Palme d’Or winner Cristian Mungiu said he hopes to see “concrete results” by early next year on conversations to provide upfront cash-flow financing on the Romanian rebate.
The writer-director of Fjord, which won the top prize in Cannes this year and is the country’s Oscar submission, will attend AFM in Los Angeles next week and take part in a panel conversation.
AFM has selected Romania as its first Country of Focus and is partnering with Creative Romanian Filmmakers (CRFM). A dedicated exhibition space at the Fairmont Century Plaza will house companies including Augmented Films, Quantum Media Creative, and Negrea Visuals.
Mungiu will speak on a panel on November 14 called Beyond The New Wave: Romania As Your Next Production Partner. He will be joined by Valentin Savu, general manager, Romanian Office for Film and Investments in Culture; Alma Bacula, head of production & partner, Icon Films; and producers Iuliana Tarnovetchi, Gabriel Popescu and Ionuț Ionescu.
“This year, a Romanian film was awarded at every major festival,” Mungiu said. ”I believe Romanian films have real potential in international markets – not only at festivals, but with a wider audience. In this sense, Fjord’s awards-season campaign and its North American theatrical release look promising. And not only is the Romanian cash rebate working again, we have also started a conversation with the Romanian authorities about providing upfront cash-flow financing for the rebate, and we hope to see concrete results as early as 2027.”
Four films will screen at AMC Century City 15 as part of the Country of Focus programming: Comatogen by Igor Cobileanski, Gone Guy by Andrei Dascalescu, Grounded by Ligia Ciornei and The Circle by Valeriu Andriuta.
IFTA president and CEO Jackie Brenneman said, “Romania has been part of the AFM community for many years, and we’re proud to recognise its contributions to global cinema as our first-ever Country of Focus.”
Mihai Lupu, CRFM managing director, said: “Since 2016, Creative Romanian Filmmakers has brought Romanian producers to the world’s most important film markets and festivals, and the American Film Market has always been a key stop on that journey. Being named Country of Focus this year is a milestone for our entire industry – an invitation to buyers, sales agents and producers to discover Romanian stories, talent and locations, and to build lasting partnerships with us.”
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