The Flamenco Guitar of Yerai Cortés

DIRECTED BY: ANTÓN ÁLVAREZ
DOCUMENTARY, 95', 2024, SPAIN

THURSDAY, SEPT 11 ▪ 20:30 ▪ CINEMA ELVIRE POPESCO

Yerai Cortés is a rising star in Spain’s flamenco scene. Anton Álvarez (aka C. Tangana) met him at a party, where Cortés played guitar for Montse Cortés under the Starlight satellites. Known for his refined, unique style, Cortés’ life is marked by a dark family secret and a sorrow he longs to share with the world.

The Flamenco Guitar of Yerai Cortés won two Goya Awards in 2025, for Best Documentary and Best Original Song, and the New Directors Awards at the 2024 San Sebastián International Film Festival.

NIGHT STAGE

DIRECTED BY: FILIPE MATZEMBACHER, MARCIO REOLON
DRAMĂ, THRILLER, 117’, 2025, BRAZIL

FRIDAY, SEPT 12 ▪ 20:00 ▪ CINEMA ELVIRE POPESCO

An actor and a politician start a secret affair and together discover their fetish for having sex in public places. The closer they get to their dream of fame, the more they feel the urge to put themselves at risk.

Night Stage premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, where it was selected in the Panorama Competition.

* This film contains scenes with a strobing effect that may affect photo-sensible viewers.

RAINS OVER BABEL

DIRECTED BY: GALA DEL SOL
DRAMA, FANTASY, 113’, 2025, COLOMBIA, USA, SPAIN

SATURDAY, SEPT 13 ▪ 20:00 ▪ CINEMA ELVIRE POPESCO

In a retro-futuristic, tropical-punk twist on Dante’s Inferno, a group of misfits converges at Babel, a legendary dive bar that doubles as purgatory, where La Flaca—the city’s Grim Reaper—presides. Here, souls gamble years of their lives with her, daring to outwit Death Herself.

Rains Over Babel premiered at the 41st edition of the Sundance Film Festival.

MIRIAM RĂDUCANU – RIGOARE ȘI SENZ

DIRECTED BY: ALEXANDRA GULEA
DOCUMENTARY, 76’, 2024, ROMANIA

SATURDAY, SEPT 13 ▪ 21:00 ▪ GRĂDINA CU FILME – CINEMA & MORE

Bringing together, for the first time, photographic and video documents recovered from both public and private archives of the artists who collaborated with her from the 1960s to the present day, or from her own personal archive, the film highlights choreographer Miriam Răducanu’s contribution to the development of modern dance in Romania, bringing into the spotlight an important and authentic cultural landmark. “For me, the art of dance has never been separated from senZ,” confessed the artist who turned 100 years old this past October.

DREAMS

DIRECTED BY: MICHEL FRANCO
DRAMA, THRILLER, 98’, 2025, MEXICO, USA

SUNDAY, SEPT 14 ▪ 20:00 ▪ CINEMA ELVIRE POPESCO

Fernando, a young ballet dancer from Mexico, dreams of international fame and life in the US. Believing that his lover Jennifer, a socialite and philanthropist, will support him, he leaves everything behind and narrowly escapes death while crossing the border. His arrival, however, disrupts Jennifer’s carefully curated world. She will do anything to protect their future together – and the life she has built for herself.

Dreams premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, where it was selected in the Official Competition.

BODIES IN TRANSIT — INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION I

THURSDAY, SEPT 11 ▪ 21:00 ▪ GRĂDINA CU FILME – CINEMA & MORE

The first competition program maps the relationship between the body and the spaces, marked by change and memory, that it inhabits. Faced with the loss of tradition, mysterious contaminations, or interplanetary threats, the protagonists of these seven short films embark on journeys—personal or collective, internal or external—through which they encounter transformation—be it geographical, ecological, cultural, or emotional. Bodies in Transit evokes movement as a radical tool for survival: not merely a physical act, movement involves memory, connection, and becoming.

Line-up: LANDED, Ecstatic Exit, Circology, Freeway, IN VIADI, On My Way to You, and Silentium.

Motion Signals — INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION II

FRIDAY, SEPT 12 ▪ 18:00 ▪ CINEMA ELVIRE POPESCO

Born in the rift between reality and the intangible, existence and disappearance, the films in the Motion Signals program see movement as a mode of knowledge or a ritual of transformation. Bodies drift through oceans, unravel in dreams, and pulse against ever-shifting landscapes, hovering between obsessive control and complete surrender. They emerge on screen like primordial memories, suspended between clear meaning and inscrutable mystery.

Line-up: Baleines, Hun Tun, Île tête nue, ElleX / ElleY, Nothing Exists Until It Moves, THALAMUS, and The Children of Orpheus.

* Some of the short films in this program have a strobing effect that may affect photo-sensible viewers.

