Romanian short film competition
LITTLE REBELS CINEMA CLUB

LITTLE REBELS CINEMA CLUB
Indonesia, 2024
Runtime: 17 minutes
Director: Khozy Rizal
With: Jordan Omar, Muzakki Ramdhan, Mian Tiara
Synopsis
Set in 2008, Doddy, a 14 year old boy, tries to recreate an iconic scene of a zombie film with three of his best friends, using a handycam belonging to Anji, his sad and angry emo brother.
Director Khozy Rizal
ALIȘVERIȘ

ALIȘVERIȘ
2025
Runtime: 15 minutes
Director: Vasile Todinca
Cast: Florentina Năstase, Ilinca Manolache, Gabriel Spahiu, Cătălina Romaneț
Synopsis
Tatiana, an unemployed woman, spends her days selling her personal things in order to survive. Today she has an important deadline and she might end up selling a piece of her body in order to keep a roof over her head.
Director: Vasile Todinca
HOW I LEARNED NOT TO KILL MYSELF

HOW I LEARNED NOT TO KILL MYSELF
2025
Runtime: 20 minutes
Director: Norbert Boda
With: Corina Ciontu, Șerban Ghilvaci, Teona Stavarachi, Alexandru Chindriș
Synopsis
Ophelia, a young woman, works as a waitress and lives quietly, with headphones on and constant thoughts of suicide. One night, she meets a strange guy at the bar, and a peculiar connection forms between them, as he offers to help her carry out her plan. That same night, however, her father dies.
Director: Norbert Boda
DANCE, QUEEN

DANCE, QUEEN
2024
Runtime: 19 minutes
Director: Maria Mitulescu
With: Thea Zaharia, Anastasia Florea, Ana Salomia, Valentina Moghina
Synopsis
A perfectly fried ordinary night for a group of teenagers in Vama Veche, until it isn’t. Sasha navigates discomfort in a phantasmagoric journey that awakens associations of sensations that she would not have expected...
Director Maria Mitulescu
LOVE IS IN THE AIR

LOVE IS IN THE AIR
2025
Runtime: 18 minutes
Director: Claudiu Mitcu
With: Ana Covalciuc, Alex Călin, Diana Cavallioti, Rodica Negrea, Nelu Serghei
Synopsis
The attempt to spend a romantic anniversary at a hotel in Bucharest ends badly for Laura and Marius, having to return to their apartment early. At home they find that romance still exists. Unfortunately, not for them.
Director Claudiu Mitcu
Truth or Dare

Truth or Dare
2024
Runtime: 17 minutes
Director: Simona Borcea
Cast: Raffaela Rusu, Teodora Moscal, Marin Cumatrenco, Mihai Trăsnea
Synopsis
Alexandra and Denisa, two adolescent sisters, spend the summer holiday in the countryside. Alexandra tries to gain the attention of the older boys and show her older sister that she’s no longer just a kid.
Director Simona Borcea
FRACTI

FRACTI
2024
Runtime: 5 minutes
Director: Lavinia Petrache
Synopsis
Humans live their routines inside an ethereal village floating in the sky. What happens when one of them causes the world to end?
Director Lavinia Petrache
THE MAGICIAN

THE MAGICIAN
2025
Runtime: 24 minutes
Director: Bogdan Mureșanu
Voices: Cosmin Șofron, Mihai Gruia Sandu, Ionut Achivoaie, Ioana Flora
Synopsis
Sulina, 1910. It’s the inauguration of the first power station in this Romanian port city. Amid the jubilation of a modern, cosmopolitan crowd, Ilarion, a magician from another era, tries to play his last card.
Director Bogdan Mureșanu
MAMA!

