Arsenie. An Amazing Afterlife (dir. Alexandru Solomon)

Arsenie Boca literally brought miracles into the lives of the faithful, and the fascination with him is not diminishing but growing as time passes. Even today people go to his grave to pray. Together with 20 pilgrims selected following a casting call, the director embarks on a fictional pilgrimage where miracles and faith blend with humour and everyday problems.

More than the life of the monk, the focus is on the cult that has arisen around him after his death and people’s need to create a figure that inspires trust and can bring them peace.

Arsenie. An Amazing Afterlife is running in cinemas across the country. Don’t miss out on the Films in Frame interview with SADDO, the artist behind the film’s poster.

First Snow of Summer (dir. Chris Raiber)

Alexander promised his grandmother that he would never fall in love, and he keeps his word until he meets Caro in a small subway hatter store. Thus the fairy tale begins, a love story of small, seemingly ordinary gestures, but full of poetry.

First Snow of Summer makes you think nostalgically of feelings that, whether you’ve experienced them or not, you’ll feel along with the characters. Truly important things are worth taking risks, and Alexander and Caro learn that life is very different when you look at it through the eyes of someone in love.

The film is now in cinemas across the country.

The Nun II (dir. Michael Chaves)

In 1956, four years after the events of the first film, a priest is murdered. This time, the action takes place in France, where Sister Irene once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun.

Without the guidance of Father Burke, her mentor in the previous battle, Irene must confront the evil alone and protect the girls in the haunted town.

The Nun hits cinemas on September 8.

Master Gardener (dir. Paul Schrader)

What would have happened if Léon and Mathilda had met later? Perhaps Léon would have tended to not just one plant but an entire garden, and Mathilda would have been a mature young woman. That seems to be a good description of Narvel Roth and Maya, the main characters in Master Gardener.

He is a meticulous horticulturist, devoted to caring for Gracewood Gardens, a beautiful estate owned by wealthy dowager Mrs. Haverhill, with whom he is having an affair. She is Mrs. Haverhill’s niece and the gardener’s apprentice. The two of them develop an unexpected and ambiguous connection, somewhere between a father-and-daughter relationship and physical attraction. At the same time, Maya’s inquiries and curiosity threaten to unearth deeply buried secrets about Narvel’s past and only increase tensions between them.

The film hits theatres on September 8.

A Haunting in Venice (dir. Kenneth Branagh)

After a lifetime of solving mysteries, Poirot has finally reached retirement. But even so, it seems that crimes continue to follow him. Unwittingly drawn into a new enigma, Poirot must once again don his detective hat and begin the investigation.

It all starts with a séance where he is invited to expose the alleged scam. But things take a serious turn when one of the participants is actually murdered.

At the intersection of mystery and horror, Kenneth Branagh’s newest foray into the world of Hercule Poirot promises an intense cinematic experience, starting on September 15.

Mammalia (dir. Sebastian Mihăilescu)

Camil is 39 years old and on the brink of an identity crisis. After losing control over his work, his social status, and his relationship, he embarks on a journey where the real and the surreal intertwine.

He pursues his girlfriend into an increasingly bizarre cult of strange rituals that leads him to question the basis of his identity as a man. In her Films in Frame review, Flavia Dima describes the film as “a seeming midnight movie about the crisis of capital-M masculinity.”

Mammalia can be seen in cinemas from September 22.

Past Lives (dir. Celine Song)

Na Young and Hae Sung are schoolmates and close friends, but life separates them when Na Young’s family immigrates to Canada and then to New York. Years later, the two reconnect and keep in touch periodically through phone calls and video chats.

Meanwhile in New York, Na Young has changed her name to Nora, made a name as a playwright and is happily married to Arthur, an American. That is until a visit from Hae Sung stirs their memories and makes them wonder what the future holds for their relationship.

Past Lives hits theatres on September 22.

Day of the Tiger (dir. Andrei Tănase)

Vera has problems at home with her husband, Toma, and is about to have problems at work too. A tiger seized from a local gangster is brought to the zoo where she works as a veterinarian. When the animal escapes, through Vera’s fault, she is forced to go in search of it.

