The 16th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival took place from 2 to 11 June in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. This year’s Romanian Days section (June 8-10) presented 27 titles – 13 features and 14 shorts. Five of this year’s features were world premieres.
The director Andrei Dăscălescu (recipient of the Debut Prize at Transilvania IFF 2009 for Constantin and Elena) presented his latest documentary Planet Petrila and won the Cinepub Audience Award, in amount of 1.500 euro.
In Petrila, a coal mining town in Transylvania (Romania), an ex-miner turned artist and activist uses art and absurdism to stop local authorities from demolishing the historic buildings of the oldest coal mine in the country after its' closure in 2015, at EU's recommendation. His quest is not only to preserve the history and the identity of his hometown, but also to find new ways of keeping the community from irreversibly falling apart.
The project was selected for Ex Oriente Film 2015, East Doc Platform 2016, East European Forum 2016, East Silver 2016 and East Silver Caravan 2016. The film had its world premiere at the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam – IDFA 2016.
For a complete list of the winners, click here.