Identity Shakeoffs — INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION III

FRIDAY, SEPT 12 ▪ 21:00 ▪ GRĂDINA CU FILME – CINEMA & MORE

BIDFF’s third competitive section explores the boundary between inner worlds and shared realities, presenting seven cinematic works that seek to understand how identity, memory, and emotion are shaped by human connection. Speaking to what it means to be seen, heard, and understood despite the weight of difference, the films in the Identity Shakeoffs program remind us that identity is not merely fixed, but constantly shaped by loss, love, and the desire for togetherness.

Line-up: ¡salsa!, Dream’s Descent, Sammi, Who Can Detach His Body Parts, UMMA, Samba Infinito, and Winterreise.

Against Stillness — INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION IV

SATURDAY, SEPT 13 ▪ 18:00 ▪ CINEMA ELVIRE POPESCO

From a young Black ballerina challenging Eurocentric beauty standards to a vibrant celebration of bubbling music in the Caribbean-Dutch diaspora, from domestic and political traumas to raw expressions of desire and love, the final competition program of BIDFF centers movement as an act of resistance. Through dance, ritual, or the simple act of existing within hostile or oppressive environments, the body reveals its vulnerability, endures, and, despite physical or emotional wounds, chooses to move forward.

Line-up: On a Sunday at Eleven, Bubbling Baby, Spoken Movement Family Honour, raw+porous, The Motherfucker’s Birthday, Until…, and Body Missing Body.

BIDFF #11 Awards Ceremony

SUNDAY, SEPT 14 ▪ 21:00 ▪ GRĂDINA CU FILME — CINEMA & MORE

At the end of the four days of festival, BIDFF invites you to one last event during its eleventh edition—the BIDFF #11 Awards Ceremony, a special screening of the winning short films in the International Competition. The event will be presented by the festival's artistic director Carmen Coțofană and will feature as special guests the members of this year's jury, composed of dance artists Kati Kallio (FI), Judith State (RO), and Andreas Hannes (NL). Audiences will thus have the opportunity to (re)watch some of the best film productions presented in the festival, under the starry sky, at Grădina cu Filme — Cinema & More.

SWEET SPOT (From the Heart of Terror) — A Synthetic Exercise in Entertainment

THU, SEPT 11 ▪ 19:00 ▪ THE NATIONAL CENTER OF DANCE BUCHAREST

Mira Flux, possibly the last remaining trace of humanity archived within a dissociative entertainment system, is waiting for you in Flux.
u log in
u feel smth
but it’s like...???
(kinda hot
kinda sad
kinda real yet
too real to be real?)

Framing: a dialogue b/w dance and the camera — Screendance Masterclass with Jacopo Jenna

FRIDAY, SEPT 12 ▪ 10:00 ▪ THE NATIONAL CENTER OF DANCE BUCHAREST

The video camera is not just a recording device, but a complex tool for linguistic experimentation through choreography and dance. Participants will be guided through a series of physical practices and theoretical discussion to train their observation on movements, exploring the concept of framing as a compositional and choreographic exercise, in order to understand the various possibilities and the dialogue between camera and dance.

The workshop is dedicated to dancers, performers, choreographers, theater and film directors, directors of photography, and visual artists who want to explore the dance film genre. Students from academies with a profile in dance, theater, film, and visual arts are also encouraged to participate.

Cinematic Spheres: Exploring the 360° VR Cinematic Frontier — Masterclass Marius Hodea

SATURDAY, SEPT 13 ▪ 12:00 ▪ /SAC @ MALMAISON

The masterclass is an introductory workshop dedicated to 360° video content for Virtual Reality (VR), designed for beginners or those who want to explore the immersive mediums of Virtual Reality. The masterclass follows two main directions: a creative one, focused on understanding visuality and spatiality in an immersive environment, and a technical one, where participants will get hands-on experience with equipment and the basic principles of VR production.

DANSE MACABRE! A Choreography of Terror

SUNDAY, SEPT 14 ▪ 19:00 ▪ THE NATIONAL CENTER OF DANCE BUCHAREST

Dance of death refers to the general idea that the movements of the stars, the gods, the spirits and nature are also a dance.

Danse Macabre! is an invitation to dance to this unknown beyond, making connections to today's world through a mix of films, electronic music and light. The figures mirror and double themselves, penetrate their own image and become not only performers but also embodiments of movement on stage. Through the inclusion of a film as the third element of the scenic construction, the performance seeks an experience of perceptive displacement of the spectator, probing the dark matter of the imagination. Imagining means creating internal images, without fixed rules, and connecting them to each other to create fantasies or stories that exist within us and not in reality.

