“Intimate dramas, absurd comedies, unconventional melodramas and family chronicles of different calibres, with a slight predilection for stories of young people at crossroads,” as defined by artistic director Mihai Chirilov, will lock horns in the Official Competition of the 23rd Transilvania International Film Festival (14-24 June), dedicated to first- and second-time directors. They all “tell stories about atypical characters, their reactions to social pressures, and the need for connection, affirmation or independence,” adds Chirilov.

Five among the 12 titles in the section are 100% European productions: Dutch filmmaker Joren Molter’s sharp debut, Summer Brother [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Joren Molter
scheda film], about a seemingly hopeless family in which the youngest son is forced to grow up suddenly to save himself; the Swedish satire The Hypnosis [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Asta Kamma August
intervista: Ernst De Geer
scheda film] by Ernst De Geer, about a perfect couple whose marital balance is ruined after a hypnosis session that eliminates their inhibitions; Catalonian debutante Laura Ferrés’s winner of the 68th Seminci – Valladolid International Film Festival, The Permanent Picture [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Laura Ferrés
scheda film], which blends comedy, realism and melodrama; the French fairy tale The Dreamer [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Anaïs Tellenne
scheda film] by Anaïs Tellenne, about art's unforeseen power; and the only Romanian film in the Official Competition (also a contender in the Romanian Days programme), the black-humoured melodrama Where Elephants Go [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Gabi Virginia Şarga, Cătăl…
scheda film] by Cătălin Rotaru and Gabi Virginia Șarga, homing in on the friendship between a feisty nine-year-old girl and a young homeless man. The European co-productions The Other Son [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Colombia's Juan Sebastián Quebrada, Girls Will Be Girls [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by India's Shuchi Talati and Toll [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Brazil's Carolina Markowicz, as well as The Old Bachelor by Iran's Oktay Baraheni, Daniel Auerbach by Israel's David Volach, Day Tripper by China's Yanqi Chen and The Adamant Girl by India's PS Vinothraj, round off the section.

On the other hand, European titles are prevalent in the What's Up, Doc? Competition, which, for the third year running, proposes an extension of the idea of documentary, bringing together classic formats, hybrids and even fiction cleverly disguised in the verité aesthetics of the genre. David Boaretto’s April in France [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Zara Zerny features Danish octogenarians discussing love, fidelity and loss; while German filmmakers Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck’s Eternal You [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Hans Block, Moritz Riesewi…
scheda film] explores mourning through digital clones of lost loved ones. Adriano Valerio documents a seven-year love story between an illegal Moroccan in Italy and a former addict from a wealthy family in Casablanca, similarly to Romanian filmmaker Isabela Tent, who chronicles ten years in the life of a girl who becomes a mother at 16 in Alice On&Off [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Isabela Tent
scheda film], also competing in the Romanian Days section. Another complex coming-of-age story is captured in the Hungarian title KIX [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Bálint Révész and Dávid Mikulán, who follow 12 years in the life of a troubled boy in Budapest. The Czech effort La Reine by Nikola Klinger is an experimental essay on memory, focusing on a drug addict living on a former lavender farm; in Glass, My Unfulfilled Life [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], Dutch newcomer Rogier Kappers constructs a hilarious self-portrait focusing on the life-long search for fame and self-approval; and finally, Danger Zone [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Vita Maria Drygas
scheda film] by Polish director Vita Maria Drygas delves into agencies selling holidays in conflict zones for thrill-seeking tourists.

The Romanian Days competition this year showcases 12 features, five of which are world premieres: Claudiu Mitcu’s Rusalka [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Claudiu Mitcu
scheda film], featuring world-famous local actress Maia Morgenstern, follows five friends revisiting a seaside resort; Mihnea Toma’s Family Weekend reconstructs family discussions on sexual orientation; Andrei Răuțu’s Night Butterflies features a director obsessed with a pop star; George ve Gänæaard and Horia Cucută’s Dismissed investigates a corporation’s cover-up of an employee’s death; and Andrei Crețulescu’s bloody thriller Ext. Car – Night combines elements of Romanian youth adventures with the suspense of The Twilight Zone. Furthermore, the section includes the freshly Cannes-premiered gay drama Three Kilometres to the End of the World [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Emanuel Pârvu
scheda film] by Emanuel Pârvu, focusing on a teenager grappling with harsh truths; Andrei Cohn’s Berlinale Forum title Holy Week [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Andrei Cohn
scheda film], based on the writings of IL Caragiale, and drawing on racism and antisemitism; Marian Crisan's period drama Warboy; the Kafkaesque narrative of proving one's existence A Cautionary Tale by Ilinca Călugăreanu; Alexandra Gulea’s Maia – Portrait with Hands, which reconstructs a grandmother's life; and Ana-Maria Comănescu’s Horia [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ana-Maria Comănescu
scheda film], about a teenager's motorcycle journey.