Mangalia Youth Film Festival: Free Entry to Romania’s 1st Intl. Youth Film Fest

59 short films, meetings with stars from the world of film and free entry to the first International Film Festival for Children and Adolescents in Romania. Held between September 5-8, 2024, organized by the “Buftea Studios” Academy in partnership with the Town Hall and the Mangalia Destination Management Organization, the festival is addressed to all film lovers, whether young or old.

“MyFF was born naturally, as a result of our work with over 800 children and teenagers every year. We make around 50 short films at the Academy every year and every time we are fascinated by the passion for film and the ideas that our students come up with, so we wanted to bring together all these brilliant ideas from all over the world and translate them into a dedicated festival children and teenagers passionate about film“, says Vlad Alex Ionescu, the founder of the festival and CEO of the Academy “Studiourile Buftea”.

2871 short films from over 150 countries around the world entered the competition, and 59 films entered the official selection, divided into 4 categories: fiction, animation, documentary and thematic film. The screenings will take place in 2 important locations in Mangalia: at the Summer Garden, renovated and reopened to the public this year, and in the Central Square in front of the Mangalia House of Culture.

“The proposal to organize a Film Festival for Children and Adolescents in Mangalia made us happy and honored at the same time. We believe that it is a great opportunity for both locals and tourists who arrive at the coast during this period, to enjoy this important cultural event, dedicated to young people, a stone’s throw from the sea, in a symbolic location for Mangalia, namely the Garden of Summer”, says the mayor Radu Cristian.

The scope of the festival is also given by the big names from the world of film and beyond, who form the jury. The president of the jury and the selector of the films within MyFF is the film critic Irina Margareta Nistor. The jury also includes the actor Adrian Titieni, the director Emanuel Pârvu, the actress Emilia Popescu, the writer Radu Paraschivescu and the actor Daniel Nuță, who will be present between September 5 and 8 to watch the short films together with the participants and to designate the winners.

“Mangalia Youth Film Festival is not only an entertainment event, but also a cultural platform that contributes to the development of cinema for young people, it is a festival that inspires, motivates and educates the young generations. The festival presents and promotes special screenings and simultaneous screenings, films with, about and for children and teenagers, for the general audience”, says Irina Margareta Nistor.

During the festival, there will also be meetings and workshops with well-known actors such as Cristina Ciobănașu, Ștefan Iancu, Daniel Nuță, Victoria Raileanu, Alma Lascu, as well as some surprise guests who will be announced soon. They will share their experiences with the young participants, giving them a unique insight into the film industry. In addition to the short films from the competition, the screenings will also include 3 feature films, including the documentary “Nasty”, which has Ilie Năstase in the main role and which was also presented in the Official Program of the Cannes Festival, as well as a feature film made by Academy “Buftea Studios” in Mangalia.