Discoveries from Romania World Cinema

A young man attempts to find out the origin of the mysterious message written on his chest after a drunken night out.

Leni, a witty and wise nine-year-old, forms an unlikely friendship with Marcel, a child-like 23-year-old man. Leni's mother Magda is in denial over her daughter’s deteriorating health and rebuffs Marcel's friendship, even as he and Leni demonstrate every step through life can be a joyous adventure.

Inspired by historical facts, this film is a story of love and survival against the background of the 1951 Communist ordered deportation of 40,000 landowners and people of non-Romanian origins to the Baragan Plain, the "Romanian Siberia".

Year 141 after Christ, in the Roman province of Dacia. An unusual appearance of a comet is observed on the night sky. The astrologers think it is a bad sign that will bring misfortune and death. In these frightening days, a deadly epidemic among cantoned soldiers spreads in a Roman fort (on the border of Dacia Province). Doctors are overcome by the situation. No one knows the cause of this disease and the number of deaths is steadily increasing. Four Roman explorers, led by the experienced Centurion Marcus - (along with his comrades Aquila, Tertius and Nerva) is sent by the commander of the fort - Prefect Cornelius Fulvius on a special mission to the unknown and unconquered territories beyond empire's border, those ruled by the Free Dacians, to find an unusual solution to this plague.

Poet, musician, intellectual, and committed communist Nina Cassian wrestled for decades with the central contradiction of her life: how to reconcile her artistic ideals with the strict censorship imposed by Romania’s Communist Party — a tension that put her at odds with the totalitarian Ceaușescu regime and eventually led to her exile. Interweaving archival footage with firsthand interviews, this thought-provoking documentary illuminates the complex relationships between art, politics, and personal truths.

In a dystopian world set during World War II, a couple flees from an invisible but present enemy. A terminal point for humanity, where no one seems to know where to go or from which direction death may strike them.

The hypnotic, semi-fictional diary of a young woman’s coming of age in a world which gives her no privacy.

Two brothers, who haven't spoken in years, meet at their mother's funeral where they must deal with their mourning family, their obligations as sons and their own feelings of loss.

A perfect night of partying for a group of teenagers in Vama Veche. Sasha channels his discomfort in a phantasmagoric journey that awakens associations of sensations that she would not have expected.

The year is 1972, two years before the regular newsreel produced by the Sahia Studio – known as The Week in Pictures – was discontinued. Sahia started producing the newsreel at the beginning of the 1950s, as an extension of the Sound Newsreel produced by the National Cinematographic Office. Production ceased in March 1974, after newsreel had been made obsolete by television news.

A series of short sketches with Gopo's Little Man about sports.

Ion Marin writes a letter to the editor of his local newspaper extolling the virtues of collective agriculture.

Vlad decides to skip classes. His brother, Dragos finds him playing football. On the way back home, they try to understand each other.

The Troite are protective totems placed at crossroads, water sprouts, and in places of remembrance. They are the pillars of heaven and the mystical gateways of the Amber Mountains of Romania.

Inspired by Lucian Blaga's eponymous dramatic work written in 1927, the story follows the life of the legendary master Manole and his team of builders who are hired to construct a monastery in a remote and inaccessible area. As the construction progresses, Manole faces various challenges and obstacles, as well as the pressure to create a durable and beautiful building. As the work progresses, Manole finds himself in the midst of a dilemma: in order to reinforce the construction, he is forced to sacrifice something very dear to him. This act of sacrifice is central to the story and raises profound themes such as art, devotion, and the human limits of sacrifice.

It's no surprise that no one ever celebrated Mrs. Buica - her worldly accomplishments were raising a family and surviving a bad marriage. But she did play the hand she was dealt with brutal honesty and fierce humor. We watch her grapple with 24 years of family dysfunction in both Romania and The United States - by the end, we can't help but celebrate the life of Mrs. Buica

A short documentary in which three pairs of robots take us through their learning process, revealing the limitations of their algorithmic visions.

A playful study of cinematic perspective x 3: three cameras, three screens, I, You, Witness.

Maria, a 48-year-old woman, is trapped between two worlds—one guided by asceticism, the other fuelled by the need to reconnect and be with her two sons. Through carefully composed shots and minimalistic sound, we glimpse into her everyday life, thoughts, and emotions.

I Talk Otherwise is a movie about a journey along the Danube seen from the viewpoint of the river itself. It has been shooted in 8 countries and 9 languages, from West to East, from Capitalism to Communism, from the Black Forest to the Black Sea, flowing between the mixtures, the rafts, and the cultural contradictions of the lands crossed by the great river. Conceived as a road movie, it trails the river from its source in Germany, across Austria and some former Communist countries - Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania - all the way to its mouth in the Black Sea, on a journey from the past to the future of the Europe.

A combination of 'found footage' and 'mockumentary', Bodrog is a delirium, a visual labyrinth about sacrifices, forgotten legends revived with a shot of brandy and mythological creatures from the depths of Mureș.

“I’ve been a robber, a thief, a thug. I blew my veins out, I drank, I drank and I fucked chicks. I never stole from the poor. I’m HIV-positive since 16 years. I’m repenting over time. I cleaned myself from my sins. I committed offenses but I never took a human life away. Not yet. Haven’t got an abortion either. These are mortal sins - and as for the others, I paid already. I’ve been the worst of bitches but in this life already I’ve seen the light. My name is Stela, I’m 42 years old and I spent 10 of them in jail. Chaos is my life.”

Two brothers, trying to make sense of a world gripped by a pandemic, grasp at anything to increase their chances of survival.

In a Zimbabwean township facing the drying up of the river, three children witness the arrival of a strange visitor who claims to come from the future. Loveness, a brave little albino girl, seizes the opportunity and saves the goddess of water, trapped in the knot of time.

An animated fairy tale movie about the funny adventures of a bear cub who went to congratulate his uncle and present him with a cake.

A short film about love, obsession and delusion, with a strong contemporary dance element.

After a play of the same name by Gheorghe Ciprian.

Miss Gazelle is preparing dinner for her new boyfriend Mr Bear. Everything seems perfect for a hot date. But then…

Short film in the Delta Space Mission film series. The two members of the Delta spaceship crew discover a frozen ship with a time machine.

”Autoportret: fragmente din mine” is a poetic and introspective short film that blurs the line between visual diary and experimental cinema. Built around an original poem, the film follows no traditional narrative, instead weaving together fragments of light, emotion, and thought to reflect the process of self-discovery. Through raw visuals and mixed media elements it captures a moment of becoming, a state of searching without resolution. Rather than offering answers, it invites viewers into the quiet, unfinished space of personal truth.

Short film from the Delta Space Mission film series. A giant tornado pulls the Delta spaceship into the endless ocean of a strange planet.

Matei lives with his grandfather in Romania. His parents have gone to work in Italy. After arguing with his grandfather, he leaves. A poignant, beautifully shot film on the illusions and disillusionments of childhood.

Three Scientists stand on the brink of a quantum-mechanics breakthrough that could redefine reality itself. Tensions build as these men reckon with the discoveries they are making.

Mircea, an old employee at the National Company of Motorways and National Roads wants to get George - his nephew - hired at the same company. The job consists of manually counting all the cars passing on the national roads for some EU statistics, but they both have different opinions about their work and eventually their friendship turns into a conflict.

Described by the director as “an adventure,” and will be “quite different to what I did before,” although the plot remains under wraps.

You say my poems are poetry? They're not. Yet if you understand they're not, - Then you see the poetry of them! Radu Jude’s desktop film, in which director considers Andy Warhol’s celebrity immortality with live footage of the artist’s grave in Pittsburgh.

Responding to a poem by Romanian writer Maria Banuș (1914-1999), a sound artist and a visual artist illustrate a meal tainted by terror. An enveloping, claustrophobic tension descends on a family dinner, distorting the comfort of a domestic ritual. The sounds and smears of graphite and charcoal strokes amplify the dread described in the poem.

A young man's attempt to flee the misery of his alcoholic villagers.

A kid looses his dog, which went to spend some time with a circus troupe.

The story of how two men want to take an abusive advantage of a young woman from the countryside by promising her the world, but only if she goes through them first.

Portrait of Florin, a 45-year-old man living with residual schizophrenia. Despite the challenges posed by his condition, he celebrates his birthday with his friends met on the internet, though this is merely an exception to his everyday life.

At the beginning of the 70s, Sahia Studio produced a number of social investigations commissioned by the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party, intended to expose the so-called "social parasitism". The decision was taken after the theses of July 1971, which provide that "one of the main objectives of political work, especially among the youth, is the firm fight against the tendencies of parasitism, of an easy life, without work, the cultivation of responsibility and the duty to work , in the service of the country, the people, the socialist society". The most famous films, made with the competition of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice, are Să treacă vara and Iarna unor pierde vară

A comic history of telecommunications throughout the world.

For three days in June 1990, the famed Paris attic of Emil Cioran (1911-1995) was transformed into a film studio under the supervision of filmmaker Sorin Ilieşiu, creating an engrossing portrait of the philosopher and essayist.