Now that spring is (really) here, I am sure that no one wants to stay at home. This is why we suggest you to spend at least one evening at the cinema in this weekend. The programme includes two national film premieres and a long expected film festival, Bucharest Fashion Film Festival, for those who are passionate about this genre. But, if you prefer to spend your weekend relaxing at home, we have three Romanian film recommendations for you.

1. Untamed Romania (dir. Tom Barton-Humphreys; documentary). In the heart of Europe there is a fabulous natural life: a wildness which represents the home of numerous creatures. Endless mountain chains, ancient forests, infinite waters, all these host reference creatures for the old continent. There are landscapes of beauty and wildness where the lives are dictated by seasons. Creatures that seem to be part of legends live freely and the animals fight for survival. Untamed Romania with Victor Rebengiuc is a unique documentary about nature, which will show us all these lovely stories.

The film’s premiere will take place on Friday, April 13^th, and can be seen at Movieplex Cinema, Grand Cinema & More and Happy Cinema during the entire weekend.

2. Loving Vincent (dir. Hugh Welchman, Dorota Kobiela; animation). Loving Vincent presents the controversial life and death of Vincent van Gogh through an animation created of his paintings, with characters painted by him. The film’s intrigue features interviews with close friends of Vincent and a dramatic reenactment of the events that caused the artist’s death. The film received in 2017 the European Film Academy Award for Best Animation and was nominated at the 2018 Academy Awards and 2018 BAFTA Awards for Best Animation of the year.

As per usual, we have three fun facts about this special animation:

• Loving Vincent is the world’s first fully painted animation feature.
• Each of the film’s 65.000 frames is an oil painting on canvas, using the same technique as Van Gogh, created by a team of 100 painters.
• Over 60% of the film’s artists are women.

Loving Vincent will also have its Romanian premiere on Friday, April 13^th, and can be seen during this weekend at Grand Cinema & More and Happy Cinema.

3. Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist (dir. Lorna Tucker; documentary). This is the first film that encompasses the remarkable story of Vivienne Westwood. The documentary was first presented at Sundance Film Festival and includes archive interviews with Vivienne and her collaborators. The public will discover the life and career of this unique cultural character, starting with her childhood and continuing with fashion catwalks in Milan and Paris, protests against the patriarchy, Greenpeace missions in Arctic, also presenting the her brand’s principles in the context of consumerism.

The film can be seen at Bucharest Fashion Film Festival’s closing gala, on Sunday, April 15^th, starting at 8:30 PM at Elvire Popescu cinema. The tickets can be purchased here.

Our recommendations for a weekend spent at home:

1. Back home (dir. Andrei Cohn; drama) – As usual, for Romanian film recommendations which can be watched in the comfort of our homes, we rely on our friends from Cinepub. Robert is a young writer who passes through a difficult time in his life. He goes back home, to the village where he was born, for the first time since his mother passed away and spends 24 hours. After many years, he meets his father, his best friend from childhood and his girlfriend from adolescence.

The film can be watched for free on Cinepub.

2. Meda or the not so bright side of things (dir. Emanuel Pârvu; drama). The film tells the story of Doru, a lumberjack, whose wife died recently. He knows that Meda, the girl they took care of for eight years, is at risk of being sent back to the orphanage. He decides to fight for adoption but he needs to come up with money. It is a story about difficult situations and life decisions.

The film will be broadcasted on Cinemax 2 and Cinemax 2 HD on Saturday, April 14^th, at 9:30 PM, and again on Sunday, April 15^th, at 10:20.

You can find out more about Meda and the not so bright side of things by reading the interview with Emanuel Pârvu on our website.

3. The trip we took with dad (dir. Anca Miruna Lăzărescu; comedy, drama). The story is set in Arad, in 1968. Romanian –German brothers Mihai and Emil have one thing in common: their sick father. They find out that a surgical intervention made in Dresda could save him. But, on their way to the German Democratic Republic, they are caught in the aftermath of the Prague Spring.

The film can be seen on Cinemax 2 and Cinemax 2 HD on Saturday, April 14^th, at 10:55 PM and on Sunday, April 15^th, at 2:40 PM.

Romina Banu

Photographer and editor; she co-founded Dissolved Magazine together with Melissa. For Films in Frame she gathers film and TV series recommendations for lazy weekends and she writes about interesting projects from the film industry. Other than that, she likes traveling, chilling with her cats and sleeping.