KineDok: Documentary film program held in alternative venues returns next month

KineDok, the European program screening documentaries in alternative spaces, returns in several cities in the country beginning June 5.

The eleventh edition will run until April 2026 in museums, libraries, high schools, gardens, creative hubs, and bookstores, as well as in a former mine. The screenings are organized by over 20 local partners and coordinated by the national organizer, One World Romania Association.

The edition’s selection includes 17 films and two immersive VR experiences. In addition to the 10 recent documentaries from the participating countries – the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, and Romania – local partners can also screen a program of heritage shorts curated by researcher Adina Brădeanu, an archive film from the Czech Republic and a Focus Denmark part.

The Romanian documentaries selected this year are Isabela Tent’s Alice On & Off and Ruxandra Gubernat’s Imaginary Youth.

The program opens in Bucharest, Galați, and Valea Jiului with screenings of Marie-Magdalena Kocho’s The Other One/ Cealaltă. The documentary explores the theme of the needs of healthy siblings in families with children with disabilities through the eyes of a teenager.

The screening in Bucharest will take place on June 5 at the Conacul Golescu Grant Recreation and Personal Development Center, located within the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection of District 6. The screening will be followed by a discussion with psychologist and psychotherapist Silvia Ciubotaru.

In Galați, the screening will take place on June 5 at the Museum of Visual Art. The UrbanLab Valea Jiului Association, which joined the program last year, will screen the documentary The Other on June 7 at the Petrila Mine.

Admission is free to all screenings. The films will be screened with Romanian subtitles.

(Illustration: the organizers)