This week we celebrate Children’s Day with special screenings, from adaptations of fairy tales to new stories, a nature-themed festival, as well as a horror film and a thriller for suspense fans.

The Boogeyman (dir. Rob Savage)

Based on the 1973 short story of the same name by Stephen King, The Boogeyman revolves around two sisters, Harper and Sawyer, who recently lost their mother. When their father, a psychiatrist overwhelmed by his own suffering, brings a desperate patient into their home, he unknowingly allows access to a supernatural entity.

This monster in the closet is unlike any other. Once it finds its vulnerable victims, there aren’t enough night lights or lit candles to keep it away from its prey. The girls must fight to survive and convince their father that what is happening is not just a figment of their imagination.

If you’re ready to face the Boogeyman, the movie hits theaters on June 2.

Sisu (dir. Jalmari Helander)

In 1944, in Finland, a soldier finds gold in the wilderness of Lapland. He has to travel over 900 km to the nearest bank, but that doesn’t deter Aatami; he is determined to sneak the gold into the city.

Soon enough he piques the interest of the Nazi soldiers still roaming the roads, who eventually discover his cargo. One man against SS soldiers seems like a tough bet to win, but not when the man is an ex-commando with nothing left to lose and no fear of death.

Sisu switches from comedy to horror from one scene to another and provides an intense experience until the end. There is action, carefully choreographed fights, a memorable soundtrack, and a captivating main character of few words.

The movie is now playing in cinemas.

Losing Ground (dir. Kathleen Collins, 1982)

F-Sides Cineclub brings on the big screen one of the early feature-length films directed by an African-American woman. Kathleen Collins wrote her first screenplay in 1971, but it did not receive funding. “Nobody would have given money to a black woman to direct a movie,” the director stated in an interview for Black Film Review.

In 1982, she released Losing Ground, which follows the relationship between Sara, a philosophy professor, and her husband, an expressionist painter. The two decide to spend the summer outside the city, at which point their relationship becomes even more strained. Ignored by her partner and far from her work, Sara agrees to play the lead in a student film based on the ballad Frankie and Johnny.

Losing Ground will be shown on May 31, at the Elvire Popesco Cinema at 8 pm, and at the Arta Cinema in Cluj-Napoca at 6 pm.

LYNX Festival

LYNX Festival, an event dedicated exclusively to nature photography and documentary film, will have its first edition between June 1-5 in Brașov. The program includes exhibitions, film screenings, documentary film and photography workshops, as well as meetings with special guests.

LYNX Festival is an initiative by Wild Romania and Forona associations. “Even though this is our first edition, we managed to bring some exceptional guests and aim to offer the audience an unforgettable visual experience,” says Dan Dinu, the artistic director of the festival.

Opening the festival is My Garden of a Thousand Bees (dir. David Allen), winner of the Grand Prize at Wildscreen Festival 2021.

The program features 10 documentary films released in the past two years, such as:

The Elephant and the Termite (dir. Mark Deeble, Victoria Stone) – two awards at the Green Screen Festival 2022;

Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story (dir. Ben Masters), narrated by Matthew McConaughey;

Lynx (dir. Laurent Geslin) – the Grand Prix at the Festival International Nature Namur;

My Octopus Teacher (dir. Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed) – the Oscar for Best Documentary Film in 2021 and 12 other awards in major international festivals.

Ellen Windemuth, the producer of My Octopus Teacher and CEO of WaterBear (the first interactive streaming platform dedicated to the future of our planet), is one of the special guests of the edition.

Entry is free to all screenings and activities in the program, subject to availability. The films will be shown at the Astra Cinema. Visit the website for the complete program.

Children’s Day @Elvire Popesco Cinema

On Children’s Day, moviegoers of all ages are invited to four special screenings.

The day starts with two recently released blockbusters, The Little Mermaid (dir. Rob Marshall) at 12:00 pm, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (dir. James Gunn) at 2:30 pm, followed by two classic yet wonderful films:

At 6 pm, Donkey Skin / Peau d’âne (dir. Jacques Demy, 1970) – based on Donkeyskin, a fairy tale by Charles Perrault, about a princess who is forced to hide from her own father, as he intends to marry her.

At 8 pm, Zazie dans le Métro (dir. Louis Malle, 1960) – with her mother away for the weekend and under her uncle’s not-so-watchful eye, Zazie sets out to explore Paris, causing chaos wherever she goes.

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.