The 15th edition of the One World Romania Festival kicks off on Friday, May 13. Opening the festival is A.I. at War (dir. Florent Marcie), which will be screened at the National Museum of Art of Romania – Auditorium Hall.

The documentary “radiographs aesthetical, political, and geographical war zones” (Victor Morozov). Journalist and director Florent Marcie documents various conflict areas around the world, to which he travels accompanied by a cutely designed robot called Sota, which has the capability of both capturing images and integrating information in its virtual brain, thus evolving as the action unfolds.

The films in the International Competition are made by emerging filmmakers, whose daring cinematic approaches push the boundaries of the documentary genre towards “an unknown full of promise”: Children of the Mist (dir. Diem Ha Le), Chronicles of that Time (dir. Maria Iorio, Raphaël Cuomo), Chermet (dir. Nikolay N. Viktorov), Bottled Songs 1-2 (dir. Chloé Galibert-Laîné, Kevin B. Lee), Father (dir. Wei Deng), I Am Free (dir. Laure Portier), Splinters (dir. Natalia Garayalde), Idyll (dir. Tatyana Lushnikova), Looking for Horses (dir. Stefan Pavlović), What Will Summer Bring (dir. Ignacio Ceroi), The Country (dir. Aleksey Lapin).

The eleven documentaries will be evaluated by two juries: one made up of professionals from the international film industry, and the other of high school students from around the country.

The festival sections cover topics related to the complexity of the natural environment, the human soul, war, social inclusion and human rights:

The Bruised Body of the Planet: the films in this section reflect upon the interaction between man and the environment in all its complexity;

At Home in the Wild: these films capture the extremely intimate relationships between filmmakers and their protagonists;

Body and Soul: the section focuses on the interconnections between ecological disasters and the biological ones happening within ourselves, between the health of the environment and the health of the human body and mind;

The Fruits of Labour: the films in this section explore the relationship between culture, public policies and working climates;

The Garden of All Flowers: dedicated to celebrating diversity and promoting social inclusion, regardless of nationality, gender, sexual orientation, ideology, or religion;

On the Origin of Species – How We Tell Our Histories: the section examines several modes of tackling history in documentary films;

When the Rug Is Pulled from under Our Feet: the status of the refugees and the phenomenon of migration make up the theme of this section;

The Law of Nature: Prey and Predator – the films in this category remind us what justice signifies as a moral and judiciary principle, applied in the context of the fight for human rights;

This Ukraine Will never Stop: what did Ukraine use to be like before its destruction? This is the question that the section seeks to answer through a series of documentaries that capture Ukraine before the recent Russian invasion, exploring its culture but also touching on the conflicts that had already been happening on its territory;

Double Bills: the section replaces the classic retrospective of the festival and presents three cinematic approaches belonging to internationally acclaimed filmmakers: Sergei Loznitsa and found footage, Chloé Galibert-Laîné and the “desktop documentary”, Nicolas Klotz & Élisabeth Perceval and the experimental documentary.

Work in Progress: the public will have the opportunity to step behind the scenes of five feature-length projects that are in different stages of development and which are made by some of the most promising emerging Romanian directors.

The screenings include discussions with festival guests, directors, producers, protagonists and many others.

The film program is complemented by a number of special events, such as:

Visual stories workshop with Oana Barbonie (May 14) – A space for experimentation and laboratory work, where the focus falls on “re-establishing our connection with the idea of ​​body-mind-environment, through observation exercises, scribbling and collage”.

Climate anxiety pill (May 16) – A debate that revolves around the question: How can we teach children and adolescents in an empathic manner about the worrying predictions of climate research experts?

Energy communities. How green energy can change the world (May 19) – What does it mean and what are the advantages of being a prosumer? How can energy communities help the planet? Guests: Greenpeace Romania.

Forests, biodiversity and forest soils (May 20) – About the dangers posed by unhealthy ecosystems and what solutions are there. Guests: George Bouroș – Association for the Conservation of Biological Diversity, Mihai Enescu – Plantăm Fapte Bune Association, Mihai Zotta – Conservation Carpathia Foundation.

One World Music Showcase (May 22) – A concert featuring Mădălina Pavăl Cvintet, Sazend and Pixar Stelar (dj set).

The 15th edition of the One World Romania Festival will take place physically, between May 13-23, in cinemas and other venues in Bucharest, and online, throughout the country, between May 23-31. For more details, visit the OWR website and Facebook page.

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.