In the case of Transylvania International Airport Film festival founder Tudor Giorgiu began drawing up the blueprint for the first edition 25 years ago. The then-up-and-coming director wanted the country’s first international film event to be more than just a showcase for new Romanian cinema.
“I dreamed that I would not only be able to screen films, but also present my upcoming projects to decision-makers. An industry would be born here,” says Giorgiu, who was still a few years away from making his directorial debut with Love Sick, which premiered at the Berlinale in 2006. By his own admission, the prospects for Romanian filmmakers were “terrible”. Giorgiu also considered emigrating in search of greener pastures.
Instead, he decided to tackle the challenge of “how to better present our films” and at the same time introduce an event that could serve as “a starting point for a new (Romanian) project”. Just two years later, TIFF launched the Romania Days industry section, which quickly became what Giurgiu describes as “the flagship initiative of the festival.”
Over the next few years, Romanian Days grew along with the burgeoning industry, but it was flopped on the international stage in 2005 when Cristi Puiu’s black comedy The Death of Mr. Lazarescu won the Un Certain Regard Award at the Cannes Film Festival, and was firmly established as a bona fide film movement two years later when Cristian Mungiu’s Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days won the director’s award at the Cannes Film Festival. The first of his two Palme d’Ors.
“It was a very interesting synchronicity between the splash of Romanian cinema at Cannes and everything that was later branded as the Romanian New Wave, and the fact that the festival grew so quickly,” says Giurgiu. “We have become not only a 10-day showcase of Romanian films, but also a year-round platform for promoting local films.”
Following its early Cannes triumph, the Transylvania Film Festival has become one of the hottest tickets on the international circuit, as programmers, sales agents, distributors and other industry professionals race to discover the next Puiu or Mungiu. Twenty years later, Romania Days “remains committed to supporting new voices”, especially from the host country, said new industry director Ami Geger. However, the platform has grown into a truly international event, expanding the geographic reach of the countries it serves and broadening its frontage to embrace the myriad trends and challenges facing the global industry.
“This year’s program reflects the many facets of filmmaking today, from development and financing to international distribution, music, series production, and the opportunities, challenges, and innovations associated with AI,” Geger said. “Some sessions focus on broader trends and conversations surrounding the international industry, while others focus directly on the realities, challenges and opportunities within the Romanian industry.”
The highlight of the program continues to be the Transylvania Pitch Stop. This co-production forum is open to first- and second-time filmmakers from Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, and for the first time Cyprus and Albania. Among the films TPS has supported since its inception is Greek director Christos Nikou’s Apples, which opened the Horizons sidebar at the Venice Film Festival in 2020. La Civil, directed by Romanian Teodora Ana Mihaly, won the Courage Award in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. Butterfly Vision, directed by Ukrainian director Maxim Nakonechny, bowed in 2022 with Un Certain Regard. And Mihaly Mincan’s “To the North” was selected in Venice the same year.
This year’s selection includes new films from Ukrainian director Filip Sotnichenko, whose debut crime thriller La Parisiada premiered in Rotterdam in 2023, and Turkish director Belkis Bayrak, whose first feature Gurizar was shown in Toronto and San Sebastian two years ago. The forum was also attended by veteran Romanian cinematographer Adrian Silishteanu, who announced his feature debut “Another Story About My Son,” and first-time director Octavian Chalamet, who also announced his folk horror project “Sun Offspring.”
“Overall, this selection has a strong mix of established filmmakers preparing their next feature and emerging voices with unique and internationally relevant stories,” Geger said.
The 2026 edition of Romanian Days introduces a number of new elements aimed at capitalizing on the growing global demand for adaptable IP, including a Book to Screen program open to Romanian authors, publishers and directors. Meanwhile, the “Works in Progress” screening has been expanded to include seven Romanian feature films in post-production and will be enhanced by a €30,000 ($35,000) prize that HBO launched this year.
Highlights of the industry program, which will be held from 18 to 20 June, include a keynote address by veteran producer and European Film Academy President Ada Solomon on the future of European film financing, and a focus on new financing models for the European Series. Several sessions will also highlight the rapid developments surrounding the use of AI in the industry, and the program will conclude with a number of masterclasses from filmmakers including acclaimed Romanian author Corneliu Porumboi, who is the subject of a retrospective at this year’s Transylvania Film Festival, and maverick British director Ben Wheatley, who is in town to promote his latest film, Bulk.
Above all, Geger said, he hopes the industry sessions will “be a catalyst for meaningful exchange and connection opportunities between local and international professionals, between different generations of filmmakers, and between people working in different areas of the industry.”
“We see TIFF as a place where these conversations can happen naturally, ideas can be openly shared, and new collaborations can take shape,” she says. “By bringing together both international perspectives and discussions that speak directly to the Romanian industry, we want to create an exciting and truly informative program. If participants leave TIFF with fresh ideas, new connections and new energy for their projects and careers, we will feel that we have achieved our goal.”
The Transylvania International Airport Film Festival will be held from June 12th to 21st.
Photo: Tudor Giorgiou (left) and Ami Geger
