Shorts
CALUP 1
PERFECT TWO
de Xandra Popescu (15 min)
A picturesque trip, getting lost, an unexpected entanglement, dashed dreams, the terror of mortality.
VOR VENI PLOI BLÂNDE/THERE WILL COME SOFT RAINS
de Lucia Chicoș (2022, România, 18 min)
Maria and Vlad spend their last night at the student dorm before moving out. They can’t fall asleep because of the hot weather, the noisy neighborhood and the things they don’t tell each other. Vlad reads to Maria a bedtime story about a planet where it rains endlessly, which later turns out to be an incantation.
B 777 ADF
de Vlăduț Iosef (2022, România, 14 min)
A driving instructor sabotages his student’s practical test in order to spend more time together.
CROCHIU DE NATURĂ MOARTĂ/ SKETCHES OF STILL LIFE
de Vlad Popa (34 min)
In a studio shared with a funeral services company, a young painter awaits feedback on his latest work, but the various comments he receives leave him with an overall uncertain impression.
IORGU
de Matei Preda (2022, România, 19 min)
In a garage on the outskirts of Bucharest, the only Pro Wrestling matches in Romania. This documentary is a hands-on portrait of Iorgu Aggressor, the champion of this unknown phenomenon for the Romanian audience, that alongside his brother Denis and the founder of the wrestling promotion Tom, gives a perspective about the obstacles that the best performer in a niche sport faces, but, more importantly, answers the question “Why do something like this?”
CALUP 2
EDUCAȚIE SENTIMENTALĂ/SENTIMENTAL EDUCATION
de Alma Buhagiar (2023, România, 28 min)
A family evening brings back several unresolved dilemmas.
DANSEZ ȘI EU LA NUNTA PARINTILOR MEI/DANCING AT MY PARENTS’ WEDDING
de Andreea Chiper (2022, România, 23 min)
25 years after her parents’ wedding, a filmmaker discovers the VSH recording of the event. By watching and rewatching the images, she tries to discover more about her family, but eventually finds herself trapped in a world of hidden memories..
KARINA de Ilinca Hărnuț (2023, România, 19 min)
Karina loves everything about Dan, his Instagram, his music, the conversations they have online. This was his band’s first concert after the pandemic and she finally gets a chance to meet him in person. But his sister and brother in law are also meeting him in front of the venue, so the four of them end up spending the evening together. Karina is much too young for Dan, and even though everyone is trying to overlook the obvious, their morality will eventualy be put to the test.
A.I. POETRIES OF FEMALE AND NON-FEMALE BEINGS IN GAS STATIONS AT NIGHT
de Cristina Iliescu (2022, România, 18 min)
How should one closely navigate female and non-binary experience through virtual mediation? This experimental documentary casts a type of gaze that transcends the boundaries of concrete reality, looking for the human factor within generally accessible technologies.
CALUP 3
OUR SUMMER BREAK/ EXERCIȚIU DE CONCEDIU de Lara Ionescu (2023, România, 22 min)
Ana and her mother reunite on a holiday by the seaside after years of not speaking to each other. The sea and the wild landscapes rebuild the family ties suspended in time.
REMOTE / LA DISTANȚĂ
de Dana Rogoz (2023, România, 2023)
A woman takes her friend on a trip to the rural area, where she hopes to find a house to move into with her partner. They prefer to sleep at the house of an old lady, instead of a touristic guesthouse. A local man appears at their door.
I’M OK WITH YOUR LAST WISHES
de Catrinel Dănăiață (2022, România, 15 min)
Paul, a young man who comes to the seaside in search for a weekend of fun, takes a side road that leads him to an isolated place where, guided, attracted and seduced by a mysterious woman, he enters a fantastic universe. A universe where good and evil are difficult to distinguish, a universe where Paul experiences an adventure outside of time and space that will mark him forever…
ÎNTRE MARGINILE ZILEI/ BETWEEN THE EDGES OF THE DAY
de Andreea Lăcătuș (2023, România, 19 min)
A taxi car enters Bucharest in the middle of the night; Mara and her mom are seeking refuge with relatives. As an attentive passenger, Mara is observing the adults around her and starts doubting their reasoning.
TOATE NEAMURILE
de Alexandra Diaconu (2022, România, 22 min)
During the pandemic, a grieving family finds solace in through dark humor and video calls with relatives abroad.
