125,000 spectators at Transilvania IFF.24: The most-watched films of the festival
The 24th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival ended on a high note Sunday evening: over 5,000 people attended the AMADEUS LIVE event at BT Arena, while 3,000 locals gathered in Unirii Square to watch the closing film, SIRÂT (dir. Oliver Laxe), on the giant open-air screen. These final night numbers brought the festival’s total attendance to an impressive 125,000 spectators, as Transilvania IFF once again turned Cluj into a true capital of film and culture for ten days.
Organizers also announced the dates for the festival’s 25th anniversary edition: June 12–21, 2026.
Among the 1,000 special guests of this year’s festival were legendary Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr, Portuguese actress Maria de Medeiros, Spanish actor Eduard Fernández, Spanish director Rodrigo Cortés, French actor Alexis Manenti, Oscar-winning Bosnian director Danis Tanović, Belgian director Fabrice du Welz, Colombian filmmaker Ciro Guerra, and Italian producer-director Umberto Pasolini. Audiences had the opportunity to meet them in cinemas, at the Transilvania IFF Lounge, or during exclusive masterclasses. As tradition dictates, Transilvania IFF also brought together stars of the Romanian film industry: Florin Piersic (honored at the Opening Gala), Emilia Dobrin, Adrian Văncică, Gabriel Spahiu, Mircea Andreescu, Olimpia Melinte, as well as directors Andrei Ujică, Tudor Giurgiu, and Bogdan Mureșanu.
The most-attended screenings took place in Unirii Square, with each film drawing over 2,500 viewers: the Opening Film Christy (dir. Brendan Canty), My Late Summer (dir. Danis Tanović), Madly(dir. Paolo Genovese), Undercover (dir. Arantxa Echevarria), and SIRÂT (dir. Oliver Laxe). The outdoor venue at Iulius Park was also packed every night, hosting sold-out screenings of I'm Still Here (dir. Walter Salles), The Return (dir. Uberto Pasolini), and U are the Universe (dir. Pavlo Ostrikov).
Among Romanian productions, highlights included the world premiere of Tudor Giurgiu’s latest film The Spruce Forest and Radu Jude’s new feature Kontinental ’25, both drawing long queues outside the cinemas. Another Romanian crowd-pleaser was The New Year That Never Came (dir. Bogdan Mureșanu), which won both the Vodafone Hearts’ Award for Most Popular Romanian Film and the Romanian Days Award for Best Feature.
The cult screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Bonțida Castle drew 1,500 viewers, while the multimedia performance The Peasants attracted an audience of 800. By far the most successful event of the festival was Amadeus LIVE, with 5,000 attendees packing BT Arena for the screening of Miloš Forman’s Oscar-winning Amadeus (1984), accompanied live by the Cluj-Napoca National Opera Orchestra under the baton of Dutch conductor Ernst van Tiel, with a special appearance by the Madrigal – Marin Constantin National Chamber Choir.
More than 1,000 Romanian and international guests – filmmakers, screenwriters, producers, and actors – participated in screenings and in the RO Days | Industry Events, dedicated to film professionals.
A selection of Romanian short films from Transilvania IFF.24 will be available to watch online for free, worldwide, from June 23 to July 23, 2025, on the FestivalScope platform.
Throughout the summer, Transilvania IFF films will also be showcased in other festivals across Romania and Moldova: in Bucharest (July 4–6, Cinema Elvire Popesco), Transilvania IFF Chișinău (July 4–6), Sibiu (August 7–10), at the Lună Plină Festival in Biertan (August 15-17), at the Sunscreen Film & Arts Festival in Constanța (August 22–24), Transilvania IFF Brașov (September 18–21), Transilvania IFF Timișoara (September 18–21), and Transilvania IFF Oradea (September 26–28).
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The Transilvania International Film Festival is organized by the Romanian Film Promotion Association and the Transilvania Film Festival Association.
With the support of: Ministry of Culture, Romanian Film Centre (CNC), Cluj-Napoca City Hall and Local Council, Romanian Cultural Institute, Dacin Sara, UCIN, Department for Interethnic Relations – DRI, Florești Town Hall, Creative Europe – MEDIA
Under the patronage of: UNESCO City of Film
Presented by: Banca Transilvania
Sponsors: Mastercard, Vodafone, LIDL Romania, Ursus, Regina Maria, Audi & Autoworld, IQOS, MOL Romania, Tenaris Silcotub, JTI, Pepsi, DeLonghi, Nova Power & Gas, Help Net, Voxa, Betfair Romania Development, McDonald’s, Foundever, Transgaz, Farmec, Energobit, Jidvei, Aqua Carpatica, Domeniile Sâmburești, Radisson Blu, Caii de la Letea, Rivus, E.ON, Compania de Apă Someș, Conceptual Lab by Theo Nissim, Teilor, Casa de vinuri Cotnari, CSI, ECCO, Chio, MSG
Official coffee: NESPRESSO
Official beauty partner: Armani Beauty
Official insurer: Groupama
Official transporter: Animawings
Official fashion partner: Tudor Tailor
Technology partner: Reea
Hospitality partner: Eximtur
Partners: Lufthansa, Bolt, PMA, Promelek, Intend, Lecom, Luna Cleaning, Cărturești, Trend PR
Main media partner: PRO TV
Recommended by: Rock FM
Media monitoring partner: MediaTRUST
National media partners: Radio România Cultural, Observator Cultural, Libertatea, Elle, Films in Frame, Revista FILM
Local media partners: Monitorul de Cluj, Ziua de Cluj, Radio Cluj, Kolozsvári Rádió Románia, afaceri.news, Maszol, Iulius Mall
International media partner: Screen Daily
