Romania positions itself as a global co-production player at the Marché du Film
- CANNES 2026: Some of the country’s producers, institutions and post-production professionals have presented a united vision of an industry transformed by cooperation and international ambition
Romania used its Cannes presence this year not only to showcase films, but also to reposition itself as an increasingly ambitious international production partner. The Marché du Film panel “Why Romania? Why Now?”, moderated by Marta Bałaga, gathered Ilinka Teodorescu, of the Romanian National Film Center (CNC); Valentin Savu, interim general manager at the Office for Film and Investments in Culture; the president of the Romanian Producers’ Alliance, Andrei Boncea; producers Iuliana Tarnovetchi from Alien Film and Radu Stancu from deFilm; as well as Avanpost post-production expert Marius Leftarache.
Tarnovetchi opened the conversation by addressing the persistent clichés surrounding Romania abroad, recalling the years spent explaining, “Budapest is not Bucharest.” Echoing this idea, Teodorescu, of the CNC, noted: “We started to learn that we need to put ourselves out there; we need to have people know all of us, all of our results, all of our culture and history, because there is a lot to talk about.” She pointed to Romania’s strong Cannes presence this year, with several titles scattered across the festival sections and markets.
Boncea, meanwhile, described the current period as “a moment of maturity and cooperation”, reflected in the increasing scale and diversity of Romanian productions and the industry’s growing international reach. That sense of cooperation became one of the panel’s central themes. According to Boncea, the creation of a producers’ alliance fundamentally changed the industry’s relationship with the public authorities. “We finally started to become super-cooperative among us producers,” he explained. “That allowed us to review the law, update the CNC system and create the space necessary for all of these films we are presenting today.”
The discussion repeatedly returned to Romania’s reformed cash-rebate programme, which speakers described as essential to restoring international trust after several difficult years marked by frozen payments and administrative instability. Savu presented the current system as transparent and fully digitised. Romania now offers a 30% rebate on eligible local expenses through an annual €55 million budget, with the programme recently extended until 2031. “You apply; we have deadlines, we have budgets, and everything is digitalised,” Savu said, adding that the office now works directly with producers and local authorities on practical matters ranging from permits to reimbursements.
Tarnovetchi acknowledged the earlier crisis, recalling that payments had stopped entirely for several years. However, she insisted that the industry’s collective organisation now makes a repeat scenario unlikely. “We know how to fight for and protect our film industry,” she stated. Savu confirmed that all outstanding debts had been settled and that several productions had already completed the entire reimbursement cycle under the new system.
Beyond financing, the panel also highlighted the increasingly international nature of Romanian co-productions. Stancu argued that contemporary Romanian cinema is moving beyond the classic East-West co-production structures associated with the New Wave years. “What’s happening now is that Romanian cinema is bringing more international elements than before,” he said.
Stancu pointed to collaborations with the Nordic region, Latin America and Asia, describing Romanian companies working as both minority and majority co-producers on projects shot across multiple continents. Upcoming legislative changes are also expected to strengthen minority co-production support, potentially allowing Romanian producers to contribute up to €300,000 per project. For Stancu, Romania’s geographical and cultural position makes these collaborations particularly natural. “We can connect very easily with different cultures,” he noted.
The panel also underlined Romania’s growing technical capabilities in post-production and servicing. Leftarache explained that Romanian facilities significantly expanded their international profile during the pandemic years. “We did post-production for two Oscar-nominated films during the pandemic,” he said, arguing that remote workflows helped demonstrate the reliability of Romanian companies. He also stressed that many Romanian post-production houses still employ staff permanently, rather than relying entirely on freelance structures, offering greater continuity for long-term collaborations.
If the Romanian New Wave once defined the country through a recognisable brand of auteur cinema, the message emerging from Cannes this year was broader: Romania increasingly wants to position itself as a reliable production hub, an ambitious co-producing territory and a globally minded industry player.
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