From June 13 to 22, the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, where Estonia was this year’s focus country. Among the invited guests was Signe Somelar-Erikson, coordinator of the Tartu Film Fund.
The festival’s film program featured four films supported by the Tartu Film Fund: Black Hole (dir. Moonika Siimets), Aurora (dir. Rain Tolk, Andres Maimik), Life and Love (dir. Helen Takkin), and the short film Sannapäiv (dir. Anna Hints and Tushar Prakash).
TIFF is the largest and most influential film festival in Romania. Its location, Cluj-Napoca, shares many values with Tartu – both are strong university towns and centers of vibrant cultural life and a growing creative sector.
“TIFF offered an excellent opportunity to meet international experts. For example, I met Maciej Żemojcin, a Polish expert in virtual production and AI-driven filmmaking. His most recent major project involved creating a one-to-one digital model of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, allowing filmmakers to use an authentic environment without having to film on location. The digitalization and accessibility of historical or sensitive sites for filmmakers is also an interesting prospect in the context of Southern Estonia’s cultural and natural heritage. I also met Paul Rieth, one of Germany’s leading audience development experts, whose knowledge in target group–based approaches and audience engagement could enhance our capacity to help local filmmakers find their viewers. We definitely plan to bring this expertise to Tartu in the future through professional events organized by the Film Fund.”