BIDFF VR '25

SEPT 12 — 14 ▪ /SAC @ MALMAISON

In this triptych of immersive VR experiences, you are invited to step into three distinct virtual worlds—across continents, across senses, across the invisible lines that connect us. Travel the Earth as a quiet observer among eight billion lives; dive into the depths of a public pool, where bodies shift and transform through water and dance; wander a surreal forest alongside a deaf child, learning to communicate without words.

The journeys proposed by BIDFF VR ’25 remind us that each body holds a story, each encounter a new way of seeing. In a world of constant noise and motion, these experiences offer space for reflection, empathy, and unexpected connection—a quiet thread of intimacy that keeps us going forward in an overwhelming global web.

Dance and Film Today: TikTok Dance Screening (40’) and Open Discussion on the Present and Future of Dance Film in Europe

FRIDAY, SEPT 12 ▪ 15:00 ▪ THE NATIONAL CENTER OF DANCE BUCHAREST

Together, we will explore the impact of emerging technologies on the processes of creation and distribution, highlighting how they are reshaping the meeting point between dance and film to generate innovative artistic experiences. The event will address the most pressing challenges faced by today’s dance filmmakers—from funding and visibility issues to access to infrastructure and recognition at international festivals. We will also discuss the role of education in shaping new generations of creators, as well as the innovative artistic practices emerging at the intersection of dance and film.

Preceded by a program of approximately 40 minutes of TikTok videos posted b.y people from all over the world, dancing in both public spaces and in the privacy of their own apartments, curated by Andrei Rus

Miriam Răducanu: “The Art That Needs No Words” — Guided Tour with Andreea Novac

FRIDAY, SEPT 12 → 18:00 ▪ SATURDAY, SEPT 13 → 14:00 + 16:00 ▪ MEETING POINT: TBD

In 2024, CNDB organized an extensive exhibition dedicated to choreographer and dancer Miriam Răducanu, which also included the screening of Miriam Răducanu — Rigoare și senZ, presented this year at BIDFF. The guided tours complement this initiative, selectively and fragmentarily reconstructing Miriam Răducanu’s choreographic universe and explorations. Using archival materials (texts, interviews, photographs), they are conceived as puzzles of ideas, content, and attitudes that reflect her unmistakable way of thinking about dance: essentialized, syncretic, free.

Keep on Groovin’ — Short Dance Animations

SATURDAY, SEPT 13 ▪ 21:00 ▪ MASCA THEATRE

Discover a mesmerizing world through stories about love, longing, and self-discovery. Two dance partners are expressing their emotions through enchanting choreography, while an animated video takes you on a journey through a city’s mysterious night. This programme of short cartoons curated by the Animest International Animation Film Festival is a captivating fusion of music, poetry and dance, where emotions transcend words and nature echoes an infinite scream.

Line-up: The Scream, Tango con Anita, Pas à deux, Swimming Pool, Le Sens du toucher, Dip N' Dance, 1 Mètre/Heure, Cimpoiasca, and Le coeur est un métronome.

Danceable – Contemporary Dance Workshop for Kids with Catrinel Catană

SATURDAY, SEPT 13 ▪ 11:00 ▪ THE NATIONAL CENTER OF DANCE BUCHAREST (STUDIO HALL)

Danceable: Explorations through Spatial Dynamics aims to offer participants a unique learning experience, helping them discover and improve their relationship with their own bodies in space, through an innovative and creative approach. The workshop objectives include enhancing body awareness, expressing emotions through dance, fostering collaboration and teamwork, and exploring space and movement dynamics. In essence, the class embraces a creative approach to movement, rhythm, space, posture, and improvisation.

Dance on Film for the Fourth Age — Short Film Screening for the Elderly

SEPT 11, 12 ▪ 11:00 ▪ THE RESIDENTIAL CENTER AMALIA AND CHIEF RABBI DR. MOSES ROSEN

The Age4 Community Art Centre (2009-present) is a socio-artistic project created within the Moses Rosen Residential Centre for the Elderly. Following the experience of working together for 18 months, the residents of the home together with a team of artists and performers launched, on May 30, 2011, the "Age4 Community Art Centre". Together they created several dance and community theatre performances, based on the personal stories of the home residents, while advocating against ageism. The Age4 Community Arts Centre is a space dedicated to promoting community art with institutionalised people through socio-performative practices.

Holding Hands — Dance Workshop for the Elderly with Silvia Brazzale

SEPT 11, 12 ▪ 12:00 ▪ THE RESIDENTIAL CENTER AMALIA AND CHIEF RABBI DR. MOSES ROSEN

The body is approached as a living, responsive organism—porous, adaptable, always in relation. There is no fixed boundary between self and other: the skin is not a wall but a bridge, where exchange becomes possible. Holding hands becomes a poetic and political gesture—a simple act of care, love, and resistance in the encounter between bodies. We will explore how to move with others—not by performing, but by being present, allowing ourselves to be transformed by the connection.