International premiere
Horia
Restless teenager Horia takes off on his father’s old motorbike in a cross-country journey to reunite with his love. On the road, he is joined by Stela, a sassy 13-year-old, and an unlikely friendship blooms. Horia is about finding one’s free spirit and a sense of self by discovering the world for the first time through an anxious, yet curious teenage gaze. It takes a troublesome journey on a seemingly endless road to make Horia truly savor the moment, and during these difficult times, the director genuinely hopes for this character to inspire viewers to escape into their own, albeit fleeting, inner freedom.
Age recommendation: 14+
Ana-Maria Comănescu is a Romanian screenwriter and director based in Bucharest. She made three short films during her studies at UNATC Bucharest, all screened and awarded in various European student film festivals. After graduation, she worked as an assistant director and freelance director for various audiovisual projects. While writing and developing her debut feature project, “Horia”, she participated in multiple film workshops and pitching markets, such as Sarajevo Talents in 2017 and MIDPOINT Feature Launch in 2019. In 2022, she started her PhD in Cinema and tutors in UNATC as assistant to the professors of Directing. Currently, she is eager to see her two latest projects emerge on the cinema screen in autumn 2023: “Cat Funeral”, an independently funded short film, premiering in Thessaloniki, and “Horia”, a co-production between Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria, premiering in Tallinn.
Filmography:
In the House (2014), Xiamen (Play It Again, 2015), Te Mai Uiți Şi La Om (Second Look, 2015), Pipa, Sexul Şi Omleta (Sex, Pipe And Omlette, 2016), Pisica Moartă (Cat Funeral, 2023), Horia (2023)
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