The 26th edition of the European Film Festival will take place in Bucharest, between May 5-11, and in Timișoara, on May 10, where a gala will be held in celebration of Europe Day.

The 26.EFF takes place in a unique context, an ongoing war that is affecting the lives of millions of Ukrainians. Europe and the European Union have not remained indifferent to these attacks on freedom, which have generated widespread solidarity; from large-scale initiatives to simple gestures, all Europeans have mobilized in support of Ukrainian refugees.

“In this context, which shows us that we are not safe from threats, terrible challenges, and lack of perspective, 26.EFF takes the pulse of Europe with a selection of films portraying a mirror of the realities of the continent. The festival opens a dialogue platform with special relevance to the current situation,” stated Liviu Jicman, the president of the Romanian Cultural Institute.

Opening the festival is Rhino / Nosorih, the latest film by Oleg Sentsov, “a filmmaker who is now an icon of the Ukrainian resistance and an armed defender of the besieged Kiev.” (Cătălin Olaru, the artistic director of the 26.EFF)

The festival selection includes:

Numbers / Nomeri (dir. Oleg Sentsov) – An absurd and strict dystopian society is suddenly disrupted when its leader is overthrown;

Stop-Zemlia (dir. Kateryna Gornostai) – An inside perspective on Ukrainian youth and a deeply personal story about self-discovery and the patience it requires.

Boney Piles / Terykony (dir. Taras Tomenko) – A documentary about the lives of Ukrainian children living in the warzone, for whom Russian threats, missiles and bombings have always been a constant;

Inner Wars (dir. Masha Kondakova) – The director follows the daily life of three women in the front line of the Ukrainian army;

Mr. Jones (dir. Agnieszka Holland) – A Welsh journalist breaks the news in the western media of the Stalin’s government-induced famine in Ukraine in the early 1930s;

Parthenon / Partenonas (dir. Mantas Kvedaravičius) – A man recounts the magnificent events of his life. It’s the last film by the Lithuanian filmmaker, who, sadly, was killed on the 2nd of April 2022, while escaping from Mariupol where he was documenting the war.

“This year, at the European Film Festival, we are rediscovering and supporting together a Ukraine that is more European than ever before,” said Cătălin Olaru, the artistic director of this year’s edition of the European Film Festival.

Tickets are available on Eventbook. For more details, visit the EFF website and Facebook page.

The European Film Festival is organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute, with the support of the European Commission’s Representation in Romania and EUNIC Romania, in partnership with European cultural embassies, centers, and institutes.

Melissa Antonescu

Writer, photographer and videographer. For Films in Frame she writes news about the latest happenings in the film world and brings to the readers' attention the productions that can be seen at the cinema. When she's not writing articles, she's photographing people in a small studio or searching for new cake recipes.