Transilvania Film Festival Bounces Back After ‘Tough Years’ of Pandemic, Sees Attendance Soar
variety.comChristopher Vourlias When push comes to shove, the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival has always prided itself on pushing the envelope, preferring to err on the side of provocation where other fests might choose to play it safe.
That mentality has been encoded into the fest’s DNA since its beginnings in the tumultuous post-Communist era, when civil liberties and artistic freedom were still far from guaranteed in the newly democratic Romania.
Yet after a turbulent period of unprecedented disruption, brought on first by the coronavirus pandemic and then by the widespread humanitarian and economic crises spurred by Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, even TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu admits, “These were tough years.” The temptation might have been there to tinker with a formula that has made the festival such a success for the past two decades.
But for its 22nd edition, which runs June 9 – 18 in the picturesque medieval city of Cluj, Transilvania has remained steadfast in its core belief that the “passion for cinema connects individuals,” according to Giurgiu.
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