For the first time, Ceau, Cinema! will organise screenings in the Plopi-Kuncz neighborhood of Timişoara, bringing films for viewers of all ages at the educational and cultural center in the area, but at the same time continues its presence in Fabric and Elisabetin, with open-air screenings in Traian Square and at the Victoria cinema. The 12th edition of the festival will take place between July 16 and 20th 2025.
“We believe that one of our missions is to go beyond the city center and meet the public in several Timişoara’s neighborhoods, where we will program films for all ages, to celebrate together, in the middle of summer, the beauty of European cinema. We will bring films for children and young people, as well as classic films and recent successful productions,” says Ionuţ Mareş, artistic director of Ceau, Cinema!
In partnership with the Social Assistance Directorate of Timisoara, the festival is organizing screenings for the first time at the Kuncz Social Services Complex, all with free access.
In the evening of July 18th and 19th, the audience will be able to see two classic films of French cinema, the famous musicals “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” (“Les Parapluies de Cherbourg”, 1964) and “The Young Ladies of Rochefort” (“Les Demoiselles de Rochefort”, 1967), both directed by Jacques Demy. The films are screened with support from the French Institute in Bucharest.
During the day, the Ceau, Junior! section for children will bring three animated films: “The Sloth Story” (2025, Australia) by Tania Vincent and Ricard Cussó, “Diplodocus” (Czech Republic/Poland, 2024) by Wojtek Wawszczyk and “Flow” (Latvia, 2024) by Gints Zilbalodis, an Oscar winner. Teenagers are invited to see the French film “The Fantastic Three” (“Les trois fantastiques”, 2023) by Michaël Dichte.
“The Social Assistance Directorate of Timișoara Municipality supports all cultural initiatives that open paths towards inclusion and closeness between people. Art has the power to unite people beyond any social boundaries. We believe in the power of simple, authentic encounters, in which we find each other. We are glad that this meeting with film and community takes place right at the Kuncz Social Services Complex, a space that is increasingly becoming a point of connection. On a movie night, we are all just people, neighbors, Timișoara residents, without any labels,” says Emese Eszteró, general director of DAS Timișoara.
Ceau, Cinema! also continues its free outdoor screenings in Traian Square, organized with the support of the Ceva de Spus Association. During four evenings, the audience will be able to enjoy bitter comedies brought together in the CRAZY FAMILIES section: the French film “The orchestra” (“En fanfare”, 2024) by Emmanuel Courcol, the Spanish film “The Favour” (“El favor”, 2023) by Juana Macías, the Swiss-Peruvian co-production “Reinas – Sweet meeting” (“Reinas”, 2024) by Klaudia Reynicke, and the series will end with a surprise film.
The screenings in Traian Square will be preceded by 30 minutes of animated short films for children that we present in partnership with Animest, the most important animated film festival in Romania, and with the great festival for children and young audiences SCHLiNGEL from the city of Chemnitz (Germany), this year’s international partner of Ceau, Cinema!
Also based on our partnership with SCHLiNGEL, Ceau, Cinema! will screen at Cinema Studio the German animated film “Fritzi – A Revolutionary Story” (“Fritzi – Eine Wendewundergeschichte”, 2019, dir. Matthias Bruhn, Ralf Kukula), which will be dubbed live in Romanian by actress Jasmina Mitrici.
Two representatives of the festival from Germany, Franziska Winter and Nadine Luther, will be present at the festival and will take part in a roundtable discussion on the development of young audiences, together with Ioana Dragomirescu (coordinator of cinemas in Timisoara), Ligia Soare (Animest Festival), Andrea Reisz (Contrasens Association), Amalia Pană (One World Romania Festival) and Iulia Voicu (UNATC). The discussion will be moderated by Elisabeta Varga-Piatek.
Ceau, Cinema! will be present again at Faber, where children will be able to see a unique program of animated short films, presented by Animest, and will take part in a creative workshop organized by “Timişoara la cutie”.
At the Victoria Cinema in the Elisabetin neighbourhood, the festival is proposing a focus dedicated to the great British director Ken Loach, a filmmaker recognized for his interest in the disadvantaged social classes. Under the title KEN LOACH’S HUMANISM, the section includes four films: “The Angels’ Share” (2012), “Jimmy’s Hall” (2014), “I, Daniel Blake” (2016) and “Sorry We Missed You” (2019). All four films were part of the Cannes Film Festival competition, and “I, Daniel Blake” was awarded the Palme d’Or.
More information can be found on www.ceaucinema.ro, as well as on the festival’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
Festival passes are available on Eventbook. The program and tickets will be available soon.
Ceau, Cinema! Festival is dedicated to European cinema and is organized by the Association Pelicula Culturală.
Funded by the Municipality of Timișoara through the Center for Projects.
Sponsors: Groupama Insurance, Vitas Romania, E.ON Energie România
International partners: the international film festival for children and youth SCHLiNGEL in Chemnitz (Germany), Kinoatelje Gorizia/Nova Gorica (Italy/Slovenia)
Partners: Cinema Studio, Cinema Timiș, Cinema Victoria, Banatul Philharmonic, Lipoplast, Timișoara Social Assistance Directorate, the House of Arts – Timiș County Directorate for Culture, the Italian Cultural Institute in Bucharest, the German Cultural Center in Timișoara, the Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Center Bucharest, the Polish Institute Bucharest, the Czech Center Bucharest, the Embassy of Spain, the Cervantes Institute in Bucharest, the Austrian Cultural Forum Bucharest, the French Institute in Timișoara, the French Institute in Bucharest
Supported by: Porsche Timişoara, Ibis Timisoara City Center, Little Hanoi, Ovride, Crama Aramic, Prospero, Cărtureşti Timişoara, Faber, Ambasada, Ceva de Spus Association, Cartea Călătoare Foundation, Marele Ecran Association, Animest, Timişoara la cutie, the Faculty of Arts and Design of the West University of Timişoara, Eventbook, Claudia Roşu
Media partners: Films in Frame, West City Radio, CineFan, Tributary Stu, În Bine