Film O'Clock International Festival #6 will take place from April 16 to 19 in 12 European and African countries, the organizers informed in a release.

The festival brings together 12 countries - Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Egypt and South Africa - through a synchronized program of screenings, conferences and networking sessions.

From universities and film schools such as Wits School of Arts (South Africa), Vilnius Academy of Arts (Lithuania) or the 'I.L. Caragiale' National University of Theatre and Cinematography in Bucharest (UNATC, Romania), to national archives and film institutes in Lithuania, Ukraine, Egypt and Poland, this structure supports the circulation of heritage film, contemporary cinema and current curatorial practices. At the same time, the network of partner cinemas and cultural spaces in all participating countries allows for the simultaneous presentation of the program in distinct local contexts, while maintaining a shared viewing experience.

Screenings in Romania will take place in Bucharest, at the Eforie Cinematheque.

'Included here is cinema that documents the world and cinema that reconfigures it, cinema that was banned or recovered late, but also cinema that pushes form to its limits. Together, these films do not propose a linear reading, but rather a state of attention, a way of looking in which meaning is not a priori, but is built over time, between images, between eras, between the viewer and what is being looked at,' said Mirona Raru, filmmaker, researcher and director of the festival.

The festival opens on April 16 with an online conference dedicated to contemporary curatorial practices, followed by the synchronized screening of 'Marfa si banii / Stuff and Dough' (directed by Cristi Puiu) in all participating countries, marking 25 years since the release of one of the founding titles of the New Romanian Cinema, which premiered at Cannes. The same evening, the program continues with 'How Long?' (directed by Gibson Kente), a film made during apartheid in South Africa, banned shortly after production and later rediscovered through international archiving and restoration programs.

The second day includes an online conference on European and African cinematic heritage, followed by screenings of 'The Peach Thief' (directed by Valo Radev, Bulgaria) and 'My Wife and the Dog' (directed by Said Marzouk, Egypt).

The third day of the festival is dedicated to formal explorations and radical cinematic languages: the German Classic Shorts program brings together restorations from the Deutsche Kinemathek collection, from expressionist animation to abstract experimental film. This is followed by the Greek visual essay film 'The Woman of... and the Collector - Allegory III' (directed by Costas Sfikas) and 'Aria' (directed by Vlad Druck, Moldova). The evening continues with selections from the international short film competition and live Q&A sessions with the creative teams.

The international short film competition features 16 films from the 12 participating countries, selected by the festival committee following an international call for entries, some of which have screened at festivals such as Cannes, Venice and Clermont-Ferrand.

The festival closes with a program dedicated to collective memory and poetic expression in cinema: 'Attila '74' (directed by Mihalis Kakogiannis), followed by the visual masterpiece 'Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors' (directed by Sergei Paradjanov). 'Man Is Not a Bird' (directed by Dušan Makavejev) offers the Yugoslav New Wave's perspective on modern society, while 'March! March! Tra-Ta-Ta!' (directed by Raimondas Vabalas) marks the first color film in Lithuanian cinema. The festival concludes with 'The Ladies of Wilko' (directed by Andrzej Wajda).

The sixth edition of Film O'Clock International Festival is produced by Creatrix Fama with the support of ABI-Fundatie and co-financed by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund (AFCN).

The National News Agency AGERPRES is a media partner of the event. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Petronius Craiu; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)