The 16th edition of Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest will take place between October 24 and November 2. Cinephiles will have the chance to see, on the big screen, some of this year’s most celebrated films from the Cannes Film Festival — many of them premiering in Romania. Screenings will be hosted at Cinema Elvire Popesco, Cinema Muzeul Țăranului Român, and the Auditorium Hall of the National Museum of Art of Romania. The guest of honor this year is Emmanuelle Béart.

As in every edition, Les Films de Cannes will also travel beyond Bucharest — to Timișoara, Cluj, Iași, and Arad. A dedicated section titled Autumn Premieres will feature the newest Romanian productions, many of which will be shown before their official release. The festival program also includes Q&A sessions, debates with filmmakers, and industry events for actors, directors, screenwriters, and producers.

This year’s map of the festival includes five cities, nine cinemas, around forty films — over twenty of them national premieres — and more than one hundred screenings.

In Timișoara, audiences are expected at Cinema Timiș and Cinema Studio between October 23–26.
In Cluj-Napoca, the festival will take place at Cinema Victoria and Cinema Arta between October 30 and November 2.
In Iași, screenings will be held at Cinema Ateneu between November 7–9, and in Arad, at Cinema Arta, between October 29–31.

Palme d’Or winner and guest of honor

The Palme d’Or winner of this year’s Cannes, It Was Just an Accident, directed by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, will screen in all festival cities. The international press praised the film’s quiet intensity, political depth, and dark humor, as well as its haunting ending. The story follows a seemingly minor event that triggers a chain of unexpected consequences, connecting three strangers and questioning the ripple effects of chance. Jury president Juliette Binoche praised the film for its blend of humanity and politics, calling it “a story of resistance and survival — profoundly relevant today.”

The festival’s guest of honor is renowned French actress Emmanuelle Béart.

Autumn Premieres at Cinema Muzeul Țăranului

After a successful international festival circuit, several new Romanian films will be screened at Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest before their official theatrical release. These productions will compete in the Autumn Premieres section — the festival’s only competitive category — for the Audience Award, offered by Dacin Sara.

Radu Jude’s new film, “Dracula,” is an experimental and satirical reinterpretation of the vampire myth. It follows a theater director attempting to stage a play about Dracula, only for the project to morph into a reflection on history, propaganda, and national identity. The film blends genres — from grotesque to avant-garde — and features AI-generated animations, explicit scenes, and striking visual moments. Jude describes it as “a bit of everything for everyone: a commercial film and an essay, a vampire movie and a comedy, a political film and a satire, an erotic piece and an action film.”

“Sorella di Clausura,” directed by Ivana Mladenović, tells the story of Stela, an educated woman from the countryside who dreams of meeting Boban, a famous Serbian musician. When the promise of a meeting arises, she moves to Bucharest — only to end up working as a maid. The encounter with her idol becomes a disappointment. The film mixes reality and fiction, satirizes romantic melodrama, and paints an ironic portrait of life on society’s margins. Actress Katia Pascariu won the Independent Critics’ Award for Best Actress at Locarno, while Mladenović received the Best Director Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

In “Don’t Let Me Die,” directed by Andrei Epure, Maria is haunted by the mysterious death of her neighbor, rumored to have “spoken with trees.” As time passes, she begins to immerse herself in the life her neighbor left behind: she adopts her dogs, meets her son, and encounters a sleepless lumberjack. The film moves between grief and revelation, exploring loneliness, memory, and the traces people leave behind. It premiered earlier this year at the Locarno Film Festival.

“Interior Zero,” directed by Eugen Jebeleanu, is based on Lavinia Braniște’s novel of the same name. The film follows Cristina, a 35-year-old secretary living in a heavy, gray Bucharest, struggling to balance her adult responsibilities with her role as a daughter to her single mother. Cristina also becomes the protagonist of a novel that a filmmaker adapts into a movie — where fiction and reality begin to merge. The film premiered at the Vilnius International Film Festival and was selected for the Smart7 program, dedicated to emerging European directors.

“Still Nia,” directed by Paula Oneț, centers on Ștefania, a woman who, after 15 years of amnesia caused by a childhood medical error, tries to rediscover her identity, reconnect with her estranged body, and heal through dance. The film was previously showcased as a work in progress at One World Romania and later selected for the Sarajevo Film Festival 2024.

“Comatogen,” directed by Igor Cobileanski, tells the story of Alina, a nurse (played by Daniela Nane) forced to find money urgently to pay her son’s debt and save him from prison. Confronted with a moral dilemma, she faces decisions that will change their lives. The film premiered in the Romanian Days section of the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF 2025).

This year’s Autumn Premieres lineup also includes two programs of Romanian short films, several of which were presented at Cannes — in the Semaine de la Critique and Cinéfondation sections.
Titles include:
“Mama!” (Teodor Ioniță), “A Triassic Couple” (Iulia Turicianu), “Marinică, My Boy” (Mihnea Toma), “Alișveriș” (Vasile Tondincă), “Our Sea” (Alle Dicu), and “We Lived Slowly in Time of Peace” (Kristina Jacot).

Another group of shorts features “Eurogenesis” (winner of the Best National Film Award at BIEFF), “Weaving Anni Albers” (Alessandro del Vigna), “Cookies and Milk” (Andrei Tache Codreanu), “Kobza” (Laura Pop), “Brushes and Packages” (Adrian Latu), and “Take Me to the Water” (Teona Galgoțiu). Each screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers.

Special screening: “Index” by Radu Muntean

A highlight of the Autumn Premieres section will be the screening of “Index”, directed by Radu Muntean. Set in an eerily beautiful forest, an ornithologist (Adrian Văncică) captures, through an infrared camera, the image of a mysterious wild creature (Alexandru Bumbariuc). The film, which had its world premiere at Locarno, blends realism with expressive cinematic innovation — both in story and technique.
Radu Muntean and the cast will attend an extended Q&A with the audience, moderated by Roxana Călinescu and Andrei Tănăsescu, as part of the Let’s Talk About Film event organized in partnership with the Romanian Cultural Institute.

The Autumn Premieres section is supported by Groupama Asigurări and curated by Andrei Tănăsescu, who will also moderate post-screening discussions.

“Dracula” and “Don’t Let Me Die” are distributed by Independența Film.

The full program for Autumn Premieres will be available soon on filmeledefestival.ro, and tickets will go on sale on eventbook.ro.

Founded in 2010 by Cristian Mungiu, with the support of Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux, Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest is organized by Asociația Cinemascop and Voodoo Films.

 Written by News.ro