We are living a time when cultural events have been put on a pause, and the best advice still remains for each person to stay home as long as possible. However, culture never stops its course, and the internet saves us big time with plenty of film platforms which are streaming the latest productions, as well as classic or cult films.

TIFF UNLIMITED

TIFF UNLIMITED is the streaming video platform of Transilvania IFF, whose motto is THE FESTIVAL MUST GO ON. ANYTIME. ONLINE. This is the place where you can watch international and Romanian art films, awarded and highly appreciated on a global level, as well as experimental films.

Moreover, starting on March 28, TIFF Unlimited is streaming movies on every weekend, between 5 pm and 9 pm, free for the public. The selected films can be watched without having a subscription, but only at the announced hours.

Also, 10 films from the Visual Arts Foundation will be available without a subscription, and can be watched worldwide free of charge.

For subscriptions go to the TIFF UNLIMITED website, and for updates follow their Facebook page.

Bad Unicorn

Bad Unicorn distribution house offers 8 titles in their portfolio that can be watched online, on demand: On Body and Soul (dir. Ildikó Enyedi), God’s Own Country (dir. Francis Lee), L’atelier (dir. Laurent Cantet), Dovlatov (dir. Alexey German Jr), Utøya: July 22 (dir. Erik Poppe), The Guilty (r. Gustav Möller), Birds of Passage (r. Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra) and Amanda (r. Mikhaël Hers).

Movies are now available online on Bad Unicorn’s Vimeo platform. The cost of an online ticket is $3, and the user can watch the movie within three days.

Cinepub

For those who are looking for Rmanian movies, Cinepub remains an ideal option, where you can find both feature and short films, including animations, available to the public online for free.

Go to the Cinepub website to find the complete archive of films.

Cinemaraton

You can watch Romanian movies not only online, but also on TV. Cinemaraton TV channel was launched by Digital Cable Systems – AKTA in 2017, is dedicated to Romanian film productions and has been included in Digi’s program in 2019.

On the Cinemaraton website you can find the complete program, as well as details about each film.

MyFrenchFilmFestival: STAY HOME edition

My French Film Festival is a festival that takes place entirely online, and films are available for watching in several countries.

Although this year’s edition has already taken place, MFFF has launched the “Stay home” edition, to offer a little bit of help to all people in self-isolation.

50 short films from the festival archive are available free of charge on myfrenchfilmfestival.com until April 27.

Mubi

Getting to international platforms, we have to mention Mubi, the place where we find “from classic cult films to modern masterpieces. From the best directors of all time, to the best first directors”.

Adding a movie every day and offering the first three months for free, Mubi should definitely be one of the subscriptions purchased by film enthusiasts who want to grow even more their knowledge on cinema, not just now when we are mostly staying at home, but in general.

For subscriptions and the whole selection, visit the Mubi website.

The Mubi subscription can be offered to someone dear, becoming the perfect idea for an online gift during this period when social gatherings are limited. Find out here how you can give a Mubi subscription.

Eastern European Movies

Eastern European Movies is a platform where you can watch award-winning films from Eastern Europe, with subtitles in several different languages. They are grouped by country, and Romania has a great selection, including films such as The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu (dir. Cristi Puiu), Graduation (dir. Cristian Mungiu), The Paper Will Be Blue (dir. Radu Muntean).

Depending on the subscription you choose, you can have access to movies for a day, a month or unlimited access permanently, while also being allowed to download the movies. Enter here to see all the options.

Draken Film

Draken Film, the platform of the Gothenburg Film Festival, offers a new collection of recent Swedish independent cinema.

Those wishing to subscribe should keep in mind that not all movies have English subtitles. However, you can check which movies have English subtitles by accessing the Draken Film website without being logged in.

Aniont

For animation fans, Aniont is what they’re looking for. From student to author films, Aniont offers a wide range of animated films.

You can choose to subscribe or pay per movie. More details can be found on the Aniont website.

Artun

Another place where you can watch animated films is the Estonian Art Academy web page, where you can find the collection of EKA graduates from the last 4 years.

You can watch movies here with free access.

BONUS: Netflix and HBO GO platforms are already a well-known solution, offering a diverse collection of movies, series and documentaries. Moreover, Romanian films have found a way through to streaming websites. At a time when the Romanian productions have been suspended, we can still support them, by watching the films we didn’t get to see in cinemas.

The latest production added online is colectiv (dir. Alexander Nanau), a must-watch film that is now running on HBO GO.

And if you’re looking for movie recommendations to watch online, don’t miss the Movies for the Weekend section in Films in Frame.

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.