The 27th edition of the French Film Festival will take place between March 15-26 in Bucharest and 12 other cities: Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași, Arad, Brașov, Brăila, Constanța, Craiova, Sfântu Gheorghe, Sibiu, Suceava and Târgu Mureș.

Special guests include actress Françoise Lebrun (to present Jean Eustache’s 1973 film, La Maman et la Putain), director Clément Cogitore (Goutte d’or, 2022), director Jean-Paul Salomé (La Syndicaliste, 2022), and writer Marie NDiaye (laureate of the 2009 Prix Goncourt for her novel Three Strong Women and co-writer of the 2022 legal drama by Alice Diop, Saint Omer).

This year’s theme Cinema, mon amour focuses on the solidarity with cinemas in Romania, which have been in a difficult situation for many years.

Starting from this pressing issue, one of the key events will be the debate entitled What is the future of our cinemas?, organized in partnership with Films in Frame. Filmmakers, producers and distributors will be invited to discuss the current state of cinemas in Romania and possible solutions to increase their number. Moreover, a delegation of the École nationale supérieure des métiers de l’image et du son (Fémis) – the most important film school in France – will be present in Bucharest.

The event will take place on March 21 and will include three round tables: The determining role of cinemas in film production, Case study: Encouraging initiatives (about the reopening of former cinemas in Timișoara and arthouse cinemas in France), Restoring the number of cinemas across Romania.

Other important events and screenings

• The audience will have the chance to see Jean Eustache’s Mes petites amoureuses and La maman et la putain on the big screen in their restored versions.
• Pépites francophones – Celebrating 30 years since Romania has been a member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, which promotes the French language, cultural and linguistic diversity, the section showcases films presented at the most important international festivals, such as La Ligne (dir. Ursula Meier), Dalva (dir. Emmanuelle Nicot), and Ashkal (dir. Youssef Chebbi).
• TV5MONDEplus – TV5 Monde launches the free streaming platform in Romania. The event will be attended by Yves Bigot, Chief Executive Officer of TV5 Monde. The films on the platform will be available with Romanian subtitles.
• Panorama – The well-known section brings 10 films that enjoyed great success in France in 2023. Among them are L’innocent (dir. Louis Garrel), the opening film of the festival, La Nuit du 12 (dir. Dominik Moll), Revoir Paris (dir. Alice Winocour), Les Enfants des Autres (dir. Rebecca Zlotowski), and Saint Omer (dir. Alice Diop).
• Young Talent Competition – feature film – showcases debut films by emerging directors: Mourir à Ibiza (dir. Anton Balekdjian, Mattéo Eustachon and Léo Couture), Astrakan (dir. David Depesseville), Goutte d’or (dir. Clément Cogitore), La Passagère (dir. Héloïse Pelloquet), Petite Nature (dir. Samuel Theis).
• Young Talent Competition – short film – includes 5 short films by young filmmakers who have captivated the French audience.

Last but not least, film enthusiasts in Bucharest are welcome to two after-parties that will take place on March 17 and 25 at the Wolff Platform. The events will be accompanied by screenings of films selected at the Ars Electronica Festival and DJ sets by French artists Kleo and Vitamine.

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.