Marin Karmitz, guest of honor at Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest, to celebrate mk2’s 50th anniversary

Marin Karmitz, one of Europe’s most influential film producers, directors and distributors, will be the guest of honor at the 15th edition of Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest. He will be present at the festival from October 27-29, along with his two sons, Nathanaël and Elisha Karmitz, and will participate in screenings and Q&A sessions in the cinema hall. Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest is dedicating a retrospective to mark the 50th anniversary of mk2, one of the largest and most important cinema production, distribution and operating companies.

Founded by Marin Karmitz in 1974 and now run by his two sons, mk2 stands out both for its role in the production and distribution (in France and internationally, as a sales agency) of auteur films, and for its vast network of cinemas, including some of the most popular cinemas in Paris (such as mk2 Bibliothèque and mk2 Quai de Seine) and in Spain.

Born in Bucharest in October 1938, Marin Karmitz is particularly recognized for his significant contributions to auteur cinema. For the films he directed or produced, Marin Karmitz received more than 150 awards and nominations at major film festivals around the world. It has won five Palme d’Ors, three Golden Lions, a Golden Bear, three Oscar nominations and 25 César awards.

Camarades
Coup pour coup
Un été inoubliable
Souviens-toi du futur !
Taste of Cherry

Retrospective 50 years mk2

At the 15th edition of the festival, two feature films directed by Marin Karmitz – Camarades (1970) and Coup pour Coup (1972) will be screened, as well as two short films directed by him: Nuit, Noire Calcutta (1964), after a screenplay by Marguerite Duras, and Comédie (1966), co-directed with Samuel Beckett, in a recently restored 4K version.

The documentary Souviens toi du futur!, directed by Romain Goupil, an intimate portrait of Marin Karmitz through the lens of his passion for photography, will be premiered in Romania as part of a retrospective. The film will be screened shortly before by Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest and at the Institut Lumière in Lyon.

Several other iconic films from the mk2 catalog will complete the retrospective. Quatre nuits d’un rêveur (directed by Robert Bresson), recently restored in 4K and presented in the Cannes Classics section this year, the 4K restoration of Taste of Cherry (directed by Abbas Kiarostami), produced by Marin Karmitz and winner of the Palme d ‘Or in 1997 or An unforgettable summer (directed by Lucian Pintilie), also produced by Marin Karmitz.

Films presented at Cannes 2024 and sold internationally by mk2 will also be screened as part of the retrospective. These include Jia Zhang-Ke’s Caught by the Tides (Competition), Christophe Honoré’s Marcello Mio (Competition) and Jonathan Millet’s Les Fantômes (opening film – Semaine de la Critique section), all three very well received at Cannes this year. Jonathan Millet’s Les Fantômes will have its national premiere at Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest.

The screenings of the mk2 50 years retrospective are scheduled from October 27 until the end of the festival edition.

The Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest festival returns between October 25 and November 3. In Bucharest, the screenings will take place at Cinema Elvire Popesco, Cineplexx Băneasa, Cinema Muzeul Tăranului and at the Auditorium Hall of the National Art Museum of Romania. In the country, the festival will have local editions in Timișoara, Cluj, Iasi and Arad. The complete program, information about the films, related events and guests will be available on www.filmedefestival.ro and on the Facebook and Instagram accounts. Tickets will go on sale through the Eventbook network.

The films Caught by the Tides and Marcello Mio are distributed in Romania by Independenta Film. Les Fantômes will be distributed by Transilvania Films.

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The Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest festival is an event founded in 2010 by Cristian Mungiu and is organized by the Cinemascop Association, Voodoo Films and Vent D’Est.

The festival is made in partnership with UniCredit Bank and with the support of Adrem, Catena, Groupama, Apanova, Pepsi, McDonald’s, Auchan Titan, Freshful.

Cultural project financed by the National Center of Cinematography, the French Embassy and the French Institute in Romania, Dacin Sara, the Italian Institute of Culture, the Spanish Embassy in Romania, the Goethe-Institut.

Partners: Jidvei, Mercure Hotel, National University of Theater and Cinematography “I.L. Caragiale” Bucharest, Avanpost, Abator, Eventbook, Europa Cinemas, mk2, Cărturești, Ototo

Cultural partner: Radio RFI Romania.

Media partners: Pro TV, Agerpres, Scena9, Libertatea, Elle Romania, Biz, Haute Culture Magazine, Cultura la Dubă, LiterNet, Films in Frame, Revista FILM, Igloo, Cinefilia, Zile si Nopți.

Monitoring partner: MediaTrust.