MAMA!
2024
Runtime: 15 minutes
Director: Theodor Ioniță
With: Irina Pavlescu, Ștefania Cazan, Natalia Pop, Simona Popescu
Synopsis
A young mother brings her newborn to a hospital for treatment of a respiratory blockage. In the emergency room, the baby arrives in critical condition, but the mother is nowhere to be found.
Director Theodor Ioniță
NIGHT TERROR

Night Terror
2024
Runtime: 5 minutes
Director: Carmen-Maria Dumitru
Cast: Octavian Muntean
Synopsis
A man is trapped in an abandoned hotel by the sea, constantly threatened by apparitions and strange phenomena, and finally manages to defeat the monstrous spirit that follows him.
Director Carmen-Maria Dumitru
SO REFRESHING

SO REFRESHING
2025
Runtime: 20 de minute
Director: Irina Alexiu
With: Cabiria Morgenstern, Fern Bain Smith, Teodora Nechiță
Synopsis
A quirky Tinder match between a queer Romanian and a London baker leads to a culture-clashing ride through awkward truths, identity, and unexpected intimacy.
Director Irina Alexiu
SUNNY

SUNNY
2025
Runtime: 21 minutes
Director: Andreea Parfenov
With: Karina Jianu, Valeriu Andriuță
Synopsis
Before leaving for University, Sara goes on a fishing trip with her father. The time spent together in the isolation of the Danube Delta, can either bring them closer or widen the gap in their relationship.
Director Andreea Parfenov
ALL THAT REMAINS

ALL THAT REMAINS
2024
Runtime: 24 minutes
Director: Andrei Redinciuc
With: Coca Bloos, Cezar Antal, Alexandru Pavel, Angela Ioan
Synopsis
Elena, a 77 years old woman, has little options to choose from. She decides to put her mentally handicapped son in a soci...
Director Andrei Redinciuc
HUNTERS IN THE SNOW

HUNTERS IN THE SNOW
2024
Runtime: 21 minutes
Director: Mihai Mincan
With: Ștefan Voicu, Istvan Teglas, Dar Ursu
Synopsis
In the aftermath of a hunting expedition gone wrong, three men must reconsider their friendship, revealing each other’s strange and twisted secrets.
Director Mihai Mincan
Feature film competition
HOLY ELECTRICITY

HOLY ELECTRICITY
Georgia, Netherlands, 2024
Runtime: 95’
Genre: Drama
Director: Tato Kotetishvili
Screenplay: Tato Kotetishvili, Irine Jordania, Nutsa Tsikaridze
Cinematography: Tato Kotetishvili
Cast: Nikolo Ghviniashvili, Nika Gongadze
Synopsis
When young Gonga and his cousin Bart find a suitcase full of rusty crosses in a scrap yard, Bart gets the idea to turn them into neon crucifixes and sell them door-to-door to the inhabitants of Tbilisi. Their crusade through the suburbs of the city becomes a quest for love and friendship.
Short Bio
Tato Kotetishvili was born in the Georgian capital Tbilisi in 1987. Between 2008-2012 he studied at the Polish National Film School in Lodz (PWSFTViT). Currently Tato lives in Tbilisi and works as director and D.O.P. His short film Watermelon won Best Polish Short at the 2012 Krakow International Film Festival, Best Short at the 2012 Batumi International Film Festival, Best Short at the 2017 Tbilisi International Film Festival, and was nominated for Golden Horseman (Dresden FF). Ogasavara (2015), also a short, screened at IFFR.
Festivals
- Locarno International Film Festival
- International Film Festival Rotterdam
Trailer
Director Tato Kotetishvili
INK WASH

INK WASH
Romania, Greece, Denmark, 2024
Runtime: 90’
Genre: Drama
Director: Sarra Tsorakidis
Screenplay: Sarra Tsorakidis, Ilinca Hărnuț
Cinematography: Radu Voinea
Cast: Ilinca Hărnuț, Kenneth M Christensen, Radouan Leflahi, Maria Popistașu, Ana Ularu
Synopsis
Seeking shelter in her work from the pain of a breakup, Lena, a painter turning 40, is commissioned to decorate a brutalist hotel nestled in the depths of the Romanian forest. There, where the Danube ends its course in seemingly miraculous springs, Lena’s moral views are confronted with an overwhelmingly corrupted community.
Short Bio
Sarra Tsorakidis was born in 1988 in Bucharest to a Romanian mother and a Greek father, both engineers. She graduated Film Directing in 2013 at the National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest. Since graduating, Sarra has directed two shorts that have been well received internationally: ”Ivy” (2018) tells the story of a young woman trapped inside a very toxic friendship that ends up destroying her love life and ”Kaimos” (2020), about a middle-aged woman who returns to her native country after many years of living abroad. ”Ink Wash” is her debut feature.
Festivals
- Toronto International Film Festival
- San Francisco Film Festival
- Adelaide Film Festival
- Warsaw Film Festival
- Thessaloniki International Film Festival
- Mannheim/Heidelberg Festival
Trailer
Director Sarra Tsorakidis
LOVEABLE

