The Romanian Cultural Institute Beijing, as a member of the Group Accueil Francophone, continues its institutional collaboration with the Embassy of France in China and with the Institut Français de Pékin in order to organize events dedicated to the Month of Francophonie, with the aim of promoting Romanian artists and cultural values within an expanded international framework, as follows:
1. March 20 – April 16, 2026 Organization of the exhibition “Tristan Tzara 130 — Inventeur de l’avant-garde” at the headquarters of ICR Beijing, with the opening scheduled for March 20, 2026, at 11:00, at Galaxy SOHO – ICR Beijing, in the presence of members of the French diplomatic corps, representatives of Alliance Française and the Institut Français de Pékin, as well as diplomats of the Embassy of Switzerland, celebrating 130 years since the birth of Tristan Tzara (1896–2026).
The exhibition proposes a presentation of the main portraits of Tristan Tzara, created by representative artists of the historical avant-garde and of twentieth-century surrealism, with emphasis on his biography, Romanian origins, international intellectual network and founding role in the emergence of the Dada movement and the European avant-garde. The exhibition material is composed of photocopies of documents, portraits and photographs from the research collections of the Centre Pompidou, including works created by Marcel Janco, Hans (Jean) Arp, Brassaï, Alberto Giacometti, Francis Picabia, Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, among others. A distinct segment of the exhibition is dedicated to the visualization of the Dada poetic creation method formulated by Tristan Tzara – poème à découper –, through artistic exercises constructed from cut-outs and textual collages. The exhibition route is complemented by the screening of a report produced by Radio-Canada dedicated to the personality of Tristan Tzara. The exhibition will remain open to the public until April 16, 2026.
During the exhibition, ICR Beijing will organize guided visits for students from art faculties in Beijing, as well as for pupils from Lycée Français International Charles de Gaulle de Pékin – École Internationale Française de Pékin (75 students), respectively three kindergarten classes (pupils aged between 4 and 5), who have expressed a particular interest in this exhibition focused on the presentation of the personality, work and avant-garde legacy of Tristan Tzara. The educational program will conclude with a practical workshop of collage and Dada portrait, carried out according to the Dada method formulated by the artist.
2. March 21–32. During the period 21–31 March 2026, the film Planeta Petrila (dir. Andrei Dăscălescu, 2016) was selected by the Institut Français to be presented within the International Festival “Rencontres des Films Francophones”, organized at the headquarters of the Institut Français in Beijing, Alliance Française, and the Consulates of France in China (Shanghai, Shenyang, Xi’an etc.). The festival brings together a selection of Francophone cinematic productions, with a thematic focus on innovation and technology, in accordance with the directions of Francophonie Month 2026. The selection includes films proposed by the diplomatic representations of Francophone states in China, namely Canada, the Québec Office, Tunisia, Romania and Wallonie-Bruxelles International.
Screenings will take place at the Institut Français in Beijing, at the Cinémathèque, within departments of French studies and within the Alliance Française network in China. The film Planeta Petrila is scheduled for several screenings: Sunday, March 21, 19:30, at the Institut Français in Beijing, Monday, March 22, 19:30, at the Romanian Cultural Institute in Beijing, as well as in Jinan, Xi’an and Shenyang (Beihua University and the University of Foreign Languages in Changchun), on dates to be communicated by the organizers on the official platform.
At the same time, at the premiere screening in Beijing, director Andrei Dăscălescu will inaugurate, on March 21 at 17:00, the photography exhibition “Planeta Petrila” at the headquarters of the Institut Français in Beijing, where it will remain open to the public for three months in the Library space, in the context of Francophonie Month. The project brings together 17 photographs taken by the author during the filming of the documentary, images that capture the visual and human universe of Petrila, and also includes an art installation signed by Ion Barbu — a large panoramic panel inspired by a sequence from the film in which the artist, together with a colleague, digitally intervenes on a monumental group photograph by inserting the faces of personalities.The original photograph was purchased from a market in China and offered to Ion Barbu by his son Mihai Barbu, a detail that gives the work a symbolic connection with the Chinese space.
In addition to the visit, Andrei Dăscălescu will hold two masterclasses entitled “Romanian Directors: Retrospective Andrei Dăscălescu” organized at: Beijing Film Academy and Minzu University of China – Department of Visual Anthropology, dedicated to contemporary documentary cinema.
Filmography presented by the author
Planeta Petrila (Romania, 2016, 80 min) is a creative documentary directed by Andrei Dăscălescu, documenting the closure of the Petrila coal mine and the artistic and civic reaction of the former miner and artist Ion Barbu, in the context of the disappearance of an entire industrial identity. The film is produced by Filmlab Romania, in co-production with HBO Europe, with the support of the National Center of Cinematography and the Romanian Cultural Institute, and distributed by Transilvania Film. It had its world premiere at IDFA – International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (2016), won the Audience Award at the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF 2017), the Black Sea Docs Award at Pelicam Film Festival 2017, and was selected at festivals such as DocsBarcelona, DOK.fest München and One World Human Rights Documentary Film Festival.
Holy Father (Romania, 2020, 85 min) is a feature-length documentary directed by Andrei Dăscălescu, which begins from the director’s personal experience when he becomes a father and attempts to understand his own lineage in the context of an interrupted relationship with his father, who became an Orthodox monk at Mount Athos. The film is produced by Filmlab (Romania) in co-production with HBO Europe and features Andrei Dăscălescu, Paula Niculescu, Constantin Dăscălescu and Ana Sofia Dăscălescu. The documentary had its world premiere at the Sarajevo Film Festival 2020, where it won the Special Jury Prize – Documentary Competition, received the Last Stop Trieste Award, and was selected at international festivals such as MakeDox – Creative Documentary Film Festival (Skopje), One World Romania and Dokumentale Berlin.
Constantin și Elena (Romania, 2009, 102 min) is the debut documentary of director Andrei Dăscălescu and follows the daily life of Constantin and Elena Vîncu, a couple from the Romanian rural environment married for more than 55 years. Constructed entirely in observational style, without commentary or explanatory intervention, the film follows for one year the routine, dialogues and intimate relationship of the two protagonists. The film is produced by Filmlab (Romania) in co-production with Chello Multicanal (Spain). It had its world premiere at IDFA – International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (2009), where it won the First Appearance Award, received the Special Jury Prize at Sarajevo Film Festival, the Romanian Debut Award at the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) and was selected at festivals such as Visions du Réel (Nyon) and DOK Leipzig.
Andrei Dăscălescu is a Romanian director, producer and professor, recognized for his remarkable contribution to the development of contemporary documentary cinema.A graduate of the National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest, he established himself through a distinctive style based on poetic observation, introspective reflection and the exploration of the spiritual dimensions of everyday reality. In 2007, he founded the production company Filmlab, becoming a promoter of artistic independence and fully assumed cinematic creation. He is also the founder and director of the Piatra Film Festival, dedicated to discovering and supporting the new generation of filmmakers. His filmography includes reference titles such as Constantin și Elena (2008), Planeta Petrila (2016) and Holy Father (2020), all noted for their humanistic depth and formal precision. His films have been awarded at prestigious international festivals such as IDFA, Sarajevo Film Festival and TIFF, confirming his status as a major author of European documentary cinema. Since 2015, Andrei Dăscălescu has continued his mission as educator and researcher, teaching documentary filmmaking at the Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, where he contributes to the development of a new generation of authors of visual non-fiction defined by artistic rigor, ethics and cultural reflection.
