Special Guests | TIFF 2025

Maria de Medeiros, acclaimed actress, director, and singer, will be honored at TIFF.24. Best known to global audiences for her unforgettable role in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, de Medeiros will receive the Transