B-est

BucharEST IFF, 1st edition, 20th-24th of April 2005

The 1st edition of BucharEST IFF took place at Union, Eforie and Elvira Popescu movie theaters, and received favorable critics from both national and international press. The opening film was "Promised Land" (official competition Venice International Film Festival, 2004), in the presence of the Israeli director Amos Gitai.

The president of the feature films competition jury the Oscar nominated Australian director Bruce Beresford.

A number of 17 films were screened, 7 of which were included in the Feature Films competition.

"I am glad to have had the honor of being the president of the jury for this festival! I liked the films seen, I worked extremelly well with my fellow jury colleagues. The international press should be informed about the existence of this new festival in the Eastern area! I wish the best of luck to the organizers of B-EST IFF!" (Bruce Beresford)

BucharEST IFF, 2nd edition, 27th of March- 2nd of April 2006

The famous Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi, colleague of Vaida and Kieslovsky, accepted to be the President of B-EST IFF 2006 jury.

The actress Victoria Abril, the muse of Almodovar, opened the Festival, delivering an extraordinary concert on jazz and latino rhythms.

Mika Kaurismaki, « the wonder child » of the Finnish cinema, prezented his latest two movies, acclaimed by the UNATC students.

Legendary director Manoel de Oliveira, aged 97, belonging to the same generation as Fellini and Visconti, presented his film “Espelho Magico” and was awarded with the Honorific Prize for the entire activity.

“I attended an exceptional movie selection, one I have hardly seen in other festivals.
This cinema event must continue, it is extraordinary it exists!” Krzysztof Zanussi

BucharEST IFF, 3rd edition, 14th–21st April 2007

The festival was marked by the presence of the prestigious filmmaker Nikita Mihalkov, long awaited in Romania by many organizations. The Russian director opened the 2006 edition of the festival with "Burned by the Sun" (Oscar for Best Foreign Film, 1994). Nikita Mihalkov delivered a master-class entitled The Director in two hypostases - as a director and as an actor, attended by more than 500 spectators, journalists, theater and film students, filmmakers.

Martin Blaney, Screen International correspondent, was the one who accepted the presidency of the Feature Films competition Jury of B-EST IFF 2007.

The 3rd edition of B-EST IFF brought to Bucharest over 65 films, divided into 5 sections; More than 15 000 spectators (media and film students, journalists, cinema-goers etc.) showed up to Scala and Eforie movie theaters for an entire week.

Awards

B-EST IFF 2007 Trophy - “Suely In The Sky” (France – Portugal, 2006), directed by Karim Ainouz
Best Documentary - “Favela Rising” (UK 2006), directed by Matt Mochary & Jeff Zimbalist Best Shortfilm - "Examen" (Romania, 2006), directed by Paul Negoescu
Special Mention of the Documentary Jury - Wener Herzog, director of "The Wild Blue Yonder" (Germany 2005).

BucharEST IFF, 4th edition, 14th–22nd April 2008

The 4th edition of B-EST IFF took place at Scala movie theater, with the opening film "Se, Jie" /"Lust, Caution" (Golden Lion, Venice 2007 and nominated at the Golden Globes 2008), directed by Ang Lee.

The special guest of the 4th edition was the well-known Polish director Andrzej Zulawski, who presented his film "La Fidelite" (France, 2000), and afterwards answered the questions of the spectator public in a series of Q&A.
Andrzej Zulawski also delivered a master-class entitled "The importance of the script for conceiving a film" at UNATC, attended by students, journalists and cinema-goers.

Starting with 2008, B-EST IFF has an Honorary president - the famous Rutger Hauer. The Dutch actor accepted the invitation to come to Bucharest during the Festival, to take part in the the events and to also deliver a master-class at UNATC.

The presidencyof the Feature Films competition Jury was held in 2008 by Miroljub Vuckovic, the director of the National Film Center in Serbia.

The competion of B-EST included 7 feature films and 9 documentaries, and the juries decided the following awards:

B-EST IFF 2008 Trophy - "Breath / Soom", directed by Kim Ki-Duk, South Coreea, 2007
Best Direction - Christian Petzold, for "Yella", Germany, 2007
Best Screenplay - Nae Caranfil, for "The Rest Is Silence", Romania, 2007
Best Cinematography - Virginie Saint Martin, for "I am from Titov Veles", Macedonia- Slovenia- Belgium-France, 2007
"Opera Prima" award for Debut - "Meduzot/ Jellyfish", directed by Shira Geffen, Etgar Keret, France- Israel, 2007
Best Documentary - "Cold Waves", directed by Alexandru Solomon, Romania, 2007
Best Shortfilm - "Hey ho, comrades", directed by Gregor Bozic, Slovenia, 2007

The Audience Award went to "The Rest is Silence", directed by Nae Caranfil, Romania, 2007

The International Film Festival B-EST 2008 also honored the film director Liviu Ciulei and the actress Ioana Bulca with the Awards for the Entire Career.

