Swedish cinema celebrated in Transylvania

Clockwise, l-r: 100 Seasons, Hypermoon, The Phantom Carriage, And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine. Photos: French Quarter / Mia Engberg / © AB Svensk Filmindustri / Plattform Productions

This year, the Transilvania International Film Festival offers a large Nordic focus including six Swedish films. Among them the new Mia Engberg documentary Hypermoon, Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck's Berlinale winner And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine, and hybrid doc 100 Seasons by Giovanni Bucchieri. In addition, Victor Sjöström's silent film classic The Phantom Carriage will be screened at the Lutheran Church in Budapest with live music.

The Transilvania International Film Festival is one of Eastern Europe's most important film events. The festival, now in its 22nd edition, takes place in Romania's second city Cluj. This year's Nordic focus includes around 30 films and is a collaboration with Scandinavian Films, an umbrella organization that includes the Swedish Film Institute.

– It’s a great honor to arrange this huge Nordic focus at the biggest festival in Romania together with the amazing team at Transilvania International Film Festival. Romanian and Nordic cinema have during the last decade been widely international success stories, so it will be a perfect opportunity for the Nordic and Romanian filmmakers to meet, exchange creative ideas and celebrate this success in Cluj, says Theo Tsappos, Festival Manager at the Swedish Film Institute.

The Swedish films at the festival:

100 Seasons – Giovanni Bucchieri's playful hybrid doc starring Louise Peterhoff (Midsommar) had its world premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival earlier this year and also screened at Göteborg. Giovanni Bucchieri will be present in Cluj. The film will open in Swedish cinemas this autumn, distributed by Draken Film. Sales by Pluto Film.

Hypermoon – Mia Engberg's new film is a poetic documentary about memories and the passage of time. This film concludes the trilogy that also includes Belleville Baby (2013) and Lucky One (2019). Swedish theatrical premiere 29 September via TriArt Film. 

And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine – Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck's documentary about our relationship to the camera had its world premiere at Sundance and won two awards at Berlinale earlier this year. In Cluj it will be screened together with a live performance by Swedish crooner Jay-Jay Johansson. The film opens in Sweden on 1 September, distributed by TriArt Film. Sales by Heretic Films.

The Phantom Carriage – Victor Sjöström's immortal silent film classic from 1921, digitized by the Swedish Film Institute, will be shown in the Lutheran Church in Budapest. This special screening will feature live music by two Icelandic acts: composer Barði Jóhannsson and feminist post-punk trio Kælan Mikla.

The Swedish focus is rounded off with Isabella Carbonell's Venice-winner Dogborn and Ruben Östlund's three-time Oscar nominee Triangle of Sadness.

The selection also includes a carte blanche offered to the Göteborg International Film Festival which has given an extra recommendation for ten of the titles in the Nordic program. In addition to the aforementioned Hypermoon and Dogborn, this selection also includes two Swedish co-productions: Ellos eatnu – Let the River Flow by Ole Giaever and Four Little Adults by Selma Vilhunen. All films chosen were screened at Göteborg this year or 2022.

The Transilvania International Film Festival runs until 18 June.

For further info, please contact
Theo Tsappos, Festival Manager: theo.tsappos@filminstitutet.se