Bucharest's Apollo111 cinema opens with program featuring Corneliu Porumboiu retrospective, Cristian Nemescu evening

Apollo111 Cinema, a project of cultural center Apollo111, located in downtown Bucharest's Universul Palace, is scheduled to open on January 29.

The program of the first weeks will cover an evening dedicated to the late director Cristian Nemescu, a retrospective of the early films of Corneliu Porumboiu, alongside feature films and documentaries.

The public will be able to see here Paula Oneț's documentary Still Nia, the winner of the best documentary trophy at Astra Film Festival and of the public's choice award at Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest, and Ioana Mischie's feature film Catane, a comedy, inspired by actual events, about "resistance, ingenuity and the mysteries of a mountain village."

Among the international premieres scheduled are Harry Lighton's Pillion, a queer story awarded for its script at the Cannes festival, Genki Kawamura's Exit 8, inspired by the video game of the same name, and Kaouther Ben Hania's The Voice of Hind Rajab, the story of a Gaza girl and of those trying to save her. The film won the Silver Lion at the Venice festival. Igor Bezinovic's punk documentary Fiume o Morte!, nominated for the European Film Awards, is also scheduled for one screening.

The program dedicated to Cristian Nemescu includes the short Story From The Third Block Entrance (Poveste la scara C) and the feature Marilena from P7.

Meanwhile, the Corneliu Porumboiu Retrospective will include the shorts Gone with the Wine, A Trip to the City, and Liviu's Dream.

Apollo 111 Cinema will screen films every week, from Thursday to Sunday, in a 128-seat hall.

"The first weeks of screenings at Apollo111 will set the course of our cinema: we have a mix of recent films, retrospectives of Romanian auteurs, documentaries, and films for the entire family. This is just the beginning. We are developing a program that we hope will keep the audience enthusiastic throughout the year. It is our small contribution to preserving this irreplaceable habit, going to the cinema, which can remain an anchor, especially in complicated times," Ioan Maxim, the manager of Apollo 111 Cinema, explained.

The cinema will add to the program of Apollo 111, which will continue to produce theater performances and host parties.