Romanian film review – Short pleasures: NexT

It's a busy season for Bucharest film fans: as soon as one film festival ends, the other kicks off. But the effort is more than worth it. Take this week, for example: the Bucharest International Film Festivalends today and tomorrow it's NexT's turn to delight cinema goers until Monday, 7 April. I'm a big fan of the international short film festival, not only because it promotes a genre which is still considered “light-weight” by many but because its selection has always been pure joy. The films are fun, clever, and extremely well-done. And most of all also a rare treat; you'd be hard pressed to catch them outside the short film festival season. The international competition looks solid as usual, with such lovely entries at the delightful animation Choir Tour or the hilariously droll Les lézards/The Lizards. The national competition is always more mixed but there are always some pearls hidden in there. Established sections like “European Film Academy” and “Oscar Night” are quality mainstream fare while the new “Arthouse Shorts” shows brilliant pics by acclaimed, daring filmmakers who moved on the long-features: Mike Leigh, Lynne Ramsay, Miguel Gomes, Apichatpong Weerasethakul. This is by far the most not-to-be-missed programme. Actual debates are not shied away from, which I can only applaud: “Angry Ukrainians”, consisting of films by a group of angry young filmmakers from Kiev, and the tellingly named “LGBT” (which consists, curiously, of a single long-feature) will certainly offer some food for thought. The talks, panels, workshops and - last but not least – parties round up a lovingly-organised event. The website is strangely laconic this year and some things got strangely mixed up (like Chinese entries in the national competition) but does its job and offers a lot of detailed information on the selection. So make your pick and hit those cinemas, you'll have a blast! By Ioana Moldovan, columnist, ioana.moldovan@romania-insider.com