For yet another year, the American Foundation for Bulgaria and “The Palace – Balchik” are organizing special screenings of films from the popular International Student Film Festival “Early Bird”. From June 16 to 18, 2025, as part of the Days of Romanian Culture, the Stone Hall of “The Palace – Balchik” will host screenings of the best films by young Romanian directors selected by the festival.
A special highlight of the event will be the exclusive screening of HORIA, a film by the talented Romanian director and screenwriter Ana-Maria Comănescu. Audiences will have the exciting opportunity to meet her in person on the very first day of the festival. Her debut feature film HORIA is a story about the search for the free spirit and the essence of a person discovering the world for the first time through a restless yet curious teenage gaze.
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.
Their journey, filled with challenges and adventures, along a seemingly endless road will lead Horia to truly savor the present moment. In these difficult times, the director sincerely hopes that this character will inspire viewers to find refuge in their own, even fleeting, sense of inner freedom and spark an open conversation after the screening.
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. Her participation in “Early Bird” is particularly notable—she is the only filmmaker to have won the festival’s Grand Award twice, in 2015 and 2017. This is an extraordinary achievement that has not been matched since. After graduation, Ana-Maria has worked as an assistant director and freelance director on various audiovisual projects.
On June 17 and 18, audiences will have the opportunity to watch a selection of 10 fiction and 2 documentary films by young directors from Romania’s leading film schools. The topics they explore are diverse but always universally human, offering original perspectives. These films are sure to move you, provoke reflection, make you smile, and recharge you with the fresh and sincere voice of contemporary young Romanian cinema.
Join us to enjoy the unique atmosphere of The Palace in Balchik and to support the young talents who will shape the future of Romanian and world cinema.
PROGRAM
June 16, Monday
17:00 – HORIA / Ana-Maria Comănescu / 1h48
19:00 – Q&A with the director
June 17, Tuesday
Morning Routine / Robert Kocsis / 16’
Together / Alma Buhagiar / 23’
Hippotamus and Crocodile Hunt / Germain Canda / 20’
Mess in Apartment 14 / Radu Barbu / 15’
Circus / Ioan-Alexandru Sîrbu / 20’
Sex, Pipe, Omelette / Ana-Maria Comănescu / 23’
June 18, Wednesday
Madre / Marius Miron / 19’
Plan B / Simona Sava / 10’
Sentimental Education / Alma Buhagiar / 29’
In The House / Ana-Maria Comănescu / 17’
Nightfall / Mirona Radu / 14’
99.999% / Alexandra Roberta Șerban / 30’
For more information:
Nora Angelova
Coordinator of “Early Bird”
+359 887 226 873
n.angelova@earlybirdfest.org