Director
ONE OF THOSE DAYS WHEN HEMME DIES

ONE OF THOSE DAYS WHEN HEMME DIES
Turkey, 2024
Runtime: 82’
Genre: Drama
Director
Murat Fıratoğlu
Screenplay
Murat Fıratoğlu
Cinematography
Nedim Dedecan, Semih Yıldız, Abdurrahman Öncü
Cast
Sefer Fıratoğlu, Salih Taşçı, Güneş Sayın, Ali Barkın Birkan
Synopsis
Eyüp works relentlessly under the blazing sun during a tomato harvest in southeastern Turkey, driven by the urgent need to settle an impending debt. After a clash with his supervisor, he roams the city in search of a radical solution.
Short Bio
Murat Fıratoğlu was born on 07.09.1983 in Siverek. He studied law at Dicle University. Among his short films are ‘Straw Dust’ (2007), ‘The Edge of All Possibilities’ (2008), ‘Albatros Dreams’ (2008), and ‘The Photo of Kholoud Ahmed’ (2016), shortlisted for Sabancı Foundation Short Film Platform. This is his first feature film. He lives in Istanbul and works as a lawyer.
Festivals
- Venice Film Festival
- São Paulo International Film Festival
- Stockholm International Film Festival
Trailer
Director Murat Fıratoğlu
UNDER THE VOLCANO

UNDER THE VOLCANO
Poland, 2024
Runtime: 105’
Genre: Drama
Director
Damian Kocur
Screenplay
Damian Kocur, Marta Konarzewska
Cinematography
Nikita Kuzmienko
Cast
Sofiia Berezovska, Roman Lutskyi, Anastasiia Karpienko, Fedir Pugachov, Mike Mensah
Synopsis
A blended Ukrainian family spends the last day of their vacation in Tenerife, Spain. When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine strands them on the island, they must contend with isolation, duty, fear... and each other.
Short Bio
Damian Kocur is a director, scriptwriter, and cinematographer, currently a PhD student at the Łódź Film School. He has directed several internationally awarded short films. His debut feature, BREAD AND SALT (2022), won the Special Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival 2022 (Orizzonti), and awards at Cairo IFF, Antalya IFF, Cottbus Film Festival, among others. His short film AS IT WAS was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2023.
Festivals
- Toronto International Film Festival
- Sao Paulo International Film Festival
Director Tato Kotetishvili
International short film competition
400 CASSETTES

400 CASSETTES
Greece, 2024
Runtime: 14 minutes
Director: Thelyia Petraki
With: Panayiota Yiagli, Ellιε Galousi
Synopsis
After a lesson about cosmic archaeologists and a water-fight in the schoolyard, Elly steals Faye’s soul and Faye gives Elly a rare birthday present.
But then when the night falls,
under a sky full of stars,
a song from the past
will remind the girls that
nothing really lasts forever.
Director Thelyia Petraki
ALMOST CERTAINLY FALSE

ALMOST CERTAINLY FALSE
Turkey, 2024
Runtime: 20 minutes
Director: Cansu Baydar
With: Rahaf Armanazi, İsa Karataş, Büşra Albayrak, Ferhat Akgün, Ubey Gül
Synopsis
Having fled the war in Syria, Hanna and her young brother Nader find themselves staying in a run-down neighbourhood of Istanbul. Hanna spends her days learning nail design in order to earn a living, while dreaming of finding a way to migrate to Europe. When she meets a Turkish guy, İbo, on a night out, she finds herself trying to balance her identity and desires with the needs of her young brother.
Director: Cansu Baydar
AMARELA

