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As many as 34 short films will compete in the national and international competitions at the 7th edition of the Bucharest International Dance Film Festival (BIDFF), which will take place September 1-5, in Bucharest.
The theme of the seventh edition of BIDFF is "Potential Worlds," an invitation to artists and spectators to imagine the art of the future as a dynamic ecosystem that incorporates new elements and mutations.
"Contrary to the crisis in the creative industry worldwide in the last year, both I and my colleagues - Laurentiu Paraschiv (film critic) and Cristian Pascariu (director and screenwriter) consider that BIDFF # 7: Potential Worlds is the strongest edition of the festival to date. The short films that are part of the official selection confront us with unrecognisable worlds and question the existing cultural paradigms. The dance film develops beautifully and brings with it a synesthetic communication, in which the boundary between documentary and fiction becomes imperceptible. We are inviting spectators to explore potential worlds through magical stories and powerful protagonists," says Simona Deaconescu, artistic director of the Bucharest International Dance Film Festival.
The Romanian Competition includes six titles, created or co-created by Romanian directors and choreographers: "Breath," directed by Catalin Rugina and Maria-Luiza Dimulescu, choreography by Maria-Luiza Dimulescu; "Public Figure," directed by Madalina Zaharia, choreography by Daniel Hay-Gordon; "Calcar," directed and choreographed by Georgeta Corca; "Pretty UGLY," directed and choreographed by Corina Andrian; "Almost," directed by Tobin Del Cuore, choreographed by Ana Maria Lucaciu and Razvan Stoian; "Ship of Fools," directed by Gabriel Durlan, choreographed by Alexandra Balasoiu, Virginia Negru, Denis Bolborea, and Catalin Diaconu.
There are 28 titles in the International Competition. Directors and choreographers from 20 countries unveil cinematic experiments, audio-visual meditations, futuristic worlds, performative rituals and musical avatars in virtual cities, in a fusion of cultures and styles, in which the human beings redefine their identity in relation to the world they belong to.
Among the short films selected in the International Competition are "Beyond" (directed and choreographed by Simone Wierod, PL/TW/HK/TH/ DK), "They Saw the Sun First" (directed by Stefan Hunt, choreographed by Vanessa Marian, AUS), "Scapelands" (directed by Katie Beard and Naomi Turner, choreographed by Liv Lockwood, UK), "Human Habitat" (directed and choreographed by Flavia Devonas Hoffmann, NO), "Memories of the Future" (directed and choreographed by Dance collective Arnhemse Meisjes, NL), "Fibonacci" (directed by Tomas Hubacek, choreographed by Marie Gourdain, CZ), "D3C05" (directed by Blaze Gonzalez, Hannah Gaengler, choreographed by Liony Garcia, USA), "Your Coffee, Please" (directed by Irina Kononova, UK), "Ghosts and All" (directed and choreographed by Ayano Yokoyama, JP), "Shelly Belly in Real Life" (directed and choreographed by Cecilia Bengolea, FR/AR).
The jury of this year's edition consists of Marlene Millar, one of the most famous dance film creators in Canada, together with Saddo, Romanian artist, illustrator and muralist, and Bogdan Theodor Olteanu, Romanian film and stage director.
The films in the two competitions can be watched as follows:
- National Dance Short Film Competition / Self-Seeking Worlds / Grivita Factory (open-air cinema) / 21:00hrs, September 3;
- International Dance Short Film Competition I / Twofold Worlds / Merkato Kultur (open-air cinema) / 21:00hrs, September 1;
- International Dance Short Film Competition II / Marvelous Worlds / Elvire Popesco Cinema /18:39hrs, September 2
- International Dance Short Film Competition III / Vibrant Worlds / Grivita Factory (open-air cinema) / 21:00hrs, September 4
BIDFF awards prizes worth 1,500 euros for the Best International Film and the Best Romanian Film.
Access to the films in the International Competition is allowed on tickets purchased from the Eventbook platform. Public access to the Romanian Competition is free.
