American Independent Film Festival invites the public to a new edition (September 14-20), where they will enjoy a selection of recent American independent films, presented at major festivals around the world, such as Sundance, Cannes, New York, Tribeca, Telluride, Venice, Toronto, along with sections, special screenings and online meetings with well-known directors and beginners.

This year, AIFF brings into the spotlight the cinema of filmmaker Bill Benh Zeitlin under the special section Double Bill Benh Zeitlin. The director rose to prominence in 2012 with his debut film Beast of the Southern Wild, which brought him the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, the Camera d’Or for best debut at Cannes and two Oscar nominations. In 2020, after 8 years, he returns with his second film, Wendy, a free reinterpretation of the Peter Pan fairy tale, with a cast full of children making their acting debut.

The two screenings of his films will be followed by two online meetings with the director, a Q&A session, on September 18, and an online masterclass, on September 19. Participation is free, but only based on registrations using the form available on AIFF until September 15, 2020. The discussion will be held in English and moderated by film critic Ionut Mares. Moreover, it will be broadcast live at the Peasant Museum Cinema Open Air, right after the screening of Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Another exceptional event is the online talk with Ryan Werner (executive director at Cinetic Marketing, a full-service marketing and publicity firm specializing in auteur directed features and documentaries; current projects include Parasite, The King, The Lighthouse, Marriage Story, Honey Boy).

Cinema After The Pandemic with Ryan Werner will be about film promotion and the awards season, the Oscars and why Romania never got one. Participation is free, based on registration using the following form. The talk will be broadcast live at the National Museum of Art – Courtyard, on Wednesday, September 16, from 7.30 pm.

AIFF presents some bold, passionate and creative productions, signed by directors who are not afraid to take thematic and stylistic risks. The festival selection includes:

Sound Of Metal (dir. Darius Marder) – ”Cinema is an art of sound and vision, but it’s the rare film that explores both with equal vitality. In a remarkably assured feature debut, Darius Marder finds a cinematic language that’s perfectly matched to this story of a man fighting to hold on to what defines him.” TIFF.net

Waves (dir. Trey Edward Shults) – “The emotional journey of a suburban African-American family, as they navigate love, forgiveness and coming together in the aftermath of a loss.” – AIFF

Honey Boy (dir. Alma Har’el) – “Early exposure to celebrity has caused many child stars to go crazy over the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Honey Boy tells the story of Otis, a former child actor, now an alcoholic adult, who is sent to rehab after several confrontations with the police.” – AIFF

The guests of the edition who will have Q&A sessions with the audience via Skype are Kirill Mikhanovsky (Give Me Liberty), Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez (The American Sector), Merawi Gerima (Residue).

The festival will have all its screenings in the open air. For more information, visit the AIFF website. Tickets are available on Eventbook.ro.

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.