Announcing the Full Lineup for the 2026 ROMANIAN FILM FESTIVAL SEATTLE In-Person at SIFF Cinema Uptown November 13-15
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.
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
2026 LINEUP
3 Days in September by Tudor Giurgiu
Special Guest: Actress Andreea Vasile
2026, Dark comedy, 75 min (Romania)
Friday, Nov 13, 7pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown
Bianca’s world shatters when her fiancé’s mistress crashes their wedding. Reeling from shock, she flees on a tourist train, launching a real-time odyssey of chaotic escape and surreal encounters through the off-season seaside resort. Rejecting her old life, she transforms her humiliation into a liberating night of rebellion, ultimately finding a new purpose as the sun rises.
Last Transhumance by Dragoș Lumpan
2023, Documentary, 90 min (Romania)
Saturday, Nov 14, 12pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown
Filmed in six countries during fifteen years, "The Last Transhumance" takes us into the world of shepherds who walk with their animals very long distances in search for food: an ancient way of life not compatible with the modern world.
Kontinental 25 by Radu Jude
+ a video message from Director Radu Jude
2025, Documentary, 149 min (Romania)
Saturday, Nov 14, 1:50pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown
When Orsolya oversees the eviction of a local elderly man in Cluj, Transylvania, the unintended consequences come to shatter her and her understanding of her place in society. Spiraling into an existential crisis, she traverses the city, meeting with various people in her life — her husband, an old friend, her former student, a priest — to consider and reconcile her place in an increasingly maddening modern world in award-winning filmmaker Radu Jude’s latest furious and hysterical moral parable.
Traffic by Teodora Ana Mihai
Special Guest: Producer Tudor Reu
2024, Drama comedy, 119 min (Romania, Belgium, Netherlands)
Saturday, Nov 14, 4:10pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown
Natalia and Ginel leave their small Romanian Danube village to work abroad in a big Flemish city. One evening, when she is assaulted after meeting a local, Natalia asks Ita, a friend from home turned into a crook, to help her. Ita uses their frustration against the values of a world they consider to be arrogant, decadent, and historically guilty for their misery as second-rate citizens – invisible migrants. The result is a tragi-comical ideological heist only revealing the complete lack of communication between East and West, between rich and poor, between masters and slaves.
R.M.N by Cristian Mungiu
Special Guest: Producer Tudor Reu
2022, Drama, 128 min (Romania, France)
Saturday, November 14, 7:05pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown
A few days before Christmas, having quit his job in Germany, Matthias returns to his multi-ethnic Transylvanian village. When a few new workers are hired at a small factory, the peace of the community is disturbed, as some locals react with fear and hostility. Conflicts and passions erupt at a village meeting, breaking through the thin veneer of apparent understanding and calm.
Atlas of the Universe by Paul Negoescu
2026, Adventure, 85 min (Romania, Bulgaria)
Sunday, Nov 15, 11:05am at SIFF Cinema Uptown
Ten-year-old Filip travels with his father to buy new school shoes, but is left alone after his father gets side-tracked. A mistake at the shoe shop leaves him with two right-foot shoes. Too ashamed to go home empty-handed, Filip sets out to fix the problem himself. Along the way, he meets new people, befriends a stray dog, and learns to navigate various challenges with his childlike approach.
The Yellow Tie by Serge Ioan Celibidachi
2025, Drama, 145 min (Romania, Italy)
Sunday, Nov 15, 12:50pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown
The epic true story of Sergiu Celibidache, following the famous composer from a childhood spent under his father’s draconian authority, through to adulthood as he masters his craft in Berlin. However, his greatest struggle emerges at the outbreak of World War II. With the world collapsing around him, Sergiu must evade death and starvation to cement his place in the world of classical music.
Blindsight by Adrian Sitaru
Special Guest: Actress Ioana Flora
2025, Drama, 91 min (Romania)
Sunday, Nov 15, 3:40pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown
Laura suffers from severe amnesia and depression following an accident, so she can’t remember who the people around her are. She is reluctantly persuaded by her family to go on a boat trip to Türkiye, but the closer she gets to her destination, the more unclear the reality and the purpose of the trip becomes. They are caught up in a series of situations in which they change their minds depending on the context, their own principles seem to be
relativized, while their choices become irrational.
The Wall by Ion Borș, Ruslan Moroșan
Special Guest: Writer/Producer Artur Erhan
2026, Comedy, 96 min (Moldova, Romania)
Sunday, Nov 15, 6:05pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown
In a village where everyone knows everything and nothing is forgiven, two families with a truly comical history find themselves at loggerheads over a piece of land. Both are convinced the truth is on their side, and things spiral completely out of control just as wedding bells should be ringing. Between immovable boundaries, inflamed egos, and utterly eccentric relatives, a happy ending to the marriage seems increasingly unlikely.
FESTIVAL GUESTS
Andreea Vasile
Andreea Vasile is one of Romania’s most beloved and appreciated actresses, well known for her performances in feature films or TV series. Her most important roles are from HBO series "Umbre" (2019), "Spy/Master" (2023), "Why Me?" (dir. Tudor Giurgiu, 2015), "The Fixer" (dir. Adrian Sitaru, 2016) and "Ramon" (dir. Jesus del Cerro, 2023).
Producer Tudor Reu
Tudor Reu is a Romanian film producer and production manager. His credits include "Traffic" (2024), directed by Teodora Ana Mihai and written by Cristian Mungiu, and "R.M.N." (2022), for which he served as executive producer. He has also worked on numerous international film and television productions, including "Spy/Master" and "The Whistleblower."
Ioana Flora
Ioana Flora is an award-winning actress and a member of the European Film Academy and played the leading female in Bogdan Mureșanu's short live-action film "The Christmas Gift,"an Oscar nominee in 2020. Ioana’s filmography counts dozens of national and international productions, both in cinema and TV, including acclaimed films such as Stuff and Dough and "The New Year That Never Came."
Artur Erhan
Artur Erhan is a Seattle-based screenwriter, film and music-videos director. Artur graduated from the Academy of Music, Theater and Fine Arts of Moldova, with a degree in Cinematic Arts. He is a former "TIFF Transilvania Pitch Stop Screenplay" winner (Kazimir - 2025), "Final Draft Big Break" finalist (Night Light - 2025), and "Write A Screenplay For..." (Ciuleandra - 2023). "Hotarul / (The Wall)" is his latest film, which we wrote and produced.
ABOUT AMERICAN ROMANIAN CULTURAL SOCIETY SEATTLE
The American Romanian Cultural Society (ARCS) is a nonprofit association striving to promote a better understanding of the rich culture of Central and Eastern Europe, with an emphasis on Romania and the American Romanian cultural heritage in the Seattle area. Our signature event is the Romanian Film Festival in Seattle, started in 2014 and now hosted at SIFF Cinema Uptown every year in November.
ABOUT CONTROL N
The cultural association Control N nurtures filmmaking education in Romania and creates bridges between local and international artists, to support artistic debuts and creativity in performance arts. During its 15 years of activity, Control N has become one of the most energetic organizers of cultural events in film, theater, dance, photography, and creative writing.