Transilvania IFF partners with Film Independent for Always Remember, a screening series to raise Holocaust awareness
Made possible with the support of the Cayton-Goldrich Family Foundation and the Claims Conference
The Transilvania International Film Festival announces a partnership with Film Independent, the Los Angeles-based organization behind the Film Independent Spirit Awards and numerous other initiatives supporting and championing independent filmmaking. As part of this collaboration, Film Independent will present Always Remember in Transilvania, a series of free screenings supported by the Cayton-Goldrich Family Foundation and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), created to raise Holocaust awareness through powerful and accessible storytelling.
During the 25th edition of Transilvania IFF, taking place June 12–21, 2026, two films selected by Film Independent will be screened at Cinema Victoria in Cluj-Napoca: Pepi Fandango (dir. Lucija Stojević, Spain, 2024) and Orphan (Orfan, dir. László Nemes, Hungary, 2025). Admission is free to the public.
“We believe in the power of stories to amplify diverse voices and experiences and to cultivate empathy and understanding. Film, in particular, possesses a unique ability not only to entertain, but to help shift mindsets and attitudes. Recent surveys reveal a global trend of fading foundational knowledge about the Holocaust. In response, we have worked with key partners, communities and independent filmmakers to create Always Remember,” said Rachel Bleemer, Director of Programming and Events at Film Independent. “The inaugural edition took place online in 2025. At a pivotal moment — when antisemitism continues to rise and the number of survivors still alive to share their experiences and the lessons of the Holocaust grows ever smaller — we are launching a second edition of the series in 2026: Always Remember, On the Road.”
A Film Independent delegation will be in Cluj-Napoca during the festival and the program will also be presented at TIFF Timişoara in the autumn.
Pepi Fandango is a 2023 Spanish documentary directed by Lucija Stojević, following the moving story of Peter Perez (nicknamed “Pepi”), a Viennese Holocaust survivor, and his musician friend Alfred Pahola, as they embark on a road trip together from Vienna to southern Spain. Pepi’s goal is to compose a fandango — a flamenco-style song that has haunted him since childhood: as a boy, he and his Jewish family were interned at the Rivesaltes concentration camp in France, where he was housed in the same barracks as Spanish Roma children who sang fandangos to communicate with their parents on the other side of the dividing wall. The film has screened at festivals including the Warsaw Film Festival, Crossing Europe (Linz), DocsBarcelona and Dokumentale Berlin, and earned a Special Mention at the Festival de Málaga, the Panorama Award at DocsValència and the Audience Award at Memorimage.
Orphan is the third feature film by Hungarian director László Nemes, Academy Award winner for Son of Saul (Best Foreign Language Film, 2015). Orphan is a historical drama co-written by Nemes and Clara Royer, set in Budapest in 1957 in the aftermath of the failed uprising against the communist regime. The film follows Andor, a 12-year-old Jewish boy searching for his missing father, who instead discovers the truth about his mother’s survival during the Holocaust. The story is loosely inspired by Nemes’s father’s childhood memories of postwar Budapest. The film had its world premiere in the Official Competition of the 2025 Venice Film Festival.
ABOUT FILM INDEPENDENT
For over 40 years, Film Independent has helped filmmakers get their projects made and seen. The nonprofit organization’s core mission is to champion creative independence in visual storytelling in all its forms and foster a culture of inclusion, in support of a global community of artists and audiences who embody diversity, innovation, curiosity and uniqueness of vision.
In addition to producing the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the organization supports creative professionals with Artist Development programs, grants and labs. Signature mentorship program Project Involve fosters the careers of talented filmmakers from underrepresented communities. Weekly Education events and workshops equip filmmakers of all ages and experience levels with tools and resources. International programs provide cultural exchanges and career-building opportunities for film professionals around the world. And year-round screening series Film Independent Presents offers a robust program of unique cinematic experiences, including screenings, conversations, Live Reads and Bring the Noise musical events.
For more information or to become a Member, visit filmindependent.org.
