Exhibition-document dedicated to Queen Marie at 1st edition of SFR Festival in Timisoara

The Romanian Film Evenings Festival (SFR) which take place for the first time in Timisoara, between 13 and 15 September, will bring a debate about the balance of culture in Romania, an exhibition-document about Queen Marie and Romanian movie premiers. SFR Festival Director Andrei Giurgia stated on Friday that the event started ten years ago as a student initiative in Iasi, because the Romanian film had many performance at international level, but at home, it was less known. "In Timisoara, it is a pilot-edition, during which the Timisoara residents will benefit only of the premium events that we provide: Corneliu Porumboiu with his latest film 'La Gomera,' straight from Cannes [Cannes Film Festival] to Timisoara, alongside special guest Vlad Ivanov, whom I consider to be the best actor who is still paying in the Romanian film and theater and the great actress Rodica Lazar. We have an exhibition which hasn't been displayed in many cities, 'Queen Marie - the irresistible ambassador of the Romanian history and popular art' in partnership with Brasov Museum. Another surprise will be a documentary about 'Queen Marie, Romania's heart,' together with other events accompanying the Romanian film," Andrei Giurgia told a press conference. At a debate within the SFR Festival about the balance of culture in Romania, the focus will be placed on the cultural act in 2019. "In 2021, Timisoara will be an European Capital of Culture and we want to see what is happening with the current consumption of culture, what is happening in the theater, in all the arts. We are curious to see if there is a balance when talking about the new part of technology, because the cultural process should fold to some extent with the new trends, but we are also following the classical part, because there are people who are nostalgic for the clothing worn when going to a performance," Andrei Giurgia explained. He also mentioned that in the age of technology, the movie has an advantage because special platforms have emerged which buy many films, providing the chance to be seen by a large audience. SFR Festival Ambassador Irina Nistor stated, in the same context, that, although there are many film festivals in Timisoara, they are never enough, because many films have been shot here throughout time and many directors and actors have been born here. "An exclusively Romanian film festival was missing from the picture. The festival was moved from Iasi, after an experience of ten years. There, we've seen each year an increasing number of spectators, a cinema a was open apart from the mall halls and I believe that this is the purpose of such a festival, because is unlikely for people to see a Romanian movie at the mall," Irina Nistor stated. Film critic Irina Nistor argued that the experience which the audience has is totally different when the screening is outdoor, as it is the case of the films presented at the SFR Festival in Timisoara. "And, because the school has begun, this weekend, with the SFR, seems to be a holiday extension. (...) In 2019, the Romanian cinema continues even after the Palme d'Or from 12 years ago, things went on in Berlin, Karlovivary, at the festivals in the US, New York, in Toronto. Porumboiu goes toward a cinema that can gather in one place a public of all origins. The theme changed, it is universally valid, but keeping a Romanian specific," Irina Nistor stated. AGERPRES (RO - author: Otilia Halunga, editor: Diana Dumitru; EN - author: Rodica State, editor: Adina Panaitescu)