Traffic (Romanian: Jaful Secolului), directed by Teodora Ana Mihai and Romania's official submission for the 2026 Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category, will be screened at the 33rd edition of the ALTER-NATIVE International Short Film Festival in Targu Mures, taking place from 5-9 November, alongside other internationally acclaimed films, including some Romanian premieres.
"From 5 to 9 November, the 33rd edition of the ALTER-NATIVE International Short Film Festival will once again go beyond the boundaries of short filmmaking: one of the festival's strengths is that, alongside the official competition, it provides space for Hungarian and Romanian feature films. This year, audiences will enjoy a rich selection of productions from Romania and abroad, including Romanian premieres, professional discussions, and meetings with filmmakers. The programme includes Traffic, directed by Teodora Ana Mihai, Romania's official submission for the 2026 Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category. The film, which explores the drama of a real-life art heist and the complex East-West relations surrounding it, has already won numerous awards, including the Grand Prize at the Warsaw International Film Festival, Best Actress at the Tokyo Film Festival for Anamaria Vartolomei, as well as prizes at festivals in Sofia and Shanghai," organisers announced on Wednesday.
Also featured at ALTER-NATIVE 33 will be Radu Jude's "Kontinental '25", filmed in Cluj-Napoca with Eszter Tompa, originally from Targu Mures, in the lead role; the film won the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival.
Another screening will be Tudor Giurgiu's drama Padurea de molizi, which reconstructs the tragedy of Fantana Alba on 1 April 1941 based on survivors' testimonies.
"The director spent ten years documenting these events to restore historical memory to the collective consciousness through film," the organisers said.
The headline feature of the festival's feature film programme is Ildikó Enyedi's Silent Friend, which has won multiple awards at the Venice Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at Cine+ La Roche-sur-Yon. It will be screened in Romania for the second time, with a cinema release planned for spring 2026.
Another preview, five days before its official Romanian premiere, is the new artistic film by Oscar-winning Hungarian director Kristóf Deák, Tot un drac, portraying the reunion of four former dormitory colleagues after ten years.
Attila Till's new film "Dar cum ramane cu Tomi?" (But what about Tomi), exploring the social consequences of alcoholism with sensitivity and human depth, will be shown in Romania for the first time. The festival will also include its first American feature: The World will tremble/Lumea va tremura, directed by Lior Geller, who will attend the screening along with his father, returning to his homeland after 70 years.
ALTER-NATIVE 33 will also feature documentaries and adventure films such as "Emma si generalul cap-de-mort" ((The Hungarian Dressmaker), directed by Iveta Grófová, winner of the Grand Prize at Karlovy Vary, and Csibi László's documentary Libertate pe munte, about the tradition of watching football matches on mountains in central Romania in the 1980s.
The silent film Moartea lui Dracula, the first Dracula film made and produced by Transylvanians, will be shown with live musical accompaniment.
"The score specially composed for this event will be performed by Tibor Cári (keys), Attila J. Szabó (cello), Patricia Marchi? (saxophone) and Petra Pál (piano). Another novelty this year is the festival's first night screening: on Friday evening, Growth Reaktor Association will present horror films for audiences over 18, including Good Boy: Loial pana la capat by Ben Leonberg and Noapte de cosmar by David Moreau, considered among the most thrilling horror films of this autumn season," the press release added.
From the 959 films submitted for ALTER-NATIVE 33, held at the Targu Mures Palace of Culture, the pre-selection jury chose 41 short films for the grand prize final.
The festival is organised by the Democratic Union of Hungarian Youth, co-organised by Growth Reaktor Association, in partnership with the Mures County Council, Targu Mures University of Arts and Targu Mures National Theatre.
Main funders include the Targu Mures City Hall, the National Cultural Fund Administration, the Ministry of Culture, Communitas Foundation and the Bethlen Gábor Fund (Hungary).
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