Romanian Film White Night returns to Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca this month

The Romanian Film White Night (Noaptea Albă a Filmului Românesc – NAFR) returns to Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca on September 18. Screenings will take place at seven cinemas and will be dedicated exclusively to Romanian productions, the organizers said.

In Bucharest, the films will be shown at Cinema Elvire Popesco, Cinema Union, Cinemateca Eforie, Point Art Hub, and UNATC - Sala Cinema. Cinema Victoria will host the event in Cluj-Napoca.

Among the anticipated premieres is Tudor Giurgiu’s Three Days in September (3 zile în septembrie). The black comedy follows a bride who embarks on an unpredictable adventure on the Romanian seaside after her fiancé’s mistress unexpectedly appears and the wedding fails to reach the altar.

The cast includes Andreea Vasile, Emilian Oprea, Conrad Mericoffer, Mirela Zeța, Emilia Popescu, and Adela Popescu. The film will be screened in both Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca.

The program also includes Dragoș Turea’s hybrid documentary Lenin’s Pawn (Pionul lui Lenin), in which actor Sergiu Voloc wages an absurd battle against statues of Lenin in the Republic of Moldova.

Paul Negoescu’s Atlas of the Universe (Atlasul Universului) follows Filip, a 10-year-old boy searching for suitable shoes ahead of a long-awaited football match. The film won an award in the Generation Kplus section of the 2026 Berlinale and was selected for the Ecrans Juniors section at Cannes.

Meanwhile, in Rachel Tâpârjan’s documentary Something Familiar (Atât de familiar), the director’s efforts to help a woman find her biological mother lead her to investigate her own family history and discover what happened to the sisters from whom she was separated.

Valeriu Andriuță’s The Circle (Cercul) follows an investigator who travels to an isolated village in Moldova to examine an alleged hunting accident. His conversations with the locals reveal inconsistencies that cast doubt on the official account of the death.

The selection also features Anca Hirte’s The Living Ones (Cei vii), which examines, two decades later, whether those who returned alive from war and those who lost loved ones have found peace.

Andreea Cristina Borțun’s Blue Banks (Malul vânăt) centers on Lavinia, a single mother from a poor village in southern Romania who tries to secure a better life for her 13-year-old son on her own terms. Their relationship is tested over the course of four seasons.

In Cristian Bota’s Back and Forth (Dus-întors), a young actor facing divorce travels to Austria with his authoritarian father, with the journey turning into a confrontation with the past and childhood wounds.

A selection of Romanian short films will also be screened at UNATC – Sala Cinema, with free admission.

The full program is available on the event's website.