Concept
Created under the patronage of NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF DRAMA AND FILM BUCHAREST, NATIONAL ART UNIVERSITY BUCHAREST and ROMANIAN NATIONAL CINEMA CENTER, with strong educational purpose, BUCHAREST INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL EXPIFF is the first and only showcase of experimental film in Romania, aimed at bringing in front of the audience highly innovative films, both in content and style, filmmakers with strong personal views on contemporary reality, which also daringly explore the boundaries of cinema language.
A cinema of total creative freedom and lack of compromise.
We believe EXPIFF is a highly necessary event, particularly for Romania, whose cinema already proved its amazing strength in the last years, through outstanding voices like Cristi Puiu, Corneliu Porumboiu, Cristian Mungiu, Radu Jude, and others, yet mainly in the area of realistic narrative fiction. On this flourishing creative background, EXPIFF comes as a natural complementary reaction, its main goal being to broaden perception, to open a whole new artistic territory both for the general and specialized audience, particularly for the film and visual art students.
Therefore we present films that are “lessons" of experimental cinema, emblematic pieces, eye-openers about the unlimited possibilities offered by the cinematic medium, about ways to transcend any possible borders between fiction/documentary/visual art, about transgression of boundaries on every level, from concept, structure, rhythm to the very shot construction.
We are also dedicated to offer increased visibility to cutting edge visual artists, whose work is mainly accessible in museums and art galleries circuit and rarely on cinema screen, as we believe the border area between cinema and video art is an extremely rich, creatively nourishing one, from where unique artistic voices constantly emerged over the years like Peter Greenaway, David Lynch, Derek Jarman, Andy Warhol, Stan Brakhage and others.
EXPIFF presents on one side an INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION, consisting of the most representative productions of the last years. For this edition, we are extremely honored to be joined in our curatorial work by experienced international experimental film programmers PETER VAN HOOF ( Head of Short Film Department of International Film Festival Rotterdam), MIGUEL VALVERDE ( co-director of Lisbon International Independent Film Festival Indielisboa) and DIETER WIECZOREK ( director of Signes de Nuit Film Festival Paris). Each of them brings in front of Romanian audience a CARTE BLANCHE selection - part of our International Short Film Competition - comprised of the key titles from their last years programs. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM, LISBON INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL INDIELISBOA and SIGNES DE NUIT FILM FESTIVAL PARIS are three of the most prestigious international film events in the area of experimental cinema, recognized worldwide for their consistent creative support of innovative radical filmmaking and visual art.
EXPIFF educational mission will be taken further through a number of ARTIST PROFILES and SIDE PROGRAMS dedicated to highly innovative filmmakers with unique visions on contemporary reality, which also uncompromisingly explore the limits of cinema language. Among the parralell programs:
EXPERIMENTAL EYE - UNIQUE VISIONS IN EUROPEAN CINEMA
FOCUS: EXPERIMENT IN SOUTH AMERICAN CINEMA
PANORAMA: ROMANIAN EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM
Film presentation will be accompanied by thorough curating input from important film historians and critics, aimed at facilitation the access and stimulate the interest of the cinema lovers for radically innovative art area.
Copel Moscu, Festival Director
Rik Vermeulen, curator - International Selection
Adina Pintilie, curator - International Selection
A cinema of total creative freedom and lack of compromise.
We believe EXPIFF is a highly necessary event, particularly for Romania, whose cinema already proved its amazing strength in the last years, through outstanding voices like Cristi Puiu, Corneliu Porumboiu, Cristian Mungiu, Radu Jude, and others, yet mainly in the area of realistic narrative fiction. On this flourishing creative background, EXPIFF comes as a natural complementary reaction, its main goal being to broaden perception, to open a whole new artistic territory both for the general and specialized audience, particularly for the film and visual art students.
Therefore we present films that are “lessons" of experimental cinema, emblematic pieces, eye-openers about the unlimited possibilities offered by the cinematic medium, about ways to transcend any possible borders between fiction/documentary/visual art, about transgression of boundaries on every level, from concept, structure, rhythm to the very shot construction.
We are also dedicated to offer increased visibility to cutting edge visual artists, whose work is mainly accessible in museums and art galleries circuit and rarely on cinema screen, as we believe the border area between cinema and video art is an extremely rich, creatively nourishing one, from where unique artistic voices constantly emerged over the years like Peter Greenaway, David Lynch, Derek Jarman, Andy Warhol, Stan Brakhage and others.
EXPIFF presents on one side an INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION, consisting of the most representative productions of the last years. For this edition, we are extremely honored to be joined in our curatorial work by experienced international experimental film programmers PETER VAN HOOF ( Head of Short Film Department of International Film Festival Rotterdam), MIGUEL VALVERDE ( co-director of Lisbon International Independent Film Festival Indielisboa) and DIETER WIECZOREK ( director of Signes de Nuit Film Festival Paris). Each of them brings in front of Romanian audience a CARTE BLANCHE selection - part of our International Short Film Competition - comprised of the key titles from their last years programs. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM, LISBON INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL INDIELISBOA and SIGNES DE NUIT FILM FESTIVAL PARIS are three of the most prestigious international film events in the area of experimental cinema, recognized worldwide for their consistent creative support of innovative radical filmmaking and visual art.
EXPIFF educational mission will be taken further through a number of ARTIST PROFILES and SIDE PROGRAMS dedicated to highly innovative filmmakers with unique visions on contemporary reality, which also uncompromisingly explore the limits of cinema language. Among the parralell programs:
EXPERIMENTAL EYE - UNIQUE VISIONS IN EUROPEAN CINEMA
FOCUS: EXPERIMENT IN SOUTH AMERICAN CINEMA
PANORAMA: ROMANIAN EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM
Film presentation will be accompanied by thorough curating input from important film historians and critics, aimed at facilitation the access and stimulate the interest of the cinema lovers for radically innovative art area.
Copel Moscu, Festival Director
Rik Vermeulen, curator - International Selection
Adina Pintilie, curator - International Selection
