The Latest Films by Radu Jude and Pedro Almodóvar Among the First Titles Announced for TIFF.25
Diary of a Chambermaid by Radu Jude and Bitter Christmas by Pedro Almodóvar will be presented as previews at the 25th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (June 12–21, 2026, Cluj-Napoca). The directorial debut of actress Juliette Binoche, alongside the latest films starring Jackie Chan, Mads Mikkelsen, and Laetitia Casta, completes the first wave of titles announced by the organizers—a mix of award-winning auteur cinema, box office hits, and bold new entries.
Selected for the Quinzaine des Cinéastes at Cannes, Diary of a Chambermaid (Le journal d’une femme de chambre, dir. Radu Jude, 2025, France–Romania) is built around the themes of Octave Mirbeau’s novel of the same name. Jude explains: “The story focuses on the life of a young Romanian woman working for a family in Bordeaux. It’s a film that blends several themes—migration, poverty, the relationship between East and West, and the interplay between theatre, literature, and cinema—shaped into a form that I hope is, if not original, at least unique.” The cast includes Ana Dumitrașcu, Vincent Macaigne, Mélanie Thierry, and Amélie Prévot. The film will screen at TIFF as a preview and will be distributed in Romania by Independența Film.
Bitter Christmas (Amarga Navidad, dir. Pedro Almodóvar, 2025, Spain) finds Almodóvar firmly in familiar territory: simmering relationships, family tensions, and desires that cannot be contained, in an emotional, visually stylized, and deeply personal film. Starring Bárbara Lennie and Leonardo Sbaraglia, the film will be distributed in Romania by Independența Film.
A longtime collaborator and muse of Almodóvar, Carmen Maura delivers a remarkable performance in Calle Malaga (dir. Maryam Touzani, 2025, Morocco–Spain), winner of the Audience Award in Venice. The film explores memory and the way cities preserve the traces of lives lived within them. Romanian distribution: Good Time Films.
Also from Spain comes the queer drama Maspalomas (dir. Jose Mari Goenaga, Aitor Arregi, 2025, Spain), awarded at San Sebastián and at the Goya Awards (Best Actor for José Ramón Soroiz). The film follows an elderly man who chooses to conceal his sexual orientation after moving into a retirement home—both a tender and daring story about identity, and the tension between tradition and the present. The film is signed by the team behind Marco, the Invented Truth, screened at TIFF last year.
Murder in the Building (Le Crime du 3e étage, dir. Rémi Bezançon, 2025, France), starring Laetitia Casta and Gilles Lellouche, is a retro, Hitchcockian policier with edge—a cinephile treat where every detail matters and suspense builds with almost geometric precision. The film closed the Rotterdam Film Festival and will be distributed in Romania by Independența Film.
Juliette Binoche makes her directorial debut with In-I In Motion (2026, France), a documentary about the dance performance she created with Akram Khan, one of the most acclaimed contemporary choreographers. An emotional film about the body, movement, and the creative process. Binoche also stars in Queen at Sea (dir. Lance Hammer, 2025, United Kingdom), which won two Silver Bears at the Berlinale, including a joint award for Best Supporting Performance for veterans Tom Courtenay and Anna Calder-Marshall. A powerful drama about aging, dementia, and family bonds. The film will be distributed in Romania by Transilvania Film.
European superstar Mads Mikkelsen returns to the screen in the black comedy The Last Viking (dir. Anders Thomas Jensen, 2025, Denmark). A bank robber does everything he can to help his traumatized brother recover his memory—and reveal where he hid a fortune. The film is distributed by Bad Unicorn.
With The Things Left Unspoken (Le cose non dette, 2025, Italy–Morocco), Gabriele Muccino delivers the kind of Italian melodrama he is known for: relationships in crisis, explosive emotions, and dark family secrets unfolding in a sun-drenched, sensual, and tension-filled setting. A box office hit in Italy.
Mother (dir. Teona Strugar Mitevska, 2025, North Macedonia–Belgium) features one of the most unexpected castings of the year: Noomi Rapace as Mother Teresa, in a bold and unconventional portrayal that rejects reverence in favor of a raw, physical, almost visceral interpretation, infused with a punk spirit.
The inimitable Jackie Chan returns to the big screen in The Shadow’s Edge (dir. Larry Yang, 2025, Hong Kong–China), delivering exactly what audiences expect: meticulously choreographed action, spectacular stunts, and a physical energy few actors can still match today. Also from Asia comes Kokuho (dir. Lee Sang-il, 2025, Japan), which has broken all records to become the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time. The film transforms the world of kabuki theatre into a sumptuous, epic cinematic experience about ambition, discipline, and the price of excellence.
More details about the TIFF.25 program will be announced soon. Festival passes are already available online: https://tiff.ro/abonamente
***
Ne puteți urmări pe:
tiff.ro | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube | TikTok
***
Festivalul Internațional de Film Transilvania este organizat de Asociația pentru Promovarea Filmului Românesc și Asociația Festivalul de Film Transilvania.
