Bucharest filmfest fetes Romanian New Wave

A festival honouring the New Wave of Romanian filmmakers opens Friday in Bucharest with a focus on their 10-year presence at Cannes. The festival's second edition will highlight the stars of this generation such as Cristi Puiu, Cristian Mungiu, Corneliu Porumboiu, Cristian Nemescu, Catalin Mitulescu, Radu Muntean and Andrei Ujica. Ten years ago, Puiu paved the way to Cannes for young Romanian directors with his gripping road movie "Stuff and Dough". Four years later, his "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" won the festival's Un Certain Regard prize. Romanian cinema has remained under the international spotlight with a Palme d'Or for short film awarded to Catalin Mitulescu, a posthumous Un Certain Regard to Cristian Nemescu for "California Dreamin'", the Palme d'Or to Cristian Mungiu for "Four Months, Three Weeks, Two Days" and the Jury's Award - Un Certain Regard for "Police, Adjective" to Corneliu Porumboiu. Besides the Romanian films, the festival will screen fresh movies including the 2011 Palme d'Or "The Tree of Life" by Terrence Malick, "Le Havre" by Aki Kaurismaki, "Michael" by Markus Schleinzer and "Melancholia" by Lars von Trier. A special screening is reserved for a restored version of "Taxi Driver", 35 years after its 1976 premiere and Palme d’Or.