Founded by film director, screenwriter and university professor Copel Moscu and Golden Bear winning director Adina Pintilie, BIEFF is the first showcase of avant-garde cinema and visual art in Romania, a non-commercial event with educational purpose, aimed at bringing to the audience highly innovative films and filmmakers with strong personal views on contemporary reality, which also daringly explore the boundaries of cinematic language. A cinema of total creative freedom and lack of compromise.
The centerpiece of the programme of films that BIEFF proposes is its INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION, consisting of some of the most intriguing and innovative visual experiments from the past year, titles awarded and screened in prestigious festivals, such as Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Rotterdam, Locarno, Oberhausen, Toronto etc., as well as museums and galleries from all over the world.
Starting from 2021, BIEFF also showcases an anual selection of Romanian short films that focus on experiment and innovation as part of the NATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION.
As of 2022, a new addition to the program structure of BIEFF is the FEATURE FILM COMPETITION, a program dedicated to first and second features direct by filmmakers interested in aesthetic experiments and filmic innovation.
During its twelwe years of existence, BIEFF was honored to collaborate with some of the major international film festivals and institutions in the area of avant-garde cinema and visual art, recognized worldwide for their consistent creative support of innovative, radical filmmaking and visual art: QUINZAINE DES RÉALISATEURS – Cannes Film Festival, BERLINALE Forum Expanded – Berlin International Film Festival, International Film Festival ROTTERDAM, ARSENAL – Institute for Film and Video Art Berlin, EYE Film Institute Netherlands, CENTRE POMPIDOU – MUSÉE NATIONAL D’ART MODERNE.
BUCHAREST INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL BIEFF was created under the patronage of the National University of Theatre and Film “I.L. Caragiale” and the National University of Arts Bucharest.
Co-founder and former Artistic Director of the Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival BIEFF (2010-2019). A graduate of the National University of Theatre and Film Bucharest, filmmaker and curator Pintilie works on the boundary between fiction, reality and visual art. In the new Romanian cinema landscape, her body of work stands out through a highly personal visual style, daring cinematic experimentation and an uncompromising exploration of human psychology. Her first feature TOUCH ME NOT won the Golden Bear and the GFWW First Feature Award at Berlinale 2018, followed by an extensive festival circuit and cinema distribution in more than 35 countries.
Oana Ghera is a film curator, cultural manager and cinema educator. She is the artistic director of BIEFF since 2020 and has previously programmed for NexT International Film Festival (2016-2019). Her curatorial work includes guest curated film programs for This is Short, Short Waves Poznan, Europalia Arts Festival, the Romanian National Television and others. She has also participated in various juries for festivals such as Go Short, Short Waves Poznan, Mecal Pro, Concorto Film Festival, San Sebastian (Nest Competition), Venice (Giornate degli Autori).
Oana Furdea is a cultural manager and founding member of the Citizenit cultural association. She is currently in charge of programming and management of the Union cinema, of the One World Romania association and the Pustnik Screenwriters Residency, as well as being the BIEFF festival manager.