The film is inspired by a real-life incident when, in 2011, a tiger escaped from a zoo in Sibiu due to the negligence of a zoo keeper and was eventually found and shot in the nearby forest. “The incident had a great impact on me. It disturbed me. […] We think that we are these special creatures made in the image of God, but we are much closer to animals than we like to admit,” says the director in his interview for Films in Frame.

Andrei Tănase’s debut feature film opens in cinemas on September 29.

The Creator (dir. Gareth Edwards)

Amidst a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence, Joshua, an ex-special forces agent, is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI, who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end all mankind.

The Creator explores humanity in all its forms, even when that form happens to be that of a robot. Joshua is a man who has already lost everything, burdened by regrets and wrong choices, so he is no longer afraid of the consequences but wants to make, for once, the right decision.

The film hits cinemas on September 29.

Saw X (dir. Kevin Greutert)

The tenth instalment in the Saw film series, Saw X is set between the events of Saw (2004) and Saw II (2005). John Kramer travels to Mexico in search of an experimental treatment that could cure his cancer. To his horror, the whole operation turns out to be nothing more than a scam designed to fool the vulnerable. Naturally, such a discovery can only lead to a fitting revenge from Jigsaw.

A new sadistic, more complex, scarier, and more personal game arrives on the big screen on September 29.

And now to the festivals of the month:

Bucharest International Film Festival (BIFF)

BIFF will take place between September 15 – 22. The Official Competition includes 8 feature films that have already garnered international critical acclaim: Totem (dir. Lila Avilés), The Sweet East (dir. Sean Price Williams), Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (dir. Pham Thien An), Day of the Tiger (dir. Andrei Tănase), Past Lives (dir. Celine Song), Disco Boy (dir. Giacomo Abbruzzese), A Good Place (dir. Katharina Huber).

The other sections of the festival include Panorama, Romanian Authors, History and Cinema, and Homage, which this year will honour late Japanese composer and pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto, who won the Oscar for Best Original Score for The Last Emperor (1987, dir. Bernardo Bertolucci).

BIFF seeks to promote diversity and excellence in the field of cinema, facilitate communication among industry experts, and provide an unforgettable experience for audiences. For more details, visit the BIFF website and Facebook page.

Sonic Fictions

A project by Image and Sound, Sonic Fictions takes place from August 29 to September 25 in Bucharest, at the Apollo 111 Theater, and in Cluj-Napoca, at the ARTA Cinema.

Sonic Fictions seeks to revive Romanian silent cinema, support the local experimental music scene, and explore new directions in live musical accompaniment of film screenings. Five feature and medium-length fiction films from the Romanian film archive representing the period between 1912 and 1945 will be presented within the program curated by film critic Călin Boto.

The films are accompanied by film scores signed by contemporary Romanian composers and musicians: Abator Industries, Irinel Anghel, Iancu Dumitrescu & Co. (orchestra: Octav Avramescu, Andrei Kivu, Mihai Codrea, Sânziana Dobrovicescu, Ciprian Ghiță, Călin Grigoriu), Micleușanu M., Sillyconductor. The screenings will be followed by talks with experts in the field of music and sound from Romania.

The Bucharest program is available here, whereas the Cluj-Napoca program can be consulted here.

Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival (BIEFF)

The 13th edition of BIEFF takes place between September 26 and October 1 and brings over 30 events for cinema enthusiasts. The festival kicks off with the premiere of Radu Jude’s newest film, Do Not Expect Too Much of the End of the World.

This year’s theme – Against All Odds – revolves around films that explore current issues but also the influence of the supernatural in the modern world. “This year, reaching the 13th edition, we asked ourselves – on a slightly playful note – how can superstitions, rituals, myths, and beliefs shape the imaginary of a globalised and hyper-digitalized world today?” says Oana Ghera, the artistic director of BIEFF.

The festival is divided into three competitive sections that include short and feature films, special programs curated in partnership with prestigious institutions, meetings with filmmakers from all over the world, and special screenings of some of the most anticipated films of the year.

For more details, visit the BIEFF website.

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.