For the third consecutive year, TAIFAS invites young researchers to apply to its Research Fellowship Program, which supports innovative research aligned with the festival’s annual theme.
This year, TAIFAS focuses on history and memory in Balkan cinema. The theme explores how film reconstructs, interprets, and contests the past, providing a space for dialogue between archives, personal memories, fictional reconstructions, and debates on the politics of memory. Research may address both major historical events and “small histories” – biographies, communities, or forgotten destinies – investigating how cinema shapes what we understand as “historical truth.”
The 2026 edition emphasizes marginalized or omitted histories and films that experiment with time, archives, and montage to bring overlooked narratives to the fore. Fellows are encouraged to explore these intersections and deepen their understanding of the past through cinema.
The fourth edition of TAIFAS – The Balkan Film and Culture Festival will take place October 12–18, 2026, in Timișoara, Romania.
Possible Research Topics
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
History, Memory, and Film
- Film as a medium of collective memory and remembrance
- Post-socialist and post-Yugoslav histories on screen
- War, conflict, and trauma in Balkan cinema
- Archives, found footage, and the reuse of historical images
- Cinema as historical witness
- Transnational histories and regional connections
Balkan Film Festivals: Programming and Audience Engagement
- The role of programming in shaping the visibility and reception of Balkan films
- Film literacy and educational initiatives as tools for audience development
- Comparative or case-study approaches to audience engagement strategies across different festival contexts
Eligibility
Open to students (BA, MA, PhD) and graduates under 35 from Europe, regardless of field of study.
Two scholarships will be awarded, one for each topic. If there are no applications for a particular topic, two scholarships will be awarded for the topic with the most applicants.
Application Timeline
- Application Deadline: April 30, 2026
- Review Period: May 1 – May 31, 2026
- Research Completion Deadline: November 8, 2026
Fellowship Details
- Format: Research residency during the festival (October 12–18, 2026) and submission of a final research paper by November 5, 2026
- Language: English; Romanian
- Value: 1000 EUR per selected candidate
- Additional Support: Accommodation and travel covered; some meals provided; all entries to films and festival events are included
Final Research Paper
- Length: 30,000 – 50,000 characters (including spaces)
- Deadline: November 5, 2026 (strict)
- Publication: Selected papers will be published in a collective volume by Contrasens Publishing House in 2027
Application Requirements
Applicants must submit by April 30, 2026:
- Abstract (2000–2500 characters, Times New Roman, 12pt, 1.5 line spacing)
- Research outline
- Selective bibliography
- Academic CV
- Letter of recommendation
→ Submit applications here: https://forms.gle/wyfyCFbWF3KN9qtp7
Selection Criteria
- Alignment with research themes
- Originality and innovative approach
- Clear, focused research objectives with a strong methodology
- Contribution to Balkan cinema or festival studies
Selected applicants will be notified by email.
Contact
For inquiries: asociatia.contrasens@gmail.com
Taifas Film Festival is a multi-annual project for 2025-2027, supported through the “Landmarks in Culture” Program, funded by the Municipality of Timișoara through the Projects Center, and The Administration of the National Cultural Fund.