Romanian Film Festival Seattle Unveils Lineup for Its 13th Edition

The American Romanian Cultural Society is proud to announce the complete program for the 13th Romanian Film Festival Seattle, themed "Beyond Borders." The festival will take place at SIFF Cinema Uptown and will feature in-person events and special international guests.

This year's theme looks at the lines that shape our world: those carried in memory, left by hardship, and lightened by the laughter of everyday life. Through a mix of comedies and dramas, the selected films show how visible and invisible boundaries can become spaces of change.

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Opening Night
The festival opens with "3 Days in September," directed by Tudor Giurgiu. In this dark comedy, a bride's wedding is disrupted when her fiancé's pregnant mistress arrives, setting off a chaotic, real-time journey through a seaside resort that ends in unexpected freedom. Actress Andrea Vasile will attend the screening as a special guest, and an Opening Night Gala will follow immediately after the film.

Closing Night
The festival closes with "The Wall," directed by Ion Borș and Ruslan Moroșan. This comedy follows a quarrel between two neighbors that pulls an entire quiet Moldovan village into escalating, comic feuds driven by pride, old grudges, and half-truths. Writer and producer Artur Erhan will join the screening as a special guest.

Additional Highlights

• "Kontinental '25," directed by Radu Jude, winner of the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival. A video message from Jude will accompany the film.
• "The Yellow Tie," directed by Serge Ioan Celibidachi, a biopic of Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache and the most-watched Romanian film of 2025.
• "Blindsight," directed by Adrian Sitaru, with award-winning actress Ioana Flora attending the screening as a special guest.
• "Traffic," directed by Teodora Mihai, winner of the Grand Prix at the Warsaw International Film Festival, with producer Tudor Reu attending the screening as a special guest.

The Cultural Association Control N, based in Romania, joins ARCS for the third consecutive year as co-organizer, continuing to serve as a bridge between Romanian filmmakers and the American public.

Launched in 2014 in order to promote Romanian film to diverse American audience, including the Romanian diaspora in Washington State, the festival has grown over the past 12 years, becoming one of the most important events of its kind on the west coast, a platform for facilitating access to the most recent internationally awarded Romanian films and for Romanian filmmakers, directors, actors and producers, attending the festival.

Tickets will be on sale soon at SIFF.net