Several Romanian productions and co-productions will compete in various sections of the Sarajevo Film Festival, which takes place between August 15 and 22.

Ivana Mladenović’s Sorella di Clausura, a Romania-Serbia-Italy-Spain co-production which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, has been included in the film’s main competition. Meanwhile, Hana Jušić’s God Will Not Help, a Croatia-Romania-Italy-France-Greece-Slovenia co-production starring Romanian actor Bogdan Farcaș, is also part of the main competition.

Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc’s Dad is included in the festival’s documentary film competition. The Romania-Germany-Netherlands co-production premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was selected at 15 international festivals.

The short film competition will screen two Romanian productions: Vasile Todinca’s Alișveriș, which premiered at Semaine de la Critique, a parallel section to the Cannes Film Festival, and Radu Muntean’s Index, which had its premiere at the Locarno Film Festival.

Marius Papară’s After Hours and Andrei-Tache Codreanu’s Cookies and Milk will be screened in the student film competition of the festival.

The festival’s four competition sections – for feature, documentary, short, and student films – will feature 16 world, five international, 28 regional, and two national premieres.

“The competition programs of the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival bring together filmmakers who, each from their own perspective and in various film formats and genres, explore how we live and how we survive within complex and unstable social frameworks. The backbone of this year’s competition programs are films that, transcending national boundaries, remain true to the universal stories that shape our lives. In this range – from topics that deal with today to those that question the past – this selection opens up space to remember, through film stories, what we all have in common: the need for meaning, for closeness, for understanding – ourselves and others,” creative director Izeta Građević said.

“The competition programs of the Sarajevo Film Festival are a space for showcasing new voices from Southeast Europe. We are proud to present a strong selection of films this year that reflect artistic courage, social relevance, and a diversity of perspectives – proving that exciting things are indeed happening in the cinematic landscape of our region,” Jovan Marjanović, director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, said.

(Photo: Wirestock | Dreamstime.com)

simona@romania-insider.com