Director Bogdan Mureșanu and the film crew were present at the BIFF Gala
Award-winning film “The New Year That Never Came”,/ “Anul nou care n-a fost” directed by Bogdan Mureșanu, has opened the 20th edition of the Bucharest International Film Festival (BIFF), one of Romania’s top film festivals.
The movie which takes place in the dying days of the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu premiered on Thursday evening at the Romanian Peasant Museum Cinema.
The film, a moving and complex tragicomedy, won international recognition, picking up two awards at the Venice Biennale: the Best Film in the Orizzonti section and the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in the Orizzonti section and parallel sections.
The film tells the stories of six people, whose stories initially seem independent, but gradually interconnect. The film explores human behavior, influenced by the fear of political repression, shared by many generations who lived under an authoritarian regime.
Ahead of the event, Bogdan Mureșanu said: “From Venice directly to the Romanian Peasant Museum! I can’t wait to see you at the opening of the Bucharest International Film Festival.”
Screenwriter and director Mureșanu, 50, won the 2024 Bisato d’Oro Award for Best Screenplay from independent critics. The cinematography created by cinematographer Boróka Biró, received a special mention in the Authors under 40 Award “Valentina Pedicini”.
“The New Year That Never Came” is a Romanian production made by Kinotopia, in collaboration with the Romanian Television Society and All Inclusive Films from Serbia.
Boróka Biró and Tudor Platon did the cinematography; Alex Dragomir and Iolanda Gârleanu the sound; Sebastian Zsemlye – editing, design and sound mixing; Iulia and Victor Fulicea – set design; Dana Anghel, Iulia Roșeanu and Domnica Bodogan – costumes, makeup and hairstyle.
It will be released in cinemas across the country on September 24, 2024.
The twentieth anniversary edition of the Bucharest International Film Festival (BIFF, watch the www.biff.com.ro website) will take place between September 19-29, 2024,
The honorary president of the anniversary edition of BIFF XX is film critic Irina-Margareta Nistor, and the members of the BIFF 2024 International Jury are: Canadian director and screenwriter Philippe Lesage, president of this year’s BIFF Jury, Paul Cozighian, French-Romanian independent director and journalist, actress Ana Ularu, director, screenwriter and actor Valeriu Andriuță and Lithuanian film producer Marija Razgutė.
Bucharest International Film Festival (BIFF), a cultural project funded by the Ministry of Culture, is organized by the Charta Foundation and the Grigore Vasiliu Birlic Cultural Association and under the High Patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Radu of Romania.
BIFF is the only international film festival in Bucharest that has a documentary and historical film section to honor the King Michael Centenary in 2021, 100 years after his birth, by Dan Drăghicescu. The historical film section is presented by Regina Maria Dental Clinics.
‘The New Year That Never Came’ by Romania’s Bogdan Muresanu wins two awards at Venice