AMARELA
Brazil, 2024
Runtime: 15 minutes
Director: André Hayato Saito
With: Melissa Uehara, Ricardo Oshiro, Carolina Hamanaka
Synopsis
On the day of the World Cup final between Brazil and France, Erika Oguihara, a Japanese-Brazilian teenager who rejects her family traditions, experiences a violence that seems invisible and plunges into a painful sea of emotions.
Director: André Hayato Saito
CURA SANA

CURA SANA
Spain, 2024
Runtime: 18 minutes
Director: Lucía G. Romero
With: Roser Rendon Ena, Rasvely Lissette Donaire Restituyo, Yaneys Cabrera Ramirez
Synopsis
JESSICA and ALMA, two sisters in a situation of domestic violence, will begin to treat each other with love instead of violence through one of their routine trips to the food stamp office on the night of San Juan, a Spanish holiday.
Director Lucía G. Romero
GRANDMA NAI WHO PLAYED FAVORITES

GRANDMA NAI WHO PLAYED FAVORITES
Cambodia, France, USA, 2025
Runtime: 19 minutes
Director: Chheangke
With: Bonrotanak Rith, Saroeun Nay
Synopsis
During her chaotic family’s Qingming visit, dead Grandma Nai sneaks away from her peaceful afterlife after overhearing that her Queer grandson is about to get engaged to a woman.
Director Chheangke
HIPPOPOTAMI

HIPPOPOTAMI
China, Hong Kong, 2025
Runtime: 13 minutes
Director: Lin Jianjie (JJ)
With: Zhang Zhiyong, Wang Zixi, Xu Ge, Wang Zhenhua
Synopsis
In the suburb of a northern Chinese city undergoing urbanization, a quirky girl who wants to see animals in the zoo is taken for a ride which will forever change her perspective on life.
Director: Lin Jianjie (JJ)
IMMACULATA

IMMACULATA
Germany, France, 2024
Runtime: 22 minutes
Director: Kim Lêa Sakkal
With: Devrim Lingnau, Deleila Piasko, Jan Bluthardt
Synopsis
Derya is pregnant, but she hasn't had sex. As we gaze into her life, a housekeeper in the height of a dry summer, signs of the supernatural and the divine emerge, prompting us to question the true origin of her mysterious pregnancy.
Director Kim Lêa Sakkal
JAMES

JAMES
Guatemala, Mexico, 2024
Runtime: 20 minutes
Director: Andres Rodríguez
With: James Maldonado, Jose Poz, Erick Maldonado
Synopsis
The loneliness of the city feels immense for an indigenous teen like James, who is fighting for his happiness, innocence, and above all, to not feel abandoned in the urban vastness. Only now James is beginning to realize that building his own path means destroying those of others.
Director Andres Rodríguez
LITTLE REBELS CINEMA CLUB

LITTLE REBELS CINEMA CLUB
Indonesia, 2024
Runtime: 17 minutes
Director: Khozy Rizal
With: Jordan Omar, Muzakki Ramdhan, Mian Tiara
Synopsis
Set in 2008, Doddy, a 14 year old boy, tries to recreate an iconic scene of a zombie film with three of his best friends, using a handycam belonging to Anji, his sad and angry emo brother.
Director Khozy Rizal
THREE KEENINGS

THREE KEENINGS
UK, Ireland, USA, 2024
Runtime: 10 minutes
Director: Oliver McGoldrick
With: Seamus O’Hara, Sean Kearns, Caitriona Hinds
Synopsis
Ian is a struggling actor who finds himself in the unconventional role of a professional mourner. As he tours the Northern Irish countryside, his practised mask of apathy begins to slip amongst the humour and heartache of the local funeral circuit.
Director Oliver McGoldrick
TREES PAINTED IN TAR

TREES PAINTED IN TAR
Denmark, 2024
Runtime: 14 minutes
Director: Casper Rudolf
With: Magnus Juhl Andersen, Søren Malling
Synopsis
A hunting trip turns into a nightmare, when a teenage boy has to choose between his father's acceptance or his own integrity.
Director Casper Rudolf
WASSUPKAYLEE

WASSUPKAYLEE
France, USA, 2025
Runtime: 18 minutes
Director: Casper Rudolf
With: Devin Freeman France, Taj Cross, Annie Schwartz
Synopsis
Kaylee Hord, a 17-year-old prank video influencer, is the newest member of a popular TikTok content house where she struggles to fit in and pay the rent. But when a new and intense friendship offers the chance of viral fame, Kaylee learns how far she'll go to belong.
Director Casper Rudolf
OFF SECTION
DRACULA

DRACULA
Romania, Austria, Luxembourg, 2025
Runtime: 170 minutes
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director & Screenwriter: Radu Jude
Cinematography: Marius Panduru RSC
Cast: Adonis Tanța, Gabriel Spahiu, Oana Maria Zaharia, Andrada Balea, Ilinca Manolache, Șerban Pavlu
Synopsis
A Dracula film made in Transylvania. What does it contain? A vampire hunt. Zombies & Dracula crashing a strike. A science-fiction story about Vlad the Impaler coming back. An adaptation of the first Romanian vampire novella. A love story. A montage film reusing a classic vampire film. A vulgar folktale. A.I.-generated kitsch stories. And many delights in a film dealing with this cinema myth.
Director's Short Bio
Radu Jude is a Romanian director and screenwriter. His feature debut, The Happiest Girl in the World (2009), was selected for over 50 international film festivals. He went on to direct critically acclaimed films such as Everybody in Our Family (2012), Aferim! (2015), Scarred Hearts (2016), I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians (2018), and Uppercase Print (2020), all of which received numerous awards worldwide.
In 2021, his film Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World received the Special Jury Prize at the Locarno Film Festival in 2023. His latest feature, Kontinental ’25, a low-budget independent production, was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the 2025 Berlinale.
Festivals
Locarno International Film Festival
Director Radu Jude
TOOTH AND NAIL

TOOTH AND NAIL
Romania, Slovenia, 2025
Runtime: 85 minutes
Genre: Documentary
Directed by: Mihai Gavril Dragolea & Radu Mocanu
Synopsis
Two filmmakers follow an entrepreneur turned eco-activist as he exposes Romania’s timber mafia. Their journey takes a dramatic turn when, in the middle of a forest, the three are attacked by a group of 12 angry men. The cameras are destroyed, and all footage is lost. Faced with this harsh reality, each of them tries to manage the situation as best they can, confronting their own doubts and limitations.
Directors' Short Bios
Mihai Gavril Dragolea (Romania, 1989) specialises in documentary and hybrid fiction filmmaking. His films focus on alternative and peripheral humans or other types of sentient beings, on which subject he is also doing a Ph.D. Mihai’s documentaries have been shown in festivals in Europe and distributed in more than 15 countries. He lectures on Documentary Practice at the Faculty of Theater and Film of Babeș-Bolyai University. Mihai is also active in ecological and animal protection work.
Radu Constantin Mocanu graduated in journalism at Lucian Blaga University in 2005. He got a job working at a TV station and later moved to Paris to study cinema at École Supérieure de Réalisation Audiovisuelle, where he earned a degree in 2009. Returning to Romania, he began working on his debut feature documentary: The Golden Robot (2015). Radu currently works as an independent documentary filmmaker.
Festivals
- Transilvania International Film Festival 2025
- One World Romania 2025
Trailer
Director Mihai Gavril Dragolea and Radu Mocanu
TRAFFIC

TRAFFIC
Romania, Belgium, Netherlands, 2024
Runtime: 126 minutes
Genre: Drama
Director: Teodora Ana Mihai
Screenplay: Cristian Mungiu
Cinematography: Marius Panduru RSC
Cast: Anamaria Vartolomei, Ionuț Niculae, Rareș Andrici
Synopsis
Ginel and Natalia go to work in the Netherlands. There they reunite with their fellow countrymen Iță and Adrian, boys' boys who live off what their girlfriends earn and also little trifles. When Natalia is assaulted in a club, Iță convinces Ginel that it's their right to get revenge. Fed up with being treated like second-class citizens, the three plot a hit. In less than two minutes, they steal paintings worth more than 20 million euros. But then things get complicated.
Inspired by a true story.
Director's Short Bio
Teodora Ana Mihai is a Romanian-born Belgian filmmaker known for her distinctive blend of social relevance and audiovisual poetry. Her first feature film, La Civil, awarded the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes in 2021, is a Belgium-Romania-Mexico co-production that deals with the subject of Mexican gangs kidnapping good-natured children.
Festivals
- Warsaw Film Festival (2024) – GRAND PRIX
- Tokyo Film Festival (2024) – Best Actress: Anamaria Vartolomei
- Rotterdam International Film Festival – selected in the competition
- Oostende Film Festival – selected in the competition
Trailer
Director Teodora Ana Mihai
KONTINENTAL’ 25

