WHY SUCH A FILM FESTIVAL IN SFÂNTU GHEORGHESfantu Gheorghe is where the Danube meets the sea, a small village whose lanes are covered with soft sand and where secular traditions are still kept, a magical place, a new land for an event dedicated to youngsters, to free spirit, meetings, debates and dialogues.In this era of super-technology, man is becoming more and more alienated, the cinema is slowly changing from an art to a money-making industry, while film festivals are becoming solely fashionable social events.It is our belief that there are creative energies in this part of the world, at the boundary between the East and the West, which can contribute to man's soul-searching efforts. ABOUT THE FESTIVALThe festival is a competition made up of three sections: feature film, fiction short film and animation short film.Prizes total $23,000. The Festival Trophy, worth $10,000, is awarded to the festival's best feature film.President of the Festival: Marcel IureşFilm Selection by Alex. Leo ŞerbanFestival Director: Miruna Berescu WHAT IS NEW IN THE 2007 EDITIONThe honors list this year includes two new prizes: the audience prize for best feature film (worth $1000) and the audience prize for best short film (worth $500).The festival's duration has been extended to 7 days, and, as a consequence, the number of feature films entering the competition has also increased (from 7 to 12). Film screenings will be followed by meetings and debates (producers, directors, actors, members of the audience, etc) presided over by Alex. Leo Şerban and having as topics the films seen. A BIT OF HISTORYIn 2004, the festival's guest of honor and the president of the jury for the feature film competition was Moritz de Hadeln, the former director of the Berlin and Venice film festivals. Under his presidency, the jury awarded the great trophy to the film Buongiorno, notte / Good day, night by Marco Bellochio (Italy). The prize for best documentary was won by The Story of the Weeping Camel by Davaa Byamasuren and Luigi Falorni (Germany), and the prize for best short film was won by At that point…Rebecca by Luciana Gortostiza (Mexico).In 2005, it was Peter Greenaway who honored the festival with his presence. The trilogy Tulse Luper Suitcases was presented at the opening ceremony of the festival, and the famous director held a lecture about the current state of world filmography, and answered the questions addressed to him by the audience and by specialists present at Sfântu Gheorghe. The jury for the feature film competition, presided over by the actress Maia Morgenstern, awarded the festival trophy to the Iranian film Turtles Can Fly by Gohman Ghobadi. The best documentary prize was won by Melting Siberia by Ido Haar (Israel), while that for best short movie was awarded to Summer Clouds by Axel Danielson (Sweden). In 2006, the festival's guest of honor was actually a group of people, "the long-awaited generation", represented by the new wave of Romanian directors. The program included the screenings of the latest award-winning films by Catalin Mitulescu, Cristian Mungiu, Radu Muntean, Cristian Nemescu, Florin Piersic Jr., Constantin Popescu, Corneliu Porumboiu.
by Plural magazine