American Independent Film Festival .7
starts with heated debates and special screenings
Tickets are available on eventbook.ro
The American Independent Film Festival .7 starts on Friday, April 21st at Cinema Elvire Popesco and Cinemateca Eforie in Bucharest. Opening night will feature two premieres: the feature film A THOUSAND AND ONE – Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2023, at Cinemateca Eforie, and the first episode of the HBO Europe miniseries SPY/MASTER, which will be screened at the Elvire Popesco cinema, in the presence of part of the crew.
Also on Friday, on the first day of the festival, a professional debate will be taking place at the Elvire Popesco Cinema, open to both the press and the public, on the relationship between the Romanian cash rebate law and the local film industry. THE ROMANIAN CASH REBATE AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE LOCAL FILM INDUSTRY aims to clarify how the cash rebate works in practice, and will be held together with professionals from the Romanian film industry.
On the second day of the festival, the OPEN TALK: SCRIPTWRITING FOR TV, from Craft to Packaging will be taking place. The discussion between Gabriela Iacob (Head of Scripted Content Development at PRO TV and one of the mentors of this year’s WRITE A SCREENPLAY FOR… screenwriting contest), Radu Stancu (film producer), Diana Păroiu (film producer), Sorana Borhina (screenwriter), Doru Vătavului (screenwriter) will be explaining the system and the tools that professional or amateur writers can use to quickly make their way to a successful TV script.
All proceeds from AIFF will be donated to a social cause, and this year will go towards supporting NGOs fighting for legislation to prevent the transport of live animals. To better understand the scope of the phenomenon but also to see what legal tools are available to rectify the situation, Gabriel Păun, Ovidiu Roșu and Mihai Dragolea – some of the most important voices in the fight to ban animal transport and abuse – will speak to the public on the third day of the festival, at the Cinema Elvire Popesco, during the OPEN TALK: BAN LIVE ANIMAL EXPORT.
“Looking for a way to raise public awareness of certain humanitarian and social causes in the most non-didactic way possible, we thought that an event, where by buying a ticket to a film, you are already supporting a social cause is the most appropriate way – as all ticket proceeds at AIFF are always donated. At the same time, we are striving to strengthen the American Independent Film Festival as an event that includes, on the one hand, a training component and, on the other hand, a lifestyle component, a social experience that goes beyond just watching a film, and in this sense the interventions at AIFF, in person or on Zoom, of well-known film people such as Ethan Hawke, Steven Spielberg or Sebastian Stan helped a lot. The American Independent Film Festival aims to aggregate a community, to create social connections and exchange ideas between people, starting with film screenings that are not just entertainment,” says Cristian Mungiu – the festival’s founder.
The festival programme presents important titles from American independent cinema, all in national premiere. But not only that, AIFF audiences will be among the first in the world to see BEAU IS AFRAID – a film premiering in the United States just days before the Bucharest screening. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix who “gives his all in a performance of breathtaking intensity,” The Hollywood Reporter. The film is distributed in Romania by Bad Unicorn.
Two Oscar-winning titles will premiere at AIFF.7: WOMEN TALKING, which won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards this past March, and THE WHALE, which also stars Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield in the Netflix series Stranger Things. Brendan Fraser won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his lead role in the film. Other great films available during the weekend at AIFF: I LIKE MOVIES – “a triumphant mix of classic and contemporary cinema in one adorable film” (Slant), FUNNY PAGES – “ordinary life, complex stuff, in the funniest sense” (The New York Times) and POLITE SOCIETY – “an action film in which comedy takes an unexpected turn” (The Guardian).
Following workshops which will take place during the weekend of April 21st-23rd, the projects that will move on to the next stage of the WRITE A SCREENPLAY FOR… contest – a script development workshop in which more than 300 projects from over ten countries entered this year – will be announced.
The festival will continue with screenings across the country, and from June 23rd-25th, the second weekend of AIFF will take place outdoors at Roaba de Cultura in Herastrau Park, with more events, guests and premieres.
Once again this year, AIFF spectators will be able to admire classic American model cars in the courtyard of the French Institute in Romania during the festival, thanks to our partners from Retromobil Club Romania.
Tickets for AIFF.7 have gone on sale at: https://bit.ly/BileteAIFF7. Admission to the talks is free and can be done with a 0-value reservation on Eventbook.ro. Each ticket also comes with a Voyo voucher valid for 30 days.
All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to support the cause that AIFF is highlighting this year with ARCA – Animal Rescue and Care, Animals International and BRUNO Shelter Association, all involved in the banning of transport of live animals.
The Cluj-Napoca edition of the American Independent Film Festival will take place simultaneously with the one in Bucharest, between April 21st-23rd, at Cinema Arta and Cinema Victoria, and is presented by Fortech, a GlobalLogic Company.
Organised by: Asociația Cinemascop, AIFF.7 is a cultural project financed by The Ministry of Culture.
With the support of: Banca Transilvania, The Embassy of the United States of America*, The Romanian Cultural Institute, Dacin Sara.
Partners: French Cultural Institute in Bucharest, Cinema Elvire Popesco, National Film Archive, Cinemateca Română, Europa Cinemas, Eventbook, Retromobil Club Romania.
Main Media Partners: PRO TV, Radio Guerrilla, AGERPRES.
Media Partners: Zile și Nopți, Cinemap, Vice, Igloo, Films in Frame, Urban.ro, Ziarul Metropolis, Film Menu, IQ Ads, Smark, Observator Cultural, LiterNet, MovieNews, Cinefilia, CineFan, AARC – All About Romanian Cinema, Munteanu, CineGhid, Radio România Cultural, Business Review.
*This project is funded in part by a grant from the US Department of State. The opinions, findings and conclusions presented during the project are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. State Department.
Festival trailer by Foarfeca Studio
More info about AIFF7 :