The theme of the festival this year is Through the Looking Glass. Lewis Carroll used this metaphor in his writing to describe an unfamiliar or abnormal setting or situation. The phrase can be used to describe a world that suddenly appears unfamiliar, as if things were turned upside down, similar to looking out from inside a mirror to find a world that’s both recognizable and yet turned inside-out. It is like a confusing looking glass world or a mysterious looking glass philosophy.

Schedule

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Journeys of Identity

Romanian Immigration Stories of Resilience

2024, 60′, English Followed by Q & A

We are kicking this year’s festival with our own documentary production, the third in a series of projects documenting the Romanian footprint in Minnesota. This groundbreaking documentary offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the lives of Romanian immigrants and their families, who have journeyed across continents to make Minnesota their home. Through candid interviews and personal stories, Journeys of Identity explores themes of cultural adaptation, intergenerational identity, and the enduring spirit of resilience that defines the immigrant experience.

Event Schedule:

3:30 PM: Reception

Kick off the evening with a warm reception and enjoy live music by the talented Duo Fara Nume: Colleen Bertsch and Eric Ray, setting the tone for a memorable experience.

4:00 PM: Opening Remarks

Dorian Branea, Director of the Romanian Cultural Institute NY, will provide opening remarks, setting the stage for the evening’s program.

4:15 PM: Documentary Screening

Experience the full screening of Journeys of Identity: Romanian Immigration Stories of Resilience. This powerful documentary captures the heartfelt journeys of Romanian immigrants to Minnesota, exploring their adaptation to a new life and the intergenerational connections with their heritage.

5:15 PM: Panel Discussion and Reflections

Engage in a thought-provoking Q&A session with filmmakers and individuals featured in the documentary. Gain deeper insights, ask questions, and interact directly with those who brought these powerful stories to life.

Buy Tickets

Friday November 8, 5-7 pm

Horia

2023, 108’, Romanian

Written by the director, Horia follows the titular character, a 17-year-old living in a small village with his father, a mechanic. When Horia succeeds in passing his graduation exams, his father gives him his old Mobra motorbike (together with some life advice that stresses the generation gap between them), a gift that doesn’t impress the teenager at all. Following a fight with his dad, Horia will run away from home on the Mobra, starting a journey across the country to reunite with the girl he has a crush on. And now is the perfect time for the director to put obstacles in his path, which makes Horia an even rarer beast in Romanian cinema: a road movie and coming-of-age story.

Buy Tickets

Saturday November 9, 3-5 pm

Warboy

2023, 85’, Romanian

Fall of 1944. World War II is coming to an end. The movie tells the emotionally charged story of a teenager who, in an attempt to save his family’s two horses, embarks on an initiatory journey, crossing the wild landscape of the Apuseni Mountains. With a blend of genres including adventure, war film, children’s film, and western, WARBOY is a movie for the whole family.

Buy Tickets

Saturday November 9, 5-7 pm

Where Elephants Go (Unde Merg Elefantii?)

2024, 115’, Romanian

Whimsical, funny and touching, Romanian directorial duo Gabi Virginia ?arga and C?t?lin Rotaru’s film nevertheless doesn’t shy away from difficult topics. Romanian directorial duo return to the spotlight, which marks a sudden change in their tone and has landed them a spot in as many as three sidebars at the 23rd Transilvania International Film Festival: the official competition, the Romanian Days competition and the Smart7 Festival Network strand and it will be presented at Greece’s Thessaloniki International Film Festival in November

Buy Tickets

Sunday November 10, 1-3 pm

Three Kilometers to the End of the World (Trei Kilometri pana la Capatul Lumii)

2024, 115’, Romanian

Actor-turned-director Emanuel Pârvu examines the fallout of a homophobic assault in a rural community from multiple perspectives. Set in a conservative Danube Delta community, a gay teenager’s journey of self-discovery clashes with the traditional values upheld by his parents and neighbors. This film was a Palme d’Or contender at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and took home the top prize at the Sarajevo Film Festival for best feature film. Emanuel Parvu films a sick and yet so ordinary society, entangled in beliefs from another time, shaped by the gaze of others and the fear of the neighbor’s denunciation, tortured by corruption at every level, right down to the gendarmes, more inclined to excuse the facts – and even seek to cover them up – than to find and judge the aggressors.

Buy Tickets

Date: November 2, 8 - 10, 2024

Location: The Main Cinema

119 SE Main Street Minneapolis, MN 55414

Click here for more Information