2023 Romanian Film Festival Seattle

The 2023 Romanian Film Festival Seattle is Streaming Online November 4th-12th. Announcing the full lineup for the 10th Edition of ROMANIAN FILM FESTIVAL SEATTLE, “One Eye Laughing, One Eye Crying,” with in-person events at Seattle’s SIFF Cinema Uptown, and Northwest Film Forum, and streaming through Eventive.

This year’s theme “One Eye Laughing, One Eye Crying” is a nod to its first edition in 2014 – which saw an overwhelming success following a grassroots effort to mobilize the Romanian community in the greater Seattle area. This year’s edition celebrates the rich cultural fabric of Romania, while exploring current topics with the unflinchingly honest perspectives that fans of the festival have come to expect. The program will feature critically-acclaimed and newly released film, as well as special guests from Romania. It will also continue its partnerships with Northwest Film Forum, Romanian Film Fest Arizona, and sister-organizations ARCS Arizona and ARCS Detroit. The Romanian Film Festival Arizona will have in-person screenings November 11-12 at Majestic Tempe 7 in Tempe, AZ. The Romanian Film Festival Detroit will have in-person screenings November 7-8 at Wayne State University and Oakland University.

Festival highlights include:

• OPENING NIGHT: “Playback,” Screening, and In-Person Q&A, with Director Iulia Rugină. In communist Romania of the 80s, DJs were the only ones who brought outside music to the people. Tracks were trafficked on vinyl or secretly recorded from foreign radio stations and played to dancing crowds. Playback offers a present-day portrait of one of the most famous DJs of those times while recreating a selective chronology of the musical events that changed the face of a society to the democracy of today. Opening night features two US Premiere screenings!

• Programming highlights include MEN OF DEEDS, Dir. by Paul Negoescu; the best-awarded film at this year’s Gopo Awards (the national Romanian film awards), and PLAYBACK, Dir. by Iulia Rugină. Rugină will join the festival as special guests! The festival will also screen TAXI DRIVERS, Dir. by Bogdan Theodor Olteanu, and BOSS, Dir. by Bogdan Mirica.

• The US premiere of of BOSS, PLAYBACK, WHY DO THEY WRITE ON WALLS, and PHOENIX.

• Special Guest and Lead Actor in MEN OF DEEDS, Iulian Postelnicu, in attendance at Northwest Film Forum Screenings.

• Romanian Film Festival Seattle is also thrilled to welcome back a restored version of È PERICOLOSO SPORGERSI, Dir. by Nae Caranfil. This film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 30 years ago (1993), and screened at the very first edition of RFFS!

SEE THE FULL LINEUP OF FILMS BELOW

Tickets are on sale now at
SIFF Cinema Uptown & Northwest Film Forum

IN-PERSON TICKETS
$14 SIFF Cinema Uptown General Admission |
$14 NWFF General Admission | NWFF $10 NWFF Student/Child/Senior | $7 NWFF Member |

ONLINE TICKETS: $10 per film | VIRTUAL PASSES: $40 now – 10/15 & $50 beginning on 10/16 Virtual passes also available for full online program, currently.

2023 LINEUP”Boss” by Bogdan Mirică (US Premiere)
2022, Drama, 126 minutes
Online & In person: Saturday, Nov 4, 4:20pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown
Bogdan, an innocuous ambulance driver, becomes involved in an armed robbery to support his ailing mother’s medical needs. While fleeing from the scene, he accidentally hits a witness, who ends up in a coma. As Bogdan’s paranoia intensifies, he immerses himself further into the lives of his accomplices, while causing major problems in his own.”Playback” (US Premiere) by Iulia Rugină
2023, Documentary, 77 minutes
In Person: Nov. 4, 2023 at 07:00 PM – 04 Nov. 2023 at 08:17 PM at SIFF Cinema Uptown

Playback follow Sorin Lupașcu, a well-known DJ during Romania’s communist years in his attempt to remain visible in the present. The film slides back and forth through archival footage and a music-laden soundtrack, subtly revealing the transformations of an Eastern European society over the past 50 years.”Between Revolutions” by Vlad Petri
2023, Hybrid Documentary, 68 minutes
In person: Sunday, Nov 5, 5:20pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown
“Between Revolutions” illuminates the letters exchanged between Maria, a Romanian, and Zahra, an Iranian, who forge a deep connection while studying together at medical school in 1970s Bucharest. The letters poignantly illustrate the challenges faced by everyday people, especially women, during the Iranian Revolution and Ceaușescu’s repressive rule in Romania, juxtaposed with documentary footage portraying daily life and the widespread propaganda in their respective societies.”Men of Deeds” by Paul Negoescu
2022, Drama, 106 minutes
Online and In-Person: Nov. 4, 2023 at 12:00 AM – 12 Nov. 2023 at 11:59 PM at Northwest Film Forum

Ilie settles in the countryside as a policeman, seeking a more tranquil lifestyle. However, his relaxed approach to his job entangles him in a violent crime. When he finally starts to become a justice seeker, he quickly learns the unbecoming consequences of getting involved in others’ affairs.”Taxi Drivers” by Bogdan Theodor Olteanu
2023, Dark comedy, 100 minutes
Online and In-Person: Nov. 5, 2023 at 07:00 PM – 05 Nov. 2023 at 08:40 PM at SIFF Cinema Uptown
One night. Ten stories. A single city. Lică – the ‘know-it-all’ taxi driver – and Liviu – the ‘radio silent’ taxi driver – are good friends, although completely different, and their views on the world and life only intersect at the shawarma place. However, both are frustrated with the job they hope would earn them a decent living and maybe some savings until they find something better. For Lică, money comes first. For Liviu, it’s a more spiritual kind of fulfilment. At least until each of them starts thinking more about what they have, who they are, and what they can do with their lives. For them, a night shift across Bucharest is a true adventure where they meet people of all kinds – from young party goers and white collars to celebrities, DJs and even some shady individuals.”Why Do They Write On Walls?” (US Premiere) by Alin Boeru
2023, Documentary, 85 minutes
Online: Nov. 4, 2023 at 12:00 AM – 12 Nov. 2023 at 11:59 PM
“Why Do They Write On Walls?” delves into the history and ideology of Romanian street art and graffiti, interwoven with interviews of the country’s most renowned street artists. Started as an objective analysis of a counterculture, the film transforms into an intimate coming-of-age story of a young corporate employee who gets sucked into a world that is in total opposition to his own.”Phoenix. Har/Jar” (US Premiere) by Cornel Mihalache
2022, Documentary, 107 minutes
Online: Nov. 4, 2023 at 12:00 AM – 12 Nov. 2023 at 11:59 PM

“Phoenix. Har/Jar” reunites the members of the legendary rock band from the period before they left communist Romania in 1977, and highlights the important moments in the band’s tumultuous chronology, from the first appearances in 1962 under the name “Sfinții” (the Saints) to the present day. The documentary presents, for the first time, the events that the musicians went through in the country, the relationship with the Securitate, the communist political police, their departure from Romania and the band’s activity before and after the 1989 Revolution.”E Pericoloso Sporgersi” by Nae Caranfil
1993, Comedy, 104 minutes
In-Person: Nov. 11, 2023 at 06:00 PM – 11 Nov. 2023 at 08:00 PM at Northwest Film Forum
Horațiu, an army recruit, is hot on the heels after Cristina, a senior in high school. She’s not necessarily against it, but only after a mandatory engagement, something he will soon give up on with the appearance in town of Dino, a second-rate actor, but reputed provincial Casanova.”The Chalice. Of Sons and Daughters” by Cătălina Tesăr and Dana Bunescu
2022, Documentary, 83 minutes
Online: Nov. 4, 2023 at 12:00 AM – 12 Nov. 2023 at 11:59 PM
The documentary follows Peli and Nina, a young Roma couple striving to conceive a son in order to comply with local custom. While they live under tremendous strain and keep taking fertility and ultrasound checks, their respective families are disputing their rights in the chalice pledged by Peli’s father to Nina’s family when they arranged the couple’s match. The intricacies of this marriage are teased out by Peli’s sister, Bara, who provides a gripping confession about the women’s lives in this community.

ABOUT AMERICAN ROMANIAN CULTURAL SOCIETY SEATTLE

The American Romanian Cultural Society (ARCS) is a nonprofit association striving to promote a better understanding of the rich culture of Central and Eastern Europe, with an emphasis on Romania and the American Romanian cultural heritage in the Seattle area. Our signature event is the Romanian Film Festival in Seattle, started in 2014 and now hosted at SIFF Cinema Uptown and Northwest Film Forum every year in November. www.arcsproject.org

ARCS Arizona wants to be an energizing participant in the vibrant multicultural scene of the Phoenix metropolitan area. One of our major goals is to weave more deeply and substantially the Romanian cultural spirit into the fabric of Greater Phoenix artistic life, by engaging local cultural and educational communities and institutions in collaborative events and programs.
https://azarcc.org/

ARCS Detroit is excited to bring to Detroit ARCS’ vision for excellence in Romanian heritage language education, film, arts & culture programming, community-building events and cross-cultural dialogue. https://www.facebook.com/ARCSDetroitUSA