Danube Delta documentary tours ten Romanian cities, supports wetland restoration

Delta Sălbatică (Wild Delta), a documentary filmed over five years in the Danube Delta, will tour ten Romanian cities between October 5 and 21 ahead of its nationwide cinema release. Director Dan Dinu will attend the screenings and meet audiences in each city.

The tour begins in Pitești on October 5 and continues in Constanța, Brăila, Galați, Ploiești, Iași, Brașov, Târgu Mureș, Cluj-Napoca, and Timișoara. All screenings are scheduled for 19:00 at Cinema City locations.

A gala premiere will be held at Cinema City AFI Cotroceni in Bucharest on October 14, also at 19:00, with members of the filmmaking team and their guests attending.

The documentary’s nationwide cinema release is scheduled for October 23.

Directed by Dan Dinu and narrated by actress Medeea Marinescu, Delta Sălbatică explores the biodiversity of the Danube Delta through species, landscapes, and stories that are generally inaccessible to ordinary visitors. The production was filmed under ethical wildlife-filming conditions.

The project reunites several members of the team behind the documentary România Sălbatică (Wild Romania), including cinematographer Cosmin Dumitrache, screenwriter Codruța Florea, composer Alexei Țurcan, sound designer Ioan Filip, and producer Matei Truța.

The film’s soundtrack, composed by Țurcan, also includes a song performed by Romanian artist Irina Rimes. The story is told from the perspective of water, voiced by Medeea Marinescu.

Beyond documenting the region, the project will support the restoration of wetlands in the Danube Delta. As such, 10% of cinema revenue will go to Rewilding Romania’s project at Ultima Frontieră, near the village of Periprava and Letea Forest.

Around 100 hectares in the northern part of the site, a former fish farm covering approximately 900 hectares, are currently being restored. Previously separated basins have been reconnected, allowing Danube water to flow back into the landscape.

The longer-term objective is to reconnect much of the area’s dry or fragmented land to the natural water cycle. Opening the former fish-farm compartments should allow water to circulate more freely and enable the basins to develop again into wetlands supporting birdlife and other species.

The filmmakers and the Wild Romania Association are also running an educational campaign on the role of wetlands in carbon storage and in supporting healthy ecosystems and local communities.