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    • New Talents Open Call
      Eastern Neighbours Film Festival (ENFF) began in The Netherlands in 2008 with the idea to offer Dutch and international audiences a unique glimpse into the cinema of their neighbors from Eastern and Southern Europe. This annual event presents the most recent, exciting, and thought‐provoking films, from countries with small, but often powerful film industries, that… Read more: New Talents Open Call
    • ENFF 2023 On Demand!
      Unable To attend the festival in person? No problem! From November 27th to December 3rd, we’re thrilled to bring you a curated selection of this year’s films available for online viewing! Catch our captivating Opening Film Ivan’s Land, or the touching Closing Film Seventh Heaven. Or explore a collection of shorts from the New Talents Competition! Follow along… Read more: ENFF 2023 On Demand!
    • What’s up in Slovak Cinema? A conversation with Monika Lostakova
      We talked with Monika Lošťáková about contemporary Slovak cinema.
    • ENFF and the Eastern European Film Festival Network!
      The Eastern European Film Festival Network brings together five film festivals dedicated to promoting and showcasing Eastern European cinema, alongside one partner organisation.
    • Masterclasses
      Through these masterclasses we approach two memory in film from different angles: memories from a personal or collective recollection through archive material.
    • Work in Progress
      In Work in Progress, emerging filmmakers and artists will present their works in development to the audience and engage in discussions with Dutch experts.
    • Festival Timetable Available!
    • Check out the catalogue for our 2023 edition!
    • Music at ENFF
      Every year, ENFF brings special musical guests who bring beauty to the program and further represent the rich cultures of their countries to a Dutch audience.
    • Film Marathon
      Join us for the Film Marathon, a new concept in which we merge two components, Short Films, Big Stories, and New Talents Competition into a whole-day screening of short films!

So What’s Freedom?

A compelling historical drama depicting a story of love and survival against the background of the gruesome Romanian ’50s. When one gives up fear, one finds freedom, even when in confinement.

Inspired by historical facts and based on the short novel “Projects of the Past” by Ana Blandiana, the film takes place in 1951 when the Communist authoritarian system ordered the deportation of 40,000 people (landowners, intellectuals and different ethnic minorities) to the Baragan Fields, otherwise known as the Romanian Siberia. During a wedding in Herculane, a history teacher is violently arrested by the communists. Alongside his wife and seven other people, they are forced to take a freight train, destination unknown, together with thousands of other scared people. The film follows the group into their solitary confinement in the middle of a wasteland for several years. Featuring a remarkable on-screen group performance by some of the most extraordinary actors in current Romanian cinema.

SI ATUNCI, CE E LIBERTATEA?

Romania, USA | 2020 | 133 min

DIRECTOR: Andrei Zinca

PRODUCTION: Calin Papura – Tica Trade SRL; Andrei Zinca – Double 4 Studios

CAST: Radu Iacoban, Iulia Lumanare, Cuzin Toma, Olimpia Melinte, Tunde Skovran

SCREENPLAY: Andrei Zinca, based on the novel by Ana Blandiana

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Tudorel Vladimir Panduru

EDITING: Edith Weil

SCREENING: Saturday 23 April / 20:00 hours / Zaal 3 / Dutch Premiere

FESTIVALS & AWARDS (SELECTION) 

South East European Film Festival Los Angeles, 2021 – Honorable Mention, Audience Award | Sedona International Film Festival 2021 – Audience Award | Santa Monica International Film Festival, 2020 – Jury’s Honorable Mention | Transilvania International Film Festival, Cluj-Napoca, 2020 – Audience Choice Award for Best Romanian Film