Nadav Lapid’s ‘YES’ to be screened at Bucharest International Film Festival next month

The Bucharest International Film Festival (BIFF) has announced the Bucharest premiere of YES, one of the standout films selected in the Official Competition of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. The screening will take place during the 21st edition of BIFF, scheduled for September 19–28, and will be attended by the film’s director, Nadav Lapid, and cinematographer Shai Goldman.

In addition to attending the premiere, Lapid and Goldman will host a masterclass on cinematic expression, open to both industry professionals and the general public with an interest in auteur cinema, the organizers said.

YES will be presented as part of a retrospective dedicated to Nadav Lapid’s work, which will also include his acclaimed films Ahed’s Knee and Synonyms - the latter having won the Golden Bear at the 2019 Berlinale. Each screening will be followed by Q&A sessions with the director and cinematographer.

Nadav Lapid is regarded as one of the most provocative and innovative voices in contemporary cinema. Born in 1975 in Tel Aviv, he studied philosophy, French literature, and film directing, and made his feature debut with Policeman (2011), which received the Special Jury Prize at Locarno and several international awards.

His 2014 film The Kindergarten Teacher, selected at Cannes Critics’ Week, won over 20 international prizes and was later adapted into an American version. Lapid gained widespread international recognition with Synonyms, a personal exploration of identity inspired by his own experience as an emigrant in Paris.

For his significant contribution to cinema and intercultural dialogue, Lapid was honored by the French government with the title Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.

The 2025 edition of BIFF will present a curated selection of international films in national premiere across five sections: feature film competition, short film competition, panorama, Romanian authors, and history & cinema. It remains the only feature film competition organized in Bucharest.

Further details are available here.

(Photo source: the organizers)