{"id":1962,"date":"2026-06-12T09:04:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T09:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1962"},"modified":"2026-06-12T09:04:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T09:04:55","slug":"transilvania-film-festival-founder-industry-head-on-growing-the-international-facing-program-while-staying-true-to-its-romanian-roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1962","title":{"rendered":"Transilvania Film Festival Founder, Industry Head on Growing the International-Facing Program While Staying True to Its Romanian Roots"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tWhen Transilvania Intl. Film Festival founder Tudor Giurgiu began sketching the blueprint for the first edition 25 years ago, the then up-and-coming director knew he wanted the country\u2019s first international film event to be more than just a showcase of new Romanian cinema.<\/p>\n

Read more Charades, Diaphana Board \u2018The Little Run,\u2019 Julien Bisaro and Claire Paoletti\u2019s Follow-Up to \u2018Shooom\u2019s Odyssey\u2019 (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was dreaming that we could not just screen our films but present our upcoming projects to decision-makers. To have industry here,\u201d says Giurgiu, who was still several years away from making his directorial debut with the 2006 Berlinale premiere \u201cLove Sick.\u201d The prospects for Romanian filmmakers were, by his own admission, \u201cshitty\u201d; Giurgiu even considered emigrating in search of greener pastures.<\/p>\n

\n\tInstead, he decided to confront the challenge of \u201chow to offer better exposure to our films\u201d while also introducing an event that could serve \u201cas a launchpad for new [Romanian] projects.\u201d Hardly two years later, TIFF launched its Romanian Days industry section, and it quickly became what Giurgiu describes as the \u201cflagship initiative of the festival.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the years that followed, Romanian Days would grow alongside its burgeoning industry, which crashed the international stage in 2005, when Cristi Puiu\u2019s black comedy \u201cThe Death of Mr. Lazarescu\u201d won the Un Certain Regard Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and became entrenched as a bona fide cinematic movement two years later when Cristian Mungiu\u2019s \u201c4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days\u201d won the director the first of his two Palmes d\u2019Or.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt was this very interesting synchronicity between the splash of the Romanian films in Cannes with everything which was later branded as the Romanian New Wave, and the fact that the festival was growing very quickly,\u201d says Giurgiu. \u201cWe became not just a 10-day showcase for Romanian cinema, [but] a year-round platform for promoting local cinema.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the wake of those early Cannes triumphs, the Transilvania Film Festival became one of the hottest tickets on the international circuit, as programmers, sales agents, distributors and other industry professionals scrambled to discover the next Puiu or Mungiu. Two decades later, Romanian Days \u201cremain[s] committed to supporting emerging voices,\u201d particularly from the host nation, according to newly minted industry head Ami Geger.\u00a0Yet the platform has grown into a truly international event, expanding the geographical footprint of the countries it serves and widening its aperture to embrace the countless trends and challenges facing the global industry.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis year\u2019s program reflects many sides of filmmaking today, from development and financing to international distribution, music, series production and the opportunities, challenges and innovations that come with AI,\u201d Geger says. \u201cSome sessions look at broader trends and conversations around the international industry, while others focus more directly on the realities, challenges and opportunities within the Romanian industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe program\u2019s centerpiece remains the Transilvania Pitch Stop, a co-production forum open to first- and second-time filmmakers from\u00a0Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine, Greece, Turkey, Georgia and \u2014 for the very first time \u2014 Cyprus and Albania.\u00a0Among the films supported by the TPS since its first edition are \u201cApples,\u201d by Greece\u2019s Christos Nikou, which opened the Horizons sidebar of the Venice Film Festival in 2020; \u201cLa Civil,\u201d by Romania\u2019s Teodora Ana Mihai, which won the Prize of Courage in the Cannes Film Festival\u2019s Un Certain Regard sidebar in 2021; Ukrainian director Maksym Nakonechnyi\u2019s \u201cButterfly Vision,\u201d which bowed in Un Certain Regard in 2022; and\u00a0Mihai Mincan\u2019s\u00a0\u201cTo the North,\u201d which was\u00a0selected in Venice that same year.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Wednesday\u2019 Shooting Location Romania Looks to Rebuild Trust, Confidence With Revamped 30% Cash Rebate<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThis year\u2019s selection includes new projects from Ukrainian filmmaker Philip Sotnychenko, whose debut, the crime thriller \u201cLa Palisiada,\u201d was a Rotterdam premiere in 2023, and Turkish director\u00a0Belk\u0131s Bayrak, whose first feature, \u201cG\u00fclizar,\u201d played Toronto and San Sebastian two years ago. Also taking part in the forum is veteran Romanian cinematographer\u00a0Adrian Sili\u0219teanu, presenting his feature debut, \u201cAnother Story About My Son,\u201d and first-time filmmaker Octavian \u015earamet, with the folk-horror project \u201cSun Offspring.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOverall, the selection brings together a strong mix of established filmmakers preparing their next features and emerging voices with distinctive, internationally relevant stories,\u201d says Geger.<\/p>\n

\n\tA number of new wrinkles have been introduced to the 2026 edition of Romanian Days, including a Book to Screen program, open to Romanian authors, publishers and directors, that looks to tap into the growing global demand for adaptable IP. The Works in Progress screenings, meanwhile, have been expanded to showcase seven Romanian feature films in post-production, which will be bolstered by the launch this year of a \u20ac30,000 ($35,000) prize awarded by HBO.<\/p>\n

\n\tHighlights from the industry program, which takes place from June 18 \u2013 20, include a keynote address from veteran producer and European Film Academy chair Ada Solomon on the future of European film financing, and a focus on new funding models for European series. Several sessions will also spotlight the fast-moving developments around the use of AI in the industry, while the program is rounded out by a number of masterclasses from filmmakers including acclaimed Romanian auteur Corneliu Porumboiu \u2014 the subject of a retrospective at this year\u2019s Transilvania festival \u2014 and maverick U.K. director Ben Wheatley, in town to promote his latest film, \u201cBulk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAbove all, Geger says she hopes the industry sessions will serve as a catalyst \u201cto create opportunities for meaningful exchange and connection \u2014 between local and international professionals, between different generations of filmmakers, and between people working across different areas of the industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe see TIFF as a place where these conversations can happen naturally, where ideas can be shared openly, and where new collaborations can take shape,\u201d she says. \u201cBy bringing together both international perspectives and discussions that speak directly to the Romanian industry, we hope to create a program that is both inspiring and genuinely useful. If participants leave TIFF with fresh ideas, new connections and renewed energy for their projects and careers, then we\u2019ll feel we\u2019ve achieved what we set out to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Tudor Giurgiu on Charting a New Direction in Rollicking Transilvania Film Festival Opener \u20183 Days in September\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe Transilvania Intl. Film Festival runs June 12 \u2013 21.<\/p>\n

\nPictured: Tudor Giurgiu (left) and Ami Geger<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Transilvania Film Festival founder Tudor Giurgiu and industry head Ami Geger reflect on the 2026 edition of the flagship Romanian Days program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1680,1681],"class_list":["post-1962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-transilvania-film-festival-2","tag-tudor-giurgiu"],"yoast_head":"\nTransilvania Film Festival Founder, Industry Head on Growing the International-Facing Program While Staying True to Its Romanian Roots - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1962\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Transilvania Film Festival Founder, Industry Head on Growing the International-Facing Program While Staying True to Its Romanian Roots - 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