BFFF 2023
Building on the foundation of the previous two editions, the third edition took place at the intersection of ART and ACTIVISM. In 2023 we talked about the right of each person to their own autonomy, and we explored consent as a fundamental basis in any relationship and interaction – whether they take place on the street, at home, at school or at work. From sexual or street harassment to abuse in the medical system and revenge porn, in this edition we looked at what happens when boundaries are broken and how we can together build a safe society not only for women and girls, but for each gender.
How was the CONSENT edition?
The first day of the festival started with a moment of spoken word on the Cinema Europa stage supported by the poets: Miruna Vlada, Lena Chilari and Irene Ioniță. The evening continued with the movie Rafiki, from Kenya, and then we enjoyed a concert by Cristina Lupu at Victor’s Secret Place.
On the second night, we explored films with themes related to Body Politics, we sat for stories with female directors, from here and from other parts of the world, we laughed and we were happy to see people coming to the screenings Friday night. The spectators of the festival were able to discuss more about consent through the Newspaper Theatre performance What a beautiful day to be a woman. The evening ended with the film At your cervix, which was followed by a Q&A with activists and midwives from Romania.
The festival continued on the third day with a panel discussion, moderated by Alex Zorilă, about the representation of lesbians in film and art, which anticipated a series of short films about visibility and queerness. We talked about the limits of consent through the performance created by Mara Oprea Come on, miss, who’s harassing you? and we ended the evening with the movie Elaha.
With quick steps, we reached the last day of the festival, after we laughed together, we cried together, at some movies, we asked ourselves why we face so many problems, we searched and found some answers with youth and politicians, in a dialogue moderated by Oana Băluță, conf. Univ. dr., Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences, University of Bucharest.
On the last day, we had screenings about gender and our bodies, Q&A sessions with film crews, we listened together to the Ostrich Hunt show, from the Improbable Theater, we had the closing ceremony and watched the movie 7 winters in Tehran.
BFFF 2023 After Movie
You can see the story of the third edition of the Bucharest Feminist Film Festival in the after movie below:
Awards in 2023?
In the 2023 edition, the jury was formed by Ada Galeș, Katia Pascariu and Istvan Teglas.
The top prize was awarded to the film URBAN ART DEMANDS FOR JUSTICE – A drive through Ciudad Juarez directed by Daniela Martin, who was with us throughout the festival, because it brought to the attention of the Bucharest audience the issue of femicide that Mexico is facing.
Special mention went to the film Maria Schneider 1983, directed by Elisabeth Subrin because in the discussion about consent it is important to talk about sexual abuse in intersectional contexts.
Partners
The third edition of the Bucharest Feminist Film Festival became possible thanks to the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Romania, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Romania, the Embassy of Canada in Romania and thanks to those who supported us with donations.
Media partners: rfi, Observator Cultural, Cărturești, Zile și Nopți, IQ Ads, Igloo, Munteanu recomandă, revista CUTRA, Cinefan.ro, Cinefilia, Film Menu, The Woman, Modernism, Movienews, Spotmedia.ro, AIVImedia.hub
And because any successful event must be accompanied by good wine, we want to thank Domenii Sâmburești and Hop Hooligans for helping us make a cocktail party for the opening of this edition possible. We also thank Aqua Carpatica for helping us take care of our volunteers.
See you there!
