American Independent Film Festival, now at its second edition, is the only festival in Romania dedicated to the American independent cinematography. The event aims to bring closer the Romanian cinephiles to the American narrative films reminding of productions of the famous American authors of the 1970s and 1980s. The festival will take place this spring between 27th of April and 3rd of May.

After a successful first edition which happened in September 2017 and had some important guests such as actors Ethan Hawke, Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly, American Independent Film Festival returns in the Bucharest movie theatres between April 27^th and May 3^rd.

This edition we will have the chance to meet Sebastian Stan, who is the most popular Romanian actor in the American film industry. You might remember him from Gossip Girl series or the films The Martian, Black Swan and Captain America. But his most recent leading role is in I, Tonya.

I, Tonya, a film based on true facts, which tells the story of the ice skater Tonya Harding, will be part of the opening night gala of American Independent Film Festival. For this film, Allison Janney received three trophies for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars, BAFTA and 2018 Golden Globes. Besides these awards, the film was nominated twice at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes, and also had four nominations at BAFTA Film Awards.

The film is scheduled on Friday, April 27^th, at 8:30PM, at Cinema PRO and will be followed by a Q&A session with the actor Sebastian Stan.

This edition will also present some remarkable films created by one-of-a-kind female directors, such as Chloé Zhao (The Rider) and Kelly Reichardt (Certain Women). Unlike the American classical productions with superheroes, these two films present profound, empathetic stories.

To the audience’s delight, this edition of the festival will feature the Oscar-nominee-film Lady Bird. The debut feature film of Greta Gerwig, which won two Golden Globes and was nominated at five Oscar categories, will have its Romanian premiere during the festival. Lady Bird brings in front of the public one of the richest and most complex mother-daughter story, in an emotional coming of age. The film will be screened on Friday, April 27^th, starting at 6:00 PM, at Cinema PRO.

Furthermore, the festival’s programme also includes a review of the most emblematic figure of the American independent cinematography, John Cassavetes. Five of his films will be screened at Cinema Peasant Museum: Shadows (1959), Faces (1968), A Woman under the Influence (1974), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) and Gloria (1980). The films will be presented by filmmakers or film critics like Cristian Tudor Popescu, Ionuț Mareș, Christian Ferenc-Flatz and Andrei Tănăsescu. The access is free.

The programme of AIFF also features: Wonderstruck, directed by Todd Haynes, the indie comedy An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, signed by the British filmmaker Jim Hosking, Golden Exists, by Alex Ross Perry, and Menashe, directed by Joshua Z Weinstein.

AIFF will take place between 27^th of April and 3^rd of May. The tickets can be found here. More details about the festival can be found on the festival’s website.

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.