B-EST unveils competition titles
The 6th Bucharest International Film Festival (B-EST, April 20-25) has just announced the seven titles in competition at the country’s second most important festival, after Transylvania.
Portrait of the Fighter As a Young Man [+see also:
film review
film profile], included in the Forum section of this year's Berlinale, tells the story of a group of young Romanians who fought in the forests and mountains from 1944-57, against an increasingly oppressive Communist regime. The movie is the debut feature of Constantin Popescu, who has already finished his second film, Principles of Life.
The second feature by Titus Muntean (Examen), Kino Caravan, goes back half a century, to a remote mountain village in Transylvania that is visited by an old truck transformed into a “caravan cinema”. It shows only Russian propaganda films and the young man in charge tries to get as many villagers as possible to come see them. The dramedy made its festival debut at Pusan 2009.
B-EST dives further into comedy with Armando Ianucci's In the Loop [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Lynn Shelton's Humpday. The former, a multiple award-winning political satire nominated for Best Screenplay at this year’s Oscars, shows British government officials and their advisors trying, quite inefficiently, to promote or prevent a war in the Middle East. The comical Humpday, about two friends who go a little too far trying to bond, won a Special Jury Prize at last year's Sundance.
Warwick Thornton's first feature Samson & Delilah (Camera d'Or at Cannes 2009), Adrian Biniez's Gigante [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Jury Grand Prix and Alfred Bauer Award at last year's Berlinale) and Felix Van Groeningen's The Misfortunates [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Felix van Groeningen
film profile] will also compete for one of the festival's awards.
The B-EST jury, presided over by Sylvan Auzou (vice-president of the Venice Days section of the Venice Film Festival), will announce the Best Film, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography and Short Film awards on April 25.
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