KONTINENTAL’ 25
Romania, 2025
Runtime: 109 minutes
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Director & Screenwriter: Radu Jude
Cinematography: Marius Panduru RSC
Cast: Eszter Tompa, Gabriel Spahiu, Adonis Tanța, Șerban Pavlu
Synopsis
Orsolya, a bailiff in Cluj, must evict a homeless man from the basement of a building. An unexpected event triggers a moral crisis that Orsolya tries to navigate as best as she can.
Director's Short Bio
Radu Jude is a Romanian director and screenwriter. His feature debut, The Happiest Girl in the World (2009), was selected for over 50 international film festivals. He went on to direct critically acclaimed films such as Everybody in Our Family (2012), Aferim! (2015), Scarred Hearts (2016), I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians (2018), and Uppercase Print (2020), all of which received numerous awards worldwide.
In 2021, his film Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World received the Special Jury Prize at the Locarno Film Festival in 2023. His latest feature, Kontinental ’25, a low-budget independent production, was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the 2025 Berlinale.
Festivals
- Berlinale 2025 – Silver Bear for Best Screenplay
Trailer
Director Radu Jude
TATA

TATA
Romania, Germany, Netherlands, 2024
Runtime: 82 minutes
Genre: Documentary
Directed by: Lina Vdovîi & Radu Ciorniciuc
Synopsis
A journalist from Moldova, estranged from her father who emigrated to Italy years ago, discovers that he has become a victim of workplace abuse. As she decides to help him expose his employer and seek legal protection, old wounds are reopened and a parallel journey begins, one through a present and past marked by violence.
Directors' Short Bios
Lina Vdovîi wrote the feature-length documentary ACASĂ, MY HOME (2020), winner of the Best Documentary Award at the 2021 Gopo Awards and numerous other prizes. Originally from Moldova, she lives in Romania and has extensive experience in investigative and narrative journalism. She has been nominated for the European Press Prize and began her TV career with German public broadcaster ZDF. TATA marks her directorial debut in feature-length documentary filmmaking.
Radu Ciorniciuc is a director, cinematographer, and investigative journalist. His debut feature ACASĂ, MY HOME was awarded Best Cinematography at Sundance (2020) and received numerous other awards across Europe. He is a co-founder of Casa Jurnalistului and has contributed to The Guardian, Al Jazeera, and Channel 4 News, focusing on human rights, the environment, and animal welfare.
Festivals
- Toronto International Film Festival (2024)
Director Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc
THREE KILOMETRES TO THE END OF THE WORLD

THREE KILOMETRES TO THE END OF THE WORLD
Romania, 2024
Runtime: 105’
Genre: Drama
Director: Emanuel Pârvu
Screenplay: Emanuel Pârvu
Cinematography: Silviu Stavilă
Cast: Bogdan Dumitrache, Laura Vasiliu, Ciprian Chiujdea, Ingrid Micu Berescu, Valeriu Andriuță, Adrian Titieni, Richard Bovnoczki, Alina Berzunțeanu, Vlad Brumaru
Synopsis
Adi is a 17-year-old teenager from a village in the Danube Delta who, through his parents' efforts, studies in Tulcea. Returning home for the summer vacation, Adi enjoys being with his family and his best friend, Ilinca. When the family is violently confronted with a truth they can neither understand nor accept, the unconditional love Adi should receive from his parents suddenly disappears, leaving Adi with only one solution.
Festivals
- Cannes Film Festival, Official Selection Competition – Queer Palm 2024
- Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 2024
Trailer
Director Emanuel Pârvu