Pablo Larrain's 'EMA' to open Bucharest International Dance Film Festival

The sixth edition of the Bucharest International Dance Film Festival (BIDFF), the only cinema event in Romania dedicated to dance films, will take place September 3-6, in Bucharest.

According to a press statement release by organisers, the screenings will take place outdoors at the Elvira Popesco Cinema Hall and the Romanian Peasant Museum, while special events will be hosted, with limited seating, by LINOTIP - Independent Choreographic Centre and CNDB, the Stere Popescu Hall.

The sixth edition of BIDFF will have three competitive sections dedicated to dance short films - the international competition and the Romanian competition - and music films, along with dance film workshops, conferences and other surprises for filmgoers.

The theme of the edition is "Utopia/Dystopia." "With an emphasis on imagination, its innovative, critical or transformative potential, and using dance film as a medium of expression, the utopia/dystopia proposals that this year's selection of dance films highlights have their stakes in new ways of looking, getting to know and (re)presenting the present and the future, in some places with confidence, sometimes with skepticism, necessarily with humor and irony," says Andreea Novac, curator of the festival.

"EMA," directed by Pablo Larrain, will run at the beginning of the festival, on September 3, 21:00hrs, EEST, at Elvire Popesco.

Larrain proposes an electrifying film, a courageous commentary on sex, power and chaos in present-day Chile. The soundtrack, created by famous Nicolas Jaar, highlights the emotion of the dramatic story lived by Ema (Mariana Di Girolamo), a young dancer from a reggaeton band, married to an older choreographer, Gaston (Gael Garcia Bernal). After their toxic marriage falls apart and their adopted son and arsonist returns to the care of the state, Ema embarks, full of regrets, on a heartbreaking mission: to bring him back, regardless of the obstacles standing in her way.

"We have chosen to open the festival with 'EMA', a film that honestly highlights the story of people who come together for the wrong reasons and the efforts of a young woman to change her life, for the innovative way she explores the connection between body as a reflection on contemporary society and dance as a way of life. Pablo Larrain's direction takes you through a rainbow of emotions, while the passion with which Mariane Di Girolamo dances is captivating," explains Simona Deaconescu, artistic director of the festival.

BIDFF's prize pool is 2,000 euros each for the Best International Film, the Best Romanian Film and the Best Musical.