As the 10th Transilvania International Film Festival plans to open June 3 with a gala screening of Francois Ozon’s Potiche, local and international producers are buzzing about Romania’s new film financing scheme which triples the territory’s support for filmmakers.

International industry professionals attending the festival in Cluj will have opportunity to meet local filmmakers, see feature projects in post-production and debate the future of Central and Eastern European film production and distribution within the framework of the festival’s tradition Romanian Days focus on local cinema.

Visiting producers will be keen to learn more about Romania’s new, EU-approved scheme to provide $112.2m in support of its film industry, culture and film education until 2014. The plan would provide interest-free loans and grants “for the production of Romanian films or films made with Romanian participation,” according to the European Commission. The plan is a huge boost for the local industry. Public support in Romania, which has hovered around $10.3m for the last two years, could now rise to nearly $30m annually.

The year’s Romanian Days will acknowledge 10 highly successful years for Romanian filmmakers. Director Cristi Puiu will present a masterclass and a special screening of his 2001 Director’s Fortnight title Stuff And Dough. Transilvania artistic director Mihai Chirilov told Screen he and his team were still considering more than 80 features, documentaries and shorts submitted for this year’s Romanian Days selection.

“The content of RoDays depends on which new films will be selected for Cannes,” Chirilov said, adding that Catalin Mitulescu’s Lover Boy, Adrian Sitaru’s For Love With Best Intentions, Gabriel Achim’s Adalbert’s Dream and Lucian Georgescu’s Phantom Father could find slots on the Croissette. “If not selected for Cannes, they won’t be available for [Transilvania] as they will look to premiere in another big festival afterwards.”

Other feature film which could appear in the Romanian Days selection include Constantin Popescu’s Principles Of Life, Sinisa Dragin’s If the Seed Doesn’t Die, Dan Chisu’s The Bear and George Dorobantu’s Bucharestless.

The festival’s Supernova showcase of international titles will include Susanne Bier’s Oscar winner In a Better World, Pernilla August’s Beyond, John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole, Matias Bize’s The Life of Fish, Chang-dong Lee’s Poetry, Álex de la Iglesia’s A Sad Trumpet Ballad, Mike Leigh’s Another Year, Daniel Burman’s Brotherand Sister and Sergey Loznitsa’s My Joy.

Chirilov said his festival would showcase a multitude of themes. The traditional No Limit selection will focus on provocative dramas and comedies, horror and fantasy films will appear in the Shadows section, and a new, one-off selection Wasted Youth is dedicated to new films featuring teenage stories.

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