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Tag: Ileana Bârsan

  • FILMIKON International Film Festival

    FILMIKON International Film Festival

    The second edition of the FILMIKON International Film Festival has come up with a series of productions that have, throughout the years, been awarded by the ecumenical and inter-confessional juries as part of more than 30 film festivals worldwide. Also, the festival proposes a dialogue about Christian and human values, starting off from those productions.

     

    The inaugural edition of FILMIKON was held in Bucharest in 2024, yet the second edition was extended, being held in Iasi, Cluj-Napoca, Oradea, and The Vatican. FILMIKON is part of the Jubilee Year 2025 program. Ileana Bârsan is a film critic and the director of FILMIKON. We sat down and spoke to Ileana about the significance of the Ecumenical Jury Award, granted to feature films in the competition of such international film festivals worldwide, like the festival in Cannes or the one in Berlin.

     

    Ileana Bârsan: “The name of the award may lead us into thinking that the productions in point have a close connection with religion, yet the productions do not target the people who have a close connection with religion alone. The panel of the Ecumenical Jury is made of pundits jointly nominated by SIGNIS (World Catholic Association for Communication) and Interfilm (an international inter-confessional film organization) and the prize is an independent one, awarded to productions of these international festivals laying specific emphasis on human and Christian values, values that early into this century we kind of lost. These are films that attempt to make us a little bit more mindful towards the others whom, since we’re running out of time and since we fall short of interest and generosity, we sometime lose. Films that come up with their own individual stories but which, in the long run, convey a universal message. It was the FILMIKON festival’s eventual aim, that of bringing productions awarded by the judging panels that are particular about these themes of nuances, films we can offer to the Romanian public, thus generating discussions, even concerns that can go beyond the cinema halls. It is very important that these film stories lay special emphasis on serious issues and topics about which we learn in the newsreel programs. That is why, through these films, we somehow begin asking ourselves questions, looking at ourselves a little bit, even wondering what we can do here, in our community and suchlike. Because, globally speaking, or I don’t know… when it comes to politics in general, we are a bunch of small-timers and cannot control these things, but we can control what is close to us. “

     

    For the first time since 2024, the Transylvania International Film festival, TIFF, has established an Ecumenical Jury. Romanian film critic Ileana Bârsan was one of the members of the panel. ‘Summer Brother’ directed by Joren Molter, the disturbing story of two brothers, awarded with the Ecumenical Jury Prize at TIFF 2024 and also the adventure movie ‘I, Captain” (Io, Capitano, directed by Matteo Garrone), winner of the SIGNIS Prize, Venice 2023, a contemporary odyssey that overcomes the dangers of the desert, the horrors of Libyan detention centers and the dangers of the sea, were included in the second edition of the FILMIKON International Festival.

     

    FILMIKON also presented several Romanian films that address current issues or tell the stories of real characters, which can serve as models. Here is Ileana Bârsan, FILMIKON director, with details: “’Where elephants go’ is a Romanian film made by Gabi Virginia Șarga and Cătălin Rotaru, a film that received a Special Mention of the Ecumenical Jury, at TIFF 2024. It is the story of a child around whom some adults gravitate, who are more dazed and confused in their own life than the child himself. This kid, who has a medical problem, is full of hope and serenity and so full of life that he somehow manages to transform also the lives of others. The festival program also included the short film “Dead Cat” (directed by Ana-Maria Comănescu), which won the SIGNIS Award, TIFF 2024. “A mountain of love”, another Romanian film shown at FILMIKON, a very recent film, completed at the end of 2024, is directed by the priest Dan Suciu and has Bogdan Slăvescu as director of photography. It is a tribute film to a slightly different priest, who unfortunately died, Florentin Crihălmeanu. He was also the Greek-Catholic bishop of Cluj-Gherla between 2002 and 2021. They say he was an atypical priest, not only because he was very connected with people, especially the young, who considered him a spiritual leader, but he was also very passionate about mountaineering, so the film tells the story of his relationship with people and the mountain. And the last Romanian film from the FILMIKON 2 edition, made in 2019, “The Cardinal” by Nicolae Mărgineanu, is a film about the life of bishop Iuliu Hossu. A Greek-Catholic cardinal who meant a lot to the history of Romania, a hero of the Great Union, who was imprisoned in Sighet prison and ended up in forced residence. We are talking about a martyr’s path, unfortunately not unique in that period.”

     

    The Christus cine-concert and the film The Cardinal were also presented at the Vatican, as part of the program of the Jubilee Year 2025, on the occasion of the Social Communications Jubilee, held from January 24-26. The establishment of a jubilee year is a Catholic tradition of more than 700 years, which is repeated once every 25 years. (EN, LS)

  • One World Romania International Documentary Film and Human Rights Festival

    One World Romania International Documentary Film and Human Rights Festival

    “Normal Autistic Film”, a documentary made by the Czech filmmaker Miroslav Janek, is the award-winning production of the One World Romania International Documentary Film and Human Rights Festival, an event whose 10th edition has recently come to a close. “We believe the production we’ve selected does not limit itself to the world of autistic children alone, but it conveys a message to all of us. What we can learn from these children is to value our own distinctiveness. By selecting this film, we actually took the courage to show who we really are. Everyone’s normality turns out to be different. Through various frames and characters, the film reveals the fact that there is no such thing as one single reality, but different perspectives on that”. That was the rationale of the judging panel made up of high-school students who bestowed the prize after the screening of the 10 films that entered the competition.



    Filmmaker Miroslav Janek, who only managed to be in Bucharest when the festival began, offered a thank-you video recording to members of the judging panel and filmgoers. Fear was the main theme at the 10th edition of the One World Romania International Documentary Film and Human Rights Festival. “We live in a global world, yet we tend to return to times past, to establish new borders, to shut ourselves behind walls. Corrupt politicians from all over the world take advantage of our weaknesses and fears and seize power by exploiting them. Some of us are more determined to go against the flow, sacrificing all they’ve got. The films screened during the One World Romania festival explore the origin of our fears and how we can overcome them.



    Here is One World Romania director Alexandru Solomon with details on that: ”At this edition, fear stood out of all the other themes related to politics, to the general atmosphere, which, since we had started the selection, got worse all around the world. And it’s mainly about the fear linked to populist, nationalist, homophobic trends. But it’s about more specific topics as well, such as problems related to dysfunctions in Romania’s healthcare system but also in other countries, problems that in turn fuel our fears.”



    Debates bringing together filmgoers and guests in the festival, just like in the previous editions, were very interesting, and some of them had to conclude only because of the following screening, according to the timetable. The festival progressed as civil society itself progressed, just as the concern grew more intense for the fight against corruption and for freedom of expression.



    Here is One World Romania director Alexandru Solomon, once again: ”The festival’s managing board has made its position clear all throughout these years in this respect and we rely heavily on NGOs and associations that can adopt a documentary, an documentary that could support their cause, a film that can speak about the problems they raise. So the documentary film can also be viewed as some sort of market, a market of ideas where filmmakers, NGOs and civil society meet. Notwithstanding, the role of a documentary is not that of solving various problems. What the documentary film is capable of achieving, as compared to mainstream media, is the presentation of a more insightful image, viewed also from a more sympathetic perspective, that of the society we live in, as documentary filmmakers are people who spend a lot of time in the company of ‘ideas’, approaching the people they film in a very special way. And also in comparison with the media, directors of documentary films are a little less pressed for time and necessities. It is quite visible that we managed to start a dialogue, within the One World Romania Festival. Furthermore, the public has become more open, more capable of expressing their opinions, as compared to what happened 9 years ago, when the festival began.”



    The 10th edition of the One World Romania International Documentary Film and Human Rights Festival short-listed 6 Romanian productions, three of which were screened in the “Romania on the move” section, while three other projects which are still works in progress were screened in the “Romania Work-in-progress” section. As part of the festival, Claudiu Mitcu and Ileana Bîrsan presented an edited fragment of “The Trial” a documentary film tracing the case of Mihai Moldoveanu, a former officer in the Romanian Army who had to serve a 25-year prison sentence because of a murder about which he was adamant in stating he did not commit.



    With details on that, here is Ileana Bârsan: ”We wanted to see whether this topic was of any interest to anyone and if the fragment we edited and which is part of our film, is actually working. We try to present this case in as balanced a way as possible. We wanted to get feedback also because our film has only one character, as we were denied access to other voices. It was not our fault, as people in the system, prosecutors and judges, who were involved in previous trials or in the new one, declined our invitation to dialogue. The most difficult part was to think out a film with one single character, and to refrain from providing our own take on all that. In the 20 minute long fragment we have presented we tried to select stuff which was coherent but also intriguing, yet without providing the entire information, at once being unbiased. It was a useful exercise, the attempt also helped us with the final editing.”



    More than 11,000 filmgoers went to the One World Romania Festival this year. Some of the productions screened during this year’s edition as well as some documentary films screened in previous editions have been included in the 2017 selection of the KineDok alternative distribution program.

  • Kino-Werkstätten für Kinder

    Kino-Werkstätten für Kinder

    Der Film ist die populärste Kunstform, dennoch ist sie in einem Kinderleben am seltensten präsent. Das Angebot der Kinos beschränkt sich leider auf die Liste mit den neueren Zeichentrick- und Unterhaltungsfilmen, die Fernsehsender haben keine Sonderprogramme für Kinder, die sich auf das Kino und die visuellen Künste beziehen, und die Schulen haben in ihren Lehrplänen keine Stunden für die Filmbildung vorgesehen.“ So erklärt die Journalistin und Filmkritikerin Ileana Bârsan, wie sie auf die Idee kam, Kino-Werkstätten für Kinder im Alter zwischen 7 und 14 Jahren zu organisieren.



    Zudem ist es für Ileana Bârsan nicht die erste Erfahrung dieser Art. Sie beteiligte sich als Trainerin am Projekt L’éducation à l’image“ (Ausbildung durch Bilder) der Französischen Botschaft in Bukarest, in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Kulturverein Next“ und der französischen Filmemacherin Vanina Vignal. Der Startschuss in dem bis dahin beispiellosen Projekt fiel 2009 — als Erfolg konnte die Tatsache gewertet werden, dass man den Schülern der Oberstufe das Kino näherbringen konnte, mit Hilfe von Filmvorführungen und Debatten zu den Werken, die die Geschichte der siebten Kunst mitgeprägt haben. Ein weiteres Programm, das Ileana Bârsan am Herzen liegt, hei‎ßt EducaTIFF, mit Anlehnung an das Akronym des Internationalen Filmfestivals Transilvania, unter dessen Schirm es gegründet wurde. Ursprünglich hie‎ß es Programm für die Medien- und Filmbildung. Die Filmkritikerin erinnert sich, dass damals auch die ersten Gedanken über die Werkstätten entstanden.



    Da ich seit einigen Jahren über Filme schreibe, habe ich irgendwann bemerkt, dass die Kinokritik langsam verkümmerte, und dann dachte ich, dass es kaum noch Menschen gibt, mit denen man sich über diese Kunstform unterhalten kann. Die Filmkritik hat aber zurzeit nicht nur in Rumänien kein gutes Ansehen, es ist ein recht verbreitetes Phänomen. Zudem sind die Zeitschriften, in denen ich meine Kinokritiken hätte veröffentlichen können, vom Markt verschwunden und die Zuschauer bleiben den Kinos fern. Ich meine damit, dass wir bei 200.000 Kinobesuchern eines Films von einem Glücksfall reden können. Ich bin also zum Schluss gekommen, dass das Publikum irgendwie ausgebildet werden sollte. Sicherlich ist das ein langfristig angelegter Plan, es geht schlie‎ßlich um Kinder, die sich erst jetzt solche Filme ansehen, bei denen erst jetzt dieses Interesse an einer alternativen Erzählform geweckt werden soll und die versuchen sollten, die erzählten Geschichten aus Sicht der eigenen Erfahrungen zu verstehen. Ich war der Ansicht, dass diese Werkstätten eine Lösung bieten könnten, die Ausbildung von Zuschauern, die das Kino auch als Alternative zu den üblichen Erzählformen sehen und die Korrelationen zwischen dem Kino und den anderen Künsten ableiten können.“




    Wir fragten Ileana Bârsan, wie der Ablauf einer Kinowerkstatt überhaupt aussieht.



    Das einführende Modul erstreckt sich über fünf Wochen, mit jeweils einer Sitzung am Wochenende. Die Filmvorführung und die anschlie‎ßende Diskussion dauern etwa zwei Stunden. In dem einführenden Modul stelle ich den Kindern Filmausschnitte vor, die nicht länger als zehn Minuten sind. Und sie versuchen, die Bilder in Bewegung zu verstehen, das Schauspiel, die Rolle der Regiearbeit, der Lichtverhältnisse, praktisch das ABC des Kinos. Wir vermitteln überhaupt keine theoretischen Inhalte, sie entdecken alles selbst bei den Filmvorführungen, wie die Geschichte aufgebaut ist, wie eine Einstellung entsteht, welchen Einfluss der Schauspieler und der Regisseur haben, wieviel von dem letzteren überaupt in dem Film sichtbar ist. Ebenfalls in dem ersten Modul entdecken die Kinder auch die Schnitt-Technik, ausgehend von einem Photo, kommen sie beim Kino und dem Bildschnitt an. Ich kann behaupten, dass sie sehr glücklich waren, als sie entdeckten, dass auch sie imstande sind, in Bildern zu denken.“




    Den Kinowerkstätten, die von der Journalistin und Filmkritikerin Ileana Bârsan veranstaltet werden, liegt auch eine weniger berufsbezogene Erfahrung zugrunde.



    Ich wurde mir ihres Nutzens bewusst, als ich meine eigenen Kinder anschaute, vor allem meine ältere Tochter, die fast 13 Jahre alt ist. Das Kino ist ein sehr effizientes und schnelles Kommunikationsmittel, man reagiert fast sofort beim Anschauen eines Films, und so entsteht eine Idee, ein Dilemma. Und bei den Kindern ist es nicht nur eine unmittelbare Reaktion, sondern auch eine ehrliche Reaktion, sie drücken ohne Umwege das aus, was sie bei der Begegnung mit einer Geschichte fühlen. Jenseits der Tatsache, dass man etwas über die Filmgeschichte erfährt, stimulieren diese Kurse die Kreativität der Kinder. Sie kommen sofort mit eigenen Ideen, sie analysieren, was sie auf dem Bildschirm sehen, kommen mit weiteren Varianten, eine Debatte entsteht und am Ende beginnen sie sich selbst zu hinterfragen. Und das ist sehr wichtig.“




    Von den Fotografien zu bewegten Bildern. Erinnerung, Phantasie und Erzählung. Wozu sind die Filme gut?“ und Regisseur, Erzähler, Figur, Zuschauer. Wer erzählt die Geschichte und was folgt? Wie war der Film?“ — sind nur einige der Fragen, die die Filmkritikerin Ileana Bârsan ihren kleinen Kursteilnehmern stellt.



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  • Ateliere cinematografice pentru copii

    Ateliere cinematografice pentru copii

    După ce, timp de aproape zece ani a ţinut cronică de film în cele mai importante publicaţii culturale, din 2013 Ileana Bârsan a iniţiat o serie de ateliere cinematografice pentru copii. “Cinema-ul este cea mai populară artă, însă este cea mai puţin prezentă în vieţile copiilor. Cinematografele, din păcate, sunt limitate la lista de animaţii şi filme de entertainment de dată recentă, televiziunile nu au programe speciale pentru copii în care cinema-ul şi artele vizuale să fie conţinute, iar şcolile nu au în programă nicio oră dedicată educaţiei cinematografice” spune Ileana Bârsan, jurnalist şi critic de film, explicând cum i-a venit ideea atelierelor, destinate copiilor între 7 şi 14 ani. În plus, Ileana nu este la prima experienţă de acest tip. A participat, în calitate de formatoare, la proiectul – inedit în învăţământul românesc – L’education à l’image, proiect iniţiat de Ambasada Franţei în România, Societatea Culturală Next şi cineasta franceză Vanina Vignal. L’education à l’image a pornit în România în 2009 şi a reuşit să-i aducă pe liceeni mai aproape de cinema, prin proiecţii şi dezbateri pe marginea filmelor care au marcat istoria acestei arte. Un alt program care a contat pentru Ileana este EducaTIFF numit iniţial Program de educaţie media şi cinematografică, lansat în cadrul Festivalului Internaţional de Film Transilvania. Ileana Bârsan: ”Cum scriu de câţiva ani despre film, la un moment dat critica specializată pe cinema a început să decadă, şi m-am gândit că, de fapt, nu prea mai există oameni cu care să schimbi idei pe marginea acestei arte. Critica de cinema nu este, însă, discreditată în acest moment doar în România, e un fenomen destul de general. În plus, revistele în care aş fi putut scrie despre cinema au dispărut, iar spectatorii cam lipsesc din cinematografe, adică ajungem în cazuri fericite la cel mult 200.000 de spectatori, aşa că mi-am dat seama că spectatorii trebuie cumva formaţi. Sigur că este un plan cu bătaie lungă, vorbim despre nişte copii care abia acum încep să vadă filme, să fie interesaţi de această altă modalitate de a spune o poveste, şi de a încerca să înţeleagă aceste poveşti prin prisma propriei vieţi. Mi-am dat seama că aceasta ar fi o soluţie, formarea unor spectatori care să vadă cinema-ul şi ca pe o modalitate de a spune o poveste, şi care să poată face corelaţii între cinema şi alte arte. »



    Ileana Bârsan ne povesteşte şi cum se desfăşoară un atelier: ”Modulul introductiv durează cinci săptămâni, cu o şedinţă pe săptămână, în weekend. Vizionarea şi discuţiile ţin cam două ore. În modulul introductiv le prezint copiilor fragmente din filme, fragmente care să nu depăşească zece minute. Şi ei încearcă să înţeleagă imaginile în mişcare, jocul actoricesc, rolul mizanscenei, rolul luminii, lucruri de abecedar de cinema. Nu teoretizăm deloc, ei singuri descoperă privind filmele cum se construieşte povestea, cum se construieste o scenă, care e contribuţia actorului şi care e contribuţia regizorului, cât se vede el în toată povestea asta. Tot în modulul introductiv descoperă şi tehnica montajului, pornind de la o fotografie ajung la cinema şi la montaj. Pot spune că s-au bucurat foarte tare să descopere că şi ei sunt capabili să gândească în imagini.”



    Dar atelierele de cinematografie organizate de criticul şi jurnalistul Ileana Bârsan pornesc şi dintr-o experienţă mai puţin profesională: ”Mi-am dat seama de utilitatea lor şi uitându-mă la copiii mei, mai ales la fata mea cea mare, care are aproape 13 ani. Cinema-ul este un extrem de eficient şi rapid mijloc de a comunica, ai o reacţie aproape instantanee când te uiţi la un film, şi aşa se naşte o idee, o dilemă. Iar copiii nu numai că reacţionează imediat, reacţia lor este şi sinceră, exprimă fără ocolişuri ce simt când văd o poveste. Aşa că, în afară de a învăţa câte ceva despre ce înseamnă cinematografia, aceste cursuri le stimulează copiilor creativitatea. Imediat vin cu idei, analizează ce văd pe ecran, vin cu alte variante, se naşte o dezbatere, iar la sfârşit ajung să se chestioneze pe ei. Şi asta e foarte important.”



    “De la fotografie la imagini în mişcare. Memorie, imaginaţie şi poveste. La ce sunt bune filmele?“ şi “Regizor, narator, personaj, spectator. Cine spune povestea şi ce urmează? Cum a fost filmul?“ sunt câteva din întrebările pe care criticul de film Ileana Bârsan le propune micilor ei cursanţi.