
Building on the 20-year legacy of the Romanian Film Festival in London - the
Romanian Film Festival UK is a brand-new initiative that will hold its inaugural
event this winter and showcase a variety of Romanian feature films,
documentaries, and shorts.
The festival will open with the UK premiere of Traffic — Romania’s official
Academy Awards entry — written by Palme d’Or–winning filmmaker Cristian
Mungiu, directed by rising talent Teodora Ana Mihai and starring César-
winning French Romanian actress Anamaria Vartolomei.
Based on a true story, the film depicts a group of Romanian immigrants in the Netherlands who go from unwanted second-class citizens to very much wanted criminals, as they decide to stage a heist that will make the locals notice them.
Running from Thursday 27th November to Monday 1st December, the
festival is curating a programme of the best Romanian cinema and talent to
eager audiences in London and beyond. Built to coalesce around Romania’s
National Day, the RFF25 is expanding the festival’s reach beyond the
Curzon Soho in London with a pop-up screening scheduled to take place in
the city of Colchester. The full film programme will be announced in the
coming weeks.
The new Romanian Film Festival UK is organised by Manuela R Morar, a
Romanian born, British film and tv marketing professional and Romanian –
American film and theatre director, Alexandru Gherman with funding secured
from the Departamentul Romanilor de Pretutindeni.
Manuela R Morar, RFF25 Director says: “In 2009 I volunteered at the
Romanian Film Festival in London, and it was a turning point in my life that
inspired me to pursue a career in the film and TV industry. This new iteration
of the Romanian Film Festival in UK aims to continue a much-loved tradition
in London and, as a one-off special event in 2025, we are also organising a
screening of Traffic at Firstsite a community run arthouse cinema and gallery
in my hometown of Colchester.”
Cristian Mungiu comments: “I am happy that the initiative of screening the
best Romanian films of the year in London will continue. Ramona Mitrica
invested a lot of passion in her attempt to promote the Romanian cinema in
UK, and I believe it is a good sign that former supporters mobilised by her
lovely enthusiasm found the energy to start anew. I hope the festival will
continue to bring its contribution by allowing Romanian films to be discovered
by local English-speaking audiences.”
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