BucharEST IFF 5th edition 23-30 March 2009

The 5th edition of BucharEST IFF, that took place ar Cinema Studio, had as Special Guest the famous Polish filmmaker Jerzy Skolimovski, both as director and painter. Skolimowski presented in Bucharest his expresionist paintings at Galeriilor ¾ within Teatrul National, but also his film “4 Nights with Anna” (2008).

Also at this edition, BucharEST IFF started, alongside Centrul National de Cultura a Romilor and Niro Investment Group, the new section “Romano Cinema and Culture”, dedicated exclusively to films regarding the Roma cinema and culture.
Besides a round table aimed at the Roma contribution in cinema and the perception of Roma people in film, the section included the screening of 4 titles :“Bahrtalo!” - a newrealist comedy directed by Robert Lakatos, “Hidden Sorrows : the Persecution of Romanian Gypsies during WW II – a Romanian-American co-production from 2005 directed by Michelle Kelso, “The Land is Waiting”- a look into the lives of Romanian Gypsies today, documentary directed by Laurentiu Calciu and “When the road bends - Tales of a Gypsy Caravan”, a documentary directed by Jasmine Dellal and narrated by Johnny Depp, screened in the presence of the director.

The series of Special Nights continuted in 2009 with Israeli Film Night - “Shiva”, directed by Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz- and HBO Documentaries Night - “Apocalipse on Wheels”, directed by Alexandru Solomon and “Weddings, Music and Videotapes” directed by Tudor Giurgiu.

The president of the Feature Film Jury was Nik Powell, Vice-President of the European Film Academy and Director of the National Film and Television School of London.

The complete list of awards:

B-EST IFF Trophy– “ Eldorado”, (Bouli Lanners)
Best Directing – Bouli Lanners (“Eldorado”)
Best Screenplay – Radu Jude & Augustina Stanciu (“The Happiest Girl in the World”)
Best Cinematography – Giorgi Beridze (“Absurdistan”)
Special Mention - Kenishi Morimoto for “Monsieur Morimoto” (Nicola
Sornaga)
Audience Award – “Absurdistan” (Veit Helmer)
Best Documentary - “They Came to Play” (Alexandru Rotaru)
Special Mention for Documentary - “Supermen of Malegaon” (Faiza Ahmad Khan)
Best Shortfilm - “The Attack of Robots on Nebula- 5” (Ghema Garcia Ibarra)
Best Student Short “The Long Way Home” (Anamaria Chioveanu)

Awards for excellency to the actors Gheorghe Dinica, Adela Marculescu and Radu Beligan.

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about rules sections program jury awards sign-up archive photo gallery Romana	Archive BucharEST IFF, 1st edition, 20th-24th of April 2005 The 1st edition of BucharEST IFF took place at Union, Eforie and Elvira Popescu movie theaters, and received favorable critics from both national and international press. The opening film was "Promised Land" (official competition Venice International Film Festival, 2004), in the presence of the Israeli director Amos Gitai. The president of the feature films competition jury the Oscar nominated Australian director Bruce Beresford. A number of 17 films were screened, 7 of which were included in the Feature Films competition. "I am glad to have had the honor of being the president of the jury for this festival! I liked the films seen, I worked extremelly well with my fellow jury colleagues. The international press should be informed about the existence of this new festival in the Eastern area! I wish the best of luck to the organizers of B-EST IFF!" (Bruce Beresford) BucharEST IFF, 2nd edition, 27th of March- 2nd of April 2006 The famous Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi, colleague of Vaida and Kieslovsky, accepted to be the President of B-EST IFF 2006 jury. The actress Victoria Abril, the muse of Almodovar, opened the Festival, delivering an extraordinary concert on jazz and latino rhythms. Mika Kaurismaki, « the wonder child » of the Finnish cinema, prezented his latest two movies, acclaimed by the UNATC students. Legendary director Manoel de Oliveira, aged 97, belonging to the same generation as Fellini and Visconti, presented his film “Espelho Magico” and was awarded with the Honorific Prize for the entire activity. “I attended an exceptional movie selection, one I have hardly seen in other festivals. This cinema event must continue, it is extraordinary it exists!” Krzysztof Zanussi BucharEST IFF, 3rd edition, 14th–21st April 2007 The festival was marked by the presence of the prestigious filmmaker Nikita Mihalkov, long awaited in Romania by many organizations. The Russian director opened the 2006 edition of the festival with "Burned by the Sun" (Oscar for Best Foreign Film, 1994). Nikita Mihalkov delivered a master-class entitled The Director in two hypostases - as a director and as an actor, attended by more than 500 spectators, journalists, theater and film students, filmmakers. Martin Blaney, Screen International correspondent, was the one who accepted the presidency of the Feature Films competition Jury of B-EST IFF 2007. The 3rd edition of B-EST IFF brought to Bucharest over 65 films, divided into 5 sections; More than 15 000 spectators (media and film students, journalists, cinema-goers etc.) showed up to Scala and Eforie movie theaters for an entire week. Awards B-EST IFF 2007 Trophy - “Suely In The Sky” (France – Portugal, 2006), directed by Karim Ainouz Best Documentary - “Favela Rising” (UK 2006), directed by Matt Mochary & Jeff Zimbalist Best Shortfilm - "Examen" (Romania, 2006), directed by Paul Negoescu Special Mention of the Documentary Jury - Wener Herzog, director of "The Wild Blue Yonder" (Germany 2005). BucharEST IFF, 4th edition, 14th–22nd April 2008 The 4th edition of B-EST IFF took place at Scala movie theater, with the opening film "Se, Jie" /"Lust, Caution" (Golden Lion, Venice 2007 and nominated at the Golden Globes 2008), directed by Ang Lee. The special guest of the 4th edition was the well-known Polish director Andrzej Zulawski, who presented his film "La Fidelite" (France, 2000), and afterwards answered the questions of the spectator public in a series of Q&A. Andrzej Zulawski also delivered a master-class entitled "The importance of the script for conceiving a film" at UNATC, attended by students, journalists and cinema-goers. Starting with 2008, B-EST IFF has an Honorary president - the famous Rutger Hauer. The Dutch actor accepted the invitation to come to Bucharest during the Festival, to take part in the the events and to also deliver a master-class at UNATC. The presidencyof the Feature Films competition Jury was held in 2008 by Miroljub Vuckovic, the director of the National Film Center in Serbia. The competion of B-EST included 7 feature films and 9 documentaries, and the juries decided the following awards: B-EST IFF 2008 Trophy - "Breath / Soom", directed by Kim Ki-Duk, South Coreea, 2007 Best Direction - Christian Petzold, for "Yella", Germany, 2007 Best Screenplay - Nae Caranfil, for "The Rest Is Silence", Romania, 2007 Best Cinematography - Virginie Saint Martin, for "I am from Titov Veles", Macedonia- Slovenia- Belgium-France, 2007 "Opera Prima" award for Debut - "Meduzot/ Jellyfish", directed by Shira Geffen, Etgar Keret, France- Israel, 2007 Best Documentary - "Cold Waves", directed by Alexandru Solomon, Romania, 2007 Best Shortfilm - "Hey ho, comrades", directed by Gregor Bozic, Slovenia, 2007 The Audience Award went to "The Rest is Silence", directed by Nae Caranfil, Romania, 2007 The International Film Festival B-EST 2008 also honored the film director Liviu Ciulei and the actress Ioana Bulca with the Awards for the Entire Career. BucharEST IFF 5th edition 23-30 March 2009 The 5th edition of BucharEST IFF, that took place ar Cinema Studio, had as Special Guest the famous Polish filmmaker Jerzy Skolimovski, both as director and painter. Skolimowski presented in Bucharest his expresionist paintings at Galeriilor ¾ within Teatrul National, but also his film “4 Nights with Anna” (2008). Also at this edition, BucharEST IFF started, alongside Centrul National de Cultura a Romilor and Niro Investment Group, the new section “Romano Cinema and Culture”, dedicated exclusively to films regarding the Roma cinema and culture. Besides a round table aimed at the Roma contribution in cinema and the perception of Roma people in film, the section included the screening of 4 titles :“Bahrtalo!” - a newrealist comedy directed by Robert Lakatos, “Hidden Sorrows : the Persecution of Romanian Gypsies during WW II – a Romanian-American co-production from 2005 directed by Michelle Kelso, “The Land is Waiting”- a look into the lives of Romanian Gypsies today, documentary directed by Laurentiu Calciu and “When the road bends - Tales of a Gypsy Caravan”, a documentary directed by Jasmine Dellal and narrated by Johnny Depp, screened in the presence of the director. The series of Special Nights continuted in 2009 with Israeli Film Night - “Shiva”, directed by Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz- and HBO Documentaries Night - “Apocalipse on Wheels”, directed by Alexandru Solomon and “Weddings, Music and Videotapes” directed by Tudor Giurgiu. The president of the Feature Film Jury was Nik Powell, Vice-President of the European Film Academy and Director of the National Film and Television School of London. The complete list of awards: B-EST IFF Trophy– “ Eldorado”, (Bouli Lanners) Best Directing – Bouli Lanners (“Eldorado”) Best Screenplay – Radu Jude & Augustina Stanciu (“The Happiest Girl in the World”) Best Cinematography – Giorgi Beridze (“Absurdistan”) Special Mention - Kenishi Morimoto for “Monsieur Morimoto” (Nicola Sornaga) Audience Award – “Absurdistan” (Veit Helmer) Best Documentary - “They Came to Play” (Alexandru Rotaru) Special Mention for Documentary - “Supermen of Malegaon” (Faiza Ahmad Khan) Best Shortfilm - “The Attack of Robots on Nebula- 5” (Ghema Garcia Ibarra) Best Student Short “The Long Way Home” (Anamaria Chioveanu) Awards for excellency to the actors Gheorghe Dinica, Adela Marculescu and Radu Beligan.