Creative Romanian Film Makers brings 11 dynamic companies to the AFM

Eleven Romanian companies are at the AFM under the Creative Romanian Film Makers banner to showcase the country as a dynamic production partner and leading intenational location.

Romanian cinema is in full bloom with filmmakers including Cristian Mungui (Four Months, Three Weeks And Two Days), Adrian Sitoru (Illegitimate), Radu Jude (Aferim) and Adina Pintilie (Touch Me Not) winning awards and acclaim at film festivals from Cannes to Berlin.

The country is also growing in popularity as an international location, offering dramatic locations and an appealing 35% tax credit on Romania expenditure. 

Creative Romanian Film Makers brings together 11 film companies at the American Film Market this week to showcase the country’s production excellence. It is supported by the Romanian Agency of Investments and Exterior Trade.

23 Film has a passion for innovative storytelling in the digital age. The company produces an array of content from fiction and doc features to fashion promos and new media works in an effort to produce powerful, interactive, and socially relevant global content. 23 Film has completed post production for feature Friday the 3^rd, shot during the pandemic and is now in post on an online documentary series about the Roma people, a demonstration of its commitment to exploring diverse narratives. 23 Film also offers production services to partners and develops IP pitches to attract potential investors.

Alien Films Entertainment is run by managing director and co-founder Iuliana Tarnovetchi, an experienced producer with over 40 film credits and managing partner Oana Prata, a media professional with some 25 years experience. They work together to service international productions including A Spy Among Friends (ITV Studios/Sony Television), feature Act Of God (US’ BYU Studios), Killing Eve (Sid Gentle/BBC America), and Alex Rider (Eleventh Hour Films/Sony Television).

Using the latest Avid technology, Chainsaw Europe is Romania’s only fully integrated digital post-production facility. It covers all aspects of post-production, from editing and sound design to compositing and VFX.

Andrei Dascalescu’s Filmlab has a diverse portfolio comprised of Dascalescu’s award-winning documentaries (Holy Father and Project Petrilo) and commissioned works for partners including HBO Europe (now Max), IKEA, Amnesty International, and the BBC World Service and more. Dascalescu documented his own journey of becoming a father in 2020’s Holy Father, and turned the camera on a former miner who uses art and absurdism to keep history alive in a Romanian mining town in the 2022 film Project Petrilo.

Alecs Nastoiu’s GAT Transilvania Films produces films that combine an arthouse sensibility with commercial viability. The company’s most recent feature is Nastoiu’s The Secret Of Pin Up Island, described as a psychological fairytale about a young woman, surrounded by peculiar individuals, trying to escape her loneliness.

Idea Film is a one-stop shop for film and TV production, production services and distribution. Completed productions include the series Thou Shalt Not Kill, and it is now working on TV projects called Encrypted, First Auntie and Those Who Were Seen. The distribution slate is comprised of European animations.

Oana and Tudor Giurgiu’s Libra Films lead-produced Alexandru Belc’s 2016 documentary Cinema, Mon Amour, which played widely on the international festival circuit. It is now the minority producer on Turkish director Selma Nacar’s Between Two Dawns, now in post. It was the winner of the WIP Europa industry award at San Sebastian in 2020, and was presented at Istanbul’s Meetings on the Bridge project development meeting, as well as Transylvania Pitch Stop. As a director Tudor Giurgiu has made the upcoming feature Freedom and a doc called Nasty about Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase.

Mandarin Studio opened its doors in 2021 as a full-service production studio with a focus on two key pillars of modern content creation: product placement and social media influencer marketing. Mandarin Studio’s work offers a bridge to international audiences, ensuring brands resonates worldwide.

Professional Film Partners is a dubbing production company, working on live action and animated productions.  It boasts its own state-of-the-art studio enabling the company to handle all aspects of production from pre to post. The company’s portfolio includes work with partners such as Fox Kids, Disney Channel, Jetix, Nickelodeon, Discovery Channel, Hallmark / Diva Universal, and Universal Channel.

Sabina Lisievici’s Saroa Film made a name for itself at international festivals with Lisievici’s short film On Hold. Saroa is now working on an English-language feature called Kingdom Of Judas which has completed principal photography. The psychological thriller is about a woman trying to find out the truth about her sister’s death.

Transilvania Film is one of Romania’s leading arthouse distributors, with a library of almost 100 films. It includes films from international directors including Spain’s Rodrigo Soroyen (Madre), Francois Ozon (Summer Of 85), and Illya Khrzhanovskiy (Dau, Natasha). It also works with local directors such as Tudor Giurgiu on his film Nasty.