continues to flex its muscle, with a strong showing at the New York Film Festival, which opened this past weekend. Three extraordinary films from Romania will be featured at the Festival, New York's most prestigious film event. AURORA, the latest effort from director Cristi Puiu...

Against the background of an overall decline of US revenues from foreign films, Europe as the dominant source  of such productions has been surpassed by Asian Countries. Even for   internationally acclaimed films as evidenced by  awards and critical reviews, the income seems minuscule.  Of the 1000 foreign language films  which entered the US market since 1980, 70% scored less than $1 million and only 22 more than $10 million. For each successful foreign release there are dozen if not hu...

Against the background of an overall decline of US revenues from foreign films, Europe as the dominant source of such productions has been surpassed by Asian Countries. Even for internationally acclaimed films as evidenced by awards and critical reviews, the income seems minuscule. Of the 1000 foreign language films which entered the US market since 1980, 70% scored less than $1 million and only 22 more than $10 million. For each successful foreign release there are dozen if not hundreds o...

In the world of cinema, there is always a “new wave” occurring in a country or region or even genre. No question, in 2007/2008, that new wave is centered in the country of Romania, which has flexed its muscles on the international stage with a series of lauded films. At last year’s Cannes Film Festival, the Romanian abortion drama 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS by Cristian Mingui was the surprise winner of the Palme d’Or, the Festival’s highest honor. Another Romanian film 12:08 OF BUCHA...

 Tuesday, April 22----In the world of cinema, there is always a “new wave” occurring in a country or region or even genre. No question, in 2007/2008, that new wave is centered in the country of Romania, which has flexed its muscles on the international stage with a series of lauded films. At last year’s Cannes Film Festival, the Romanian abortion drama 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS by Cristian Mingui was the surprise winner of the Palme d’Or, the Festival’s highest honor. Another Roman...

By Ben Cookson Romanian filmmaking attracted world attention in 2007 when two films were honored at the Cannes Film Festival. Cristian Mingui’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, a harrowing portrayal of illegal abortion, was awarded the prestigious Palme D’Or, and California Dreamin’, a tale about American soldiers during the Kosovo conflict, won Un Certain Regard for its director Cristian Nemescu.Tragically, Nemescu won the award posthumously, as the young director was killed in a car acciden...

 Monday, October 22---------On Saturday, veteran film journalist Nick Roddick led a provocative discussion on the sudden emergence of film gems from what had seemed like a most unlikely source: Romania. 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS (which is screening at the London Film Festival) was the surprise winner of the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival (a first from the cinema of that rather unknown and misunderstood country). Attention is definitely focused on the former Communist state as a ...

 Wednesday, September 5----------4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS, the searing drama by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu which won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival this year, has added to that triumph by being named as the Film of the Year by the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI). The film, which also won the FIPRESCI Prize in Cannes, is making its Canadian Premiere next week at the Toronto International Film Festival.  The film, the latest in a recent renaissance of...

Friday, December 29-----In a last farewell nod to the best films of the past year, respected film website IndieWire has announced the results of its first annual Critics Poll. The Romanian drama THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU, an emotionally devastating meditation on the thin line between life and death, was the top choice of a group of 100 leading North American film critics. The film, the second feature of director Cristi Puiu, won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, wa...

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....

9th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival that finished on Sunday was a feast for Asian films as two of the jury's main prizes went to the works from this region. At festival closing ceremony on the 10 December the Grand Prix of competition programme EurAsia was handed to the Chinese film "Shanghai Dreams"(dir. Wang Xiaoshuai), Hou Shiao-shien from Taiwan received the award for best director for his epic "Three Times". The Audience Award went to Asia as well - Kim Ki-duk won Estonian viewers’ fav...

The head of the jury was this year Eva Isaksen (Norway). Other members of the jury included :Yesim Ustaoglu (Turkey), Jaak Allik (Estonia), Thomas Mauch (Germany) and James Ragan (USA).GRAND PRIX FOR BEST EURASIAN FILM (with cash award of 10.000 EUR) SHANGHAI DREAMS /QING HONG (Wang Xiaoshuai, China)JURY PRIZE FOR THE BEST DIRECTORHOU SHIAO-SHIEN (Three Times / Zui Hao De Shi Guang, Taiwan / (China))JURY PRIZE FOR THE BEST ACTORJESPER CHRISTENSEN (Manslaughter / Drabet, Denmark)JURY PRIZE FOR TH...

The European Film Academy has announced the nominations for the European Film Awards of 2005 (to be presented in Berlin, on December 3). European FilmBrodre (Brothers) by Susanne BierCaché (Hidden) my Michael HanekeDon't Come Knocking by Wim WendersL'Enfant (The Child) by Jean-Pierre & Luc DardenneMy Summer of Love by Pawel PawlikowskiSophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage (Sophie Scholl, The Final Days) by Marc Rothemund European DirectorSusanne Bier for Brodre (Brothers)Roberto Faenza for Alla luc...

The 49th Festival programme(which runs October 19 to November 3) includes over 180 feature films screened in 13 venues across London. This two week cultural celebration of cinema showcases groundbreaking new feature films from countries ranging from West Africa to Argentina, Sweden to South Korea, alongside documentaries, restored classics, shorts, animation and artists' film and video work.Opening the Festival on Wednesday 19 October, is the UK premiere of Fernando Meirelles' highly acclaimed T...

41st Chicago International Film Festival: October 6-20, 2005 An overview of the film line up.Film titles reveal a sexy edge with bits of romance, kiss, addictions, sex addictions, housewarming, The Courage to Love in the Buried Forest at Bee Season and a hidden blade to finish with 2 aurora...Addictions and SubtractionIn Addictions and Subtractions (Columbia/Spain), director Victor Gaviria probes a hot-topic issue that few Latin American filmmakers dare to explore: drugs. This is the stunning ch...

The Transilvania International Film Festival awarded it's winnersThe fourth edition of Transilvania International Film Festival (Cluj, 2005) awarded this year’s winners, at the Awards Gala which took place at Cluj National Theatre on the 4th of June 2005. TIFF Jury AwardsThe Transilvania Trophy (ex-aequo, 4000 euro) went to two films from the official Competition: the Russian movie 4 directed by Ilya Khrzanovski and Whisky (Uruguay, Argentina, Germany, Spain 2004), by Juan Pablo Rebello and Pa...

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu from Romanian director Cristi Puiu was awarded the Un Certain Regard-Fondation GAN Prize, bestowed by the Jury headed by American director Alexander Payne. This sort of road-movie in an ambulance follows the nighttime trip of 63-year-old Mr. Lazarescu, who is sick and living alone in an apartment with three cats. La Fondation GAN pour le Cinéma, in association with the Un Certain Regard section, awarded this prize worth 30,000 euros to the French distributor of the fi...