The 5th edition of the American Independent Film Festival starts Wednesday, June 23rd. It will take place at the Romanian Peasant Museum Cinema, outdoors at Food Hood, and online on Eventbook.

As every year, the festival offers a selection of exceptional American films, from classic productions to some of the newest award-winning titles, brought to the big screen for the first time in front of the Romanian public.

The film honored this year on the festival’s visuals is the cult film Bonnie and Clyde (1967, dir. Arthur Penn), starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, which won two Oscars at the time for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress (Estelle Parsons).

The AIFF.5 program includes several long-awaited titles, now presented in Romanian premiere:

Judas and the Black Messiah (dir. Shaka King) – The Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Daniel Kaluuya) and Best Original Song, the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and many other nominations and awards; “The film tells the story of the betrayal of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Black Panther Party in late 1960s Chicago, by FBI agent William O’Neal (Lakeith Stanfield).” (by AIFF)

Minari (dir. Lee Isaac Chung) – The Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Yuh-Jung Youn); “Minari follows the story of a Korean-American family who moves to a farm in Arkansas in search of their own American dream. Amid the challenges of their new life, the couple discovers the undeniable resilience of family and what home really means.” (by AIFF)

Lorelei (dir. Sabrina Doyle) – The Jury Prize at the Deauville Film Festival; “Lorelei is a working-class fable about a biker, a mermaid and three shades of blue, the first feature film from director Sabrina Doyle.” (by AIFF)

The Assistant (dir. Kitty Green) – The Louis Roederer Foundation Directing Prize at the Deauville Film Festival; “The Assistant captures the moment when Jane, a recent graduate aspiring to be a film producer, lands her dream job – assistant to a showbiz mogul. As Jane goes about her daily routine at the office, she becomes increasingly aware of the abuse that insidiously colours every aspect of her workday.” (by AIFF)

Iconic Debuts

The festival would not be complete without the celebration of established American directors. In this section, the audience is invited to look back at the directorial debuts of contemporary filmmakers such as Joel and Ethan Coen (Blood Simple, 1984) Richard Linklater (Slacker, 1990), and Jim Jarmusch (Stranger than Paradise, 1984).

AIFF.5 takes place between June 23-27, 2021. For more info, visit the AIFF website and Facebook page. Tickets are available at the Romanian Peasant Museum Cinema and online on Eventbook. Entry to all screenings at Food Hood is free, within the limits of available seats.

Melissa Antonescu

Writer, photographer and videographer. For Films in Frame she writes news about the latest happenings in the film world and brings to the readers' attention the productions that can be seen at the cinema. When she's not writing articles, she's photographing people in a small studio or searching for new cake recipes.