The latest films starring Mads Mikkelsen and Sir Anthony Hopkins and the multi-award winning All of Us Strangers (dir. Andrew Haigh) are just some of the titles included in the program of the 23rd edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival, which will take place in Cluj-Napoca between June 14 and 24.
The film One Life, inspired by true events, starring Anthony Hopkins
Complemented by award-winning films in Berlin and Venice, the TIFF.23 selection will give viewers the opportunity to watch, for the first time, some of the most anticipated productions of the year. Subscriptions for TIFF.23 have gone on sale online: https://tiff.eventbook.ro/
Danish superstar Mads Mikkelsen (One More Row, The Hunt, Hannibal) returns to the big screen in The Promised Land (dir. Nikolaj Arcel, Denmark, 2023), a historical drama inspired by true events that premiered in Venice. Mikkelsen plays an ex-military man turned farmer in one of Denmark's most difficult agricultural regions. A complex production that builds a fascinating universe through script, image, acting and sets, The Promised Land earned Mikkelsen the award for best actor at the European Film Awards and was Denmark's submission to the Oscars 2024. The film will be distributed in Romania by Independence Movie.
Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott
Starring the most acclaimed British actors of the moment, All of Us Strangers (dir. Andrew Haigh, 2023) was an audience favorite and a gala treat last season. Andrew Scott (Fleabag) stars as a screenwriter in contemporary London who lives in isolation, still haunted by the death of his childhood parents. When she meets a neighbor, played by Paul Mescal (Aftersun, Normal People), she decides to leave him in his life and try a new path to healing. The cast is rounded out by Claire Foy (The Crown) and Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot). All of Us Strangers is based on the novel Strangers by the Japanese writer Taichi Yamada, published in Romania by the Humanitas publishing house.
In One Life (dir. James Hawes, UK, 2023), Sir Anthony Hopkins plays a man who, during World War II, rescued nearly 600 children, mostly Jewish, from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, but who lived all the time oppressed by the burden of those whom he could not save in those dark years. An '80s TV show will change his destiny. One Life is inspired by the life of Sir Nicholas 'Nicky' Winton.
Winner of the Berlinale 2024 Silver Bear for best screenplay, Dying (dir. Matthias Glasner, Germany, 2024) is a dramatic comedy about the end of life, reflected in several characters, members of the same family. “Flawlessly cast” (Variety), the cast of the film is led by Lars Eidinger, known to the public from Persian Lessons, series such as Babylon Berlin and All the Light We Cannot See, but also from the theater performances directed by Thomas Ostermeier, in which he played Hamlet or Richard III. Distributed in Romania by Freealize.
Also from the selection of the Berlin Festival comes the psychological drama Sons (dir. Gustav Möller, Denmark, 2023). A female guard faces a dilemma when an inmate she knows is transferred to the prison where she works. To be closer to him, the woman decides to move to the ward where he is imprisoned, the most dangerous in the institution. The director Gustav Möller is known to the public in Cluj-Napoca: his debut film, Vinovatul, was selected in the TIFF 2018 Competition, where he won the Audience Award, and the series directed by him, The Dark Heart, was presented in 2022 in the Next section. Sons will be distributed in Romania by Transilvania Film.
The Moromets are back
Moromeții 3 concludes the story of the most famous peasant family in Romanian literature. Directed by Stere Gulea, who also signed the first two parts of the Morometei trilogy (1987, 2018), this new film follows the writing career of Niculae, Moromete's youngest son, caught in the whirlwind of ideological changes in the 50s. Will he choose to be part of the system or will he pay with freedom? Horațiu Mălăele returns in the iconic role of father Ilie Moromete, and Niculae is played by Alex Călin. The cast also includes Mara Bugarin, Olimpia Melinte, Iulian Postelnicu and Oana Pellea. The film will premiere at TIFF.23 and will later be distributed by Transilvania Film.
Alex Călin, in the role of Niculae Moromete
After winning the prize at Cannes for the visceral Les Misérables in 2019, French filmmaker Ladj Li proposes Les Indésirables (France, 2023), a new social drama set in the Parisian suburbs, a space of revolt and change. Following two characters – an activist and a young mayor – Les Indésirables raises some of today's most divergent and important social themes in a powerful production. The film will be distributed in Romania by Independenta Film.
A tale of revenge and family that premiered at Venice, Upon Open Sky (dir. Mariana Arriaga, Santiago Arriaga, Mexico, 2023) follows three teenage brothers who set off for the Mexico-US border on a dangerous journey: they want to find the man responsible for their father's death. The script is signed by Guillermo Arriaga, writer and filmmaker who won an award at Cannes in 2005 for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (dir. Tommy Lee Jones) and was nominated for an Oscar for Babel (dir. Alejandro G. Iñárritu). Arriaga is the screenwriter of the famous 21 Grams (dir. Alejandro G. Iñárritu), and Mariana and Santiago Arriaga are his children. Distributed in Romania by Silverscreen.
La Cocina, directed by one of Mexico's most original young filmmakers, Alonso Ruizpalacios, takes viewers into the kitchen of a New York restaurant, where a couple tries to keep their relationship intact and survive high-pressure jobs. Filmed in black and white with some surprising color inserts, La Cocina is an adaptation of Arnold Wesker's 1957 play The Kitchen. Shot in Berlin, the film's cast includes Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Carol ) and the Mexican Raúl Briones. Distributed in Romania by Bad Unicorn.
Known to TIFF audiences for From Dawn to Dawn (2022), director Selman Nacar's latest film, Hesitation Wound, examines the Turkish legal system, focusing on the case of a female lawyer in a provincial town. Captivating and full of suspense, Hesitation Wound benefits from the outstanding performance of actress Tülin Özen and the image signed by Romanian DoP Tudor Panduru. The film is co-produced by Libra Films and was selected in Venice. It will be distributed in Romania by Transilvania Film.
More films and events from TIFF.23 will be announced soon on tiff.ro.
