Bucharest International Dance Film Festival (BIDFF), the 9th edition, takes place from 7 to 10 September in 6 locations in Bucharest, including the National Centre for Dance Bucharest (CNDB). To see the events happening at CNDB, click here.
Artistic direction and the theme of the festival: CLUSTERS“Now in its 9th edition, the Bucharest International Dance Film Festival (BIDFF) creates an interdisciplinary framework, blending performing and visual arts with film, promoting critical thinking and ethical use of technology. This year’s theme, Clusters, derives from the philosopher W. V. O. Quine’s premise that no individual belief can be confirmed or denied in isolation, but should be evaluated within a larger network of beliefs.
The festival is structured into five distinct sections, conceived as “clusters”: Films, VR, Expand, Community, and, for the first time, Exchange. These sections offer the audience a wide range of experiences, from watching dance films and innovative VR experiences to participating in performative conferences, community activities, and international collaborations. BIDFF #9 aims to stimulate social and artistic cohesion, inviting participants to reflect on current discourses related to the body and contemporary world.
Important titles like Omen (d. Baloji), Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (d. Anna Hints), Theater Camp (d. Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman), and Kite Zo A (Leave the Bones) (d. Kaveh Nabatian), which premiered at Cannes, Sundance or Locarno, will be showcased every day of the festival. Strong choreographic voices such as Hofesh Shechter (UK), Ginevra Panzetti and Enrico Ticconi (DE/IT), Sarah Vanhee (BE), and Flor Firvida (AG/MX) present works in this year’s edition. The professional training program is led by artists with interdisciplinary practices such as Heike Salzer (DE/UK), Ioana Vreme Moser (RO/DE), and Camelia Neagoe (RO).
A new collaboration with Companhia de Dança de Almada (PT) takes center stage in the newest section — BIDFF Exchange, which also includes the unique film projection Cine e Danza de Buenos Aires, presenting fragments from the intricate life of independent dance in the capital of Argentina. The projection Toons and Grooves previews this year’s edition of the Animest International Animation Film Festival, which revolves around the theme of dance, showcasing a selection of 10 dynamic and amusing short films.
This year, BIDFF continues its Community initiative, dedicated to intimate meetings with communities in the capital, through a series of events organized in partnership with the Vârsta4 Center and the Residential Center for the Elderly Amalia and Chief Rabbi Dr. Moses Rosen, as well as the Ferentari Studios. Artist Adrian Ionescu (RO) continues his guided tours through Bucharest, but this time with two meetings dedicated to alternative and underground music events from the early 2000s.
One of the most popular events of the festival, BIDFF VR, features five immersive experiences at the /SAC @ MALMAISON. These encounters offer navigation through a dynamic, interactive space where connections and intersections shape the human narrative through technology. The program includes VR films awarded at Cannes, Sundance, or Venice, with some of them suitable for children as well.
The heart of the festival remains the International Short Dance Film Competition. 25 films from 16 countries celebrate the power of rhythm through dance and hidden senses, unveiling bold collectives that struggle to break free from the norms of unfair societies, questioning contexts and rules that revolve around topics such as capitalism, human rights oppression, or the destruction of the ego, and proposing strong expressions that reflect hidden hopes and anxieties.”
– Simona Deaconescu, BIDFF Artistic Director
Schedule and ticket information HERE.
Bucharest International Dance Film Festival is organized by the Tangaj Collective Association.
“Bucharest International Dance Film Festival, the 9th edition” is a cultural project co-financed by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how the project results can be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the beneficiary of the funding.
“Bucharest International Dance Film Festival, the 9th edition” is a project co-financed by the Bucharest City Hall through ARCUB within the București acasă 2023 program. The content of this material does not necessarily represent the official position of the Bucharest City Hall or that of ARCUB.
Supported by Conceptual Lab by Theo Nissim, Goethe Institut, Flanders State of the Art and sponsored by Mariage D’Or, Five Continents și Jarre by Alouette.
Partners of the festival: the French Institute in Romania (Cinema Elvire Popesco), CREART – the Center for Creation, Art and Tradition in Bucharest (The Film Garden – Cinema and More), the Contemporary Art Space Association (/SAC@MALMAISON), the National Center for Dance in Bucharest, Linotip – Independent Choreographic Centre, ADO Association – Art for Human Rights (Vârsta4 Centre), Residential Center for the Elderly “Amalia și Șef Rabin Dr. Moses Rosen”.
Media partners: Radio Guerrilla, Ziarul Metropolis, Happ.ro, Scena9, Radio România Cultural, Zile și Nopți, Cinemap, MovieNews.ro.