În acest weekend începe Festivalul de Film și Cultură Balcanică – Taifas. Prima ediție, „Noi Începuturi/New Beginnings” va avea loc în perioada 5-12 noiembrie, la Timișoara. Publicul va putea urmări, la Cinema Victoria Timișoara, cele mai recente producții balcanice ale anului, premiate și participante la festivaluri precum Cannes, Berlinale, Göteborg Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, Tallinn Black Nights ș.a, în premieră absolută în România.
Tickets can be purchased online from taifasfestival.ro or from the Cinema Victoria Timișoara. Additionally, film enthusiasts will benefit from a discount: when adding 7 tickets to the cart, they will only pay for 5.
The festival presents a diverse selection of films, offering Timișoara's audiences the opportunity to explore a variety of genres. The program includes complex dramas, comedies, as well as three science fiction films that explore dystopian realities, an animation, and a documentary.
The opening film of Taifas - "Embryo Larva Butterfly," directed by Kyros Papavassiliou (2023), will screen on Monday, November 6, at 18:00 at Cinema Victoria Timișoara. This film is part of the selection from the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the lead actor, Christos Sougaris. "Embryo Larva Butterfly" will also be shown on Wednesday, November 8, in three other cities in Romania: Cluj (Cinema Arta), Lugoj (Cinema Bela Lugosi), and Arad (Cinema Arta).
Among the 14 films that will be screened, notable entries include Croatia's and Albania's submissions for the Oscars: "Safe Place" (dir. Juraj Lerotic) and "A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On" (dir. Gentian Koçi). Also featured are "Balada" (dir. Aida Begic), a competition entry from the Sarajevo Film Festival; "Carbide" (dir. Josip Žuvan), awarded Best Debut Film at the Pula Film Festival; "The Good Driver" (dir. Tonislav Hristov), a production from one of Bulgaria's most renowned documentarians; "Once Upon a Time in the Future: 2121" (dir. Serpil Altın), winner of Best Film at the London Sci-Fi Film Festival; and the animation "White Plastic Sky" (dir. Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó), nominated for Best Animated Feature at the European Film Awards.
Friday evening, November 10, at 20:00, at Reciproc Cafe - Bastion: "HRANA," a Balkan gastro-cultural event (food-concept by Alina Săftulescu) will feature a tasting of Balkan dishes accompanied by fine beverages. The ticket price is 150 lei and can be purchased online from the festival's website.
Among the festival's related events is a Balkanic Disco Party featuring Ligia Keșișian (November 11, 22:00, at Nemesis Art Club), where the audience will be energized with wild and tender sounds from the Balkans, Latin America, and the Orient.
Also on Saturday (November 11, 17:00, at HEI - House of European Institutes - Bastion), the event "How to talk about memory and trauma through film" will explore the potential of cinema in addressing trauma and memory, featuring guests Vera Herold (Cinemateca Portuguesa Lisbon), Isabelle Bourdon (Educational Coordinator at CinEd), and Mircea Dragu (psychotherapist, author of children's books).
On November 14, at 18:30, at La Două Bufnițe Bookstore, there will be a second meeting with the writers Moni Stănilă, Alexandru Vakulovski, Vasile Ernu, and Adrian Schiop. They participated in the Taifas literary residency in Timișoara for one month, during which they wrote about their vision of Balkan culture.
During the festival, there will be also a film education symposium. The symposium invites teachers and educators from Timișoara and Timiș County to participate in a roundtable discussion, to share experiences and teaching strategies. The goal is to familiarize them with resources developed by the Cultural Association Contrasens over time, aiming to integrate these resources into educational plans effectively.
More informations about the Festiva, events and tickets: Facebook Taifas Festival or www.taifasfestival.ro.
The Balkan film and culture festival is the result of a collaboration between two organizations passionate about art cinema, particularly Balkan cinema: Contrasens Cultural Association and Bad Unicorn.
Financiers: AFCN, Ministry of Culture through the Timișoara Projects Center.
Parteneri de proiect: Archeia Tainion tis Ellados Tainiothiki (Grecia), Arte Urbana Collectif (Bulgaria), Asociația CRIES și Festivalul de gastronomie artizanală „La Pas”, Bacaci Sjenki / Shadow Casters (Croația), Cinema Arta Cluj, Cinema Victoria Timișoara, Cinemateca Portuguesa (Portugalia), CinEd, Casa Corpului Didactic Timiș, Filarmonica Banatul, FITT, Hotel Excelsior, iabilet.ro, Institutul Francez, Librăria La Două Bufnițe, Sakarya Film University (Turcia), Universitatea de Vest Timișoara
Media partners: Guerrilla Radio, Agerpres, Happ.ro, Observator Cultural, Stiri de Timișoara, Metropolis newspaper
Co-financed by AFCN. The project is part of the national cultural program "Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in 2023" and is funded through the European Echoes program, administered by the Timișoara Projects Center, with funds allocated from the state budget through the Ministry of Culture. The project does not necessarily reflect the position of the funders. Funders are not responsible for the project's content or how its outcomes may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding recipient.