The Romanian Cultural Institute in Beijing Supports a Series of Ten Screenings of Moon Hotel Kabul (2018, Directed by Anca Damian) in Four Cities Across China—Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenyang—As Part of the Rencontres du Cinéma Francophone Festival, March 14-31, 2025The film festival is part of the broader Francophonie Month events, organized by ICR Beijing in partnership with the Embassy of France in China, the Institut Français, and Alliance Française. This year’s theme, "Francophonie à Féminin", celebrates the contributions of women not only in cinema but also in literature, visual arts, music, science, and other cultural and intellectual fields.
A true gathering place for Francophone artists, Francophone cinema today reflects the exchanges that shape the heart of the Francophonie! The 2025 edition of the Rencontres du Cinéma Francophone Festival will shine a spotlight on Francophone female directors, screenwriters, actresses, and protagonists. From Alice Guy to Agnès Varda, Marion Cotillard, Virginie Efira, Hafsia Herzi, Mia Hansen-Løve, Rebecca Zlotowski, Yolande Moreau, Anca Damian, and Mona Achache, the selected films will explore the female gaze in cinema and its resonance beyond borders and cultures, always with the French language as a common medium and source of inspiration.
This year's festival will feature 17 films, including five productions proposed by the diplomatic representations of Francophone countries in China, specifically Canada, the Quebec Office, Tunisia, Romania, and Wallonie-Bruxelles International. The screenings will take place at the Institut Français in Beijing, at the Cinémathèque, within French studies departments, and across the network of Alliance Française centers in China.
About the Film
Moon Hotel Kabul (2018), directed by Anca Damian, is a dramatic fiction film that questions the boundaries between truth and fiction, both in journalism and in personal life. The protagonist, Ivan Semciuc (Florin Piersic Jr.), is an investigative journalist known for subtly manipulating reality in his reports. However, he faces an existential crisis when he discovers the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of a woman with whom he had a brief affair (played by Ofelia Popii). As he delves deeper into the investigation, the line between perception and reality blurs, forcing Ivan to confront his own ethical beliefs. The film explores themes of morality, responsibility, and the price of knowledge, supported by outstanding performances from Adrian Titieni, Ilona Brezoianu, Florin Ghioca, and Lia Marin.
Anca Damian is a Romanian filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer based in France, renowned for her innovative approach to cinema, blending animation, fiction, and documentary. She made her feature debut with Crossing Dates(2008), followed by the internationally acclaimed animated documentary Crulic – The Path to Beyond (2011), which won multiple awards at prestigious festivals, including Locarno and Annecy. Her impressive filmography includes A Very Unsettled Summer (2013/14), The Magic Mountain (2015), Perfectly Healthy(2016), Moon Hotel Kabul (2018) (awarded Best Director at the Warsaw International Film Festival), and short films Carré (2016) and The Call (2018). Her works have been selected for major film festivals such as Pusan, Chicago, Göteborg, Cottbus, Locarno, London, Annecy, Toronto, Goa, Rome, Warsaw, and Copenhagen.In 2019, her short film The Call was part of the official selection at the Sundance Film Festival and was also screened at the first edition of the Romanian Film Festival in China, organized by ICR Beijing in December 2024 at UCCA.
Screening Schedule:
Beijing
Institut Français – Saturday, March 18, 8:00 PM
Romanian Cultural Institute in Beijing – Thursday, March 20, 6:30 PM
Shanghai
Nanjing Foreign Languages School
Guangzhou
Guangzhou French Alliance
Guilin University of Tourism
Doc Park
Fuzhou School of Foreign Languages
Beihai School of Foreign Languages
Shenyang
Changchun Normal University – Friday, March 14, 4:00 PM
Through this series of screenings, the Chinese audience will have the opportunity to discover a remarkable example of contemporary Romanian cinema, embedded in the broader context of Francophonie and the essential contributions of women in art and culture.
The film will be screened in Romanian with Chinese subtitles.
Tickets are available on the Cuan Pian (攒片) platform or by scanning the QR code below.For more details, contact us at ema.stoian@icr.ro.
Enjoy the screening!
