The festival was created at the initiative of the ANONIMUL Foundation. The founder of the foundation, Sorin Marin, is the initiator of the Anonimul International Independent Film Festival and has also been involved since 2001 in cultural and social projects, Far from the “red carpet” syndrome. ANONIMUL International Independent Film Festival is one of the most important cultural events happening in Romania.
The choice of location played an essential role, and the fact that the event takes place in Sfantu Gheorghe, the Danube Delta, in a location isolated from the everyday environment is, among other things, what differentiates ANONIMUL from other Film Festivals.
The novelty and attraction of the ANONIMUL Festival was the setting up of an open-air cinema, from scratch, to the image and sound standards of a cinema hall, right in the place where the public stays (in the tent), spends the day in personal activities (meets friends at the food & beverage area) to stay connected with thousands of other people all night long in front of a cinema screen, watching movies and engaging directly through question and answer sessions , with the filmmakers and professionals involved in making them (directors, actors, producers, etc.).
Every year at the Festival, Sfântu Gheorghe is visited by famous cinema guests from all over the world. Among the guests of the Festival were personalities such as:
Park Chan-Wook
Park Chan-wook gained recognition through his successes at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004 with the prestigious Grand Prix for Old Boy and the Jury Prize for Thirst in 2009. With his latest work, Decision to Leave Park Chan-wook returned to official competition at Cannes in 2021
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival 2015 with the film Winter Sleep
Krzysztof Zanussi
Winner of numerous awards in Berlin, Cannes and Venice
Sergei Loznitsa
Sergei Loznitsa, Ukrainian documentary director, has been awarded over time at Festivals such as Cannes, Karlovy Vary, Seville and Tallinn Black Nights and nominated for the European Film Academy awards. In 2019 in Sfântu Gheorghe (Danube Delta) he received the Anonymous Trophy for his contribution to the beauty of universal cinema.
Peter Greenaway
BAFTA Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema in 2014
Michel Franco
Winner of the Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival 2015 with Chronic and the “Un Certain Regard Cannes 2012” section for After Lucia
Ken Loach
Câștigător al Palme d’Or pentru The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Isvan Szabo
Winner of the BAFTA Award for the film Colonel Redl, to which the ANONIMUL Festival dedicated a retrospective.
Emir Baigazin
Emir Baigazin, winner of the Silver Bear for outstanding artistic contribution at the Berlinale 2013 and winner of the Best Director Award at the Venice Film Festival in 2018, Orizzonti section, for the film The River, received the Anonymous Trophy in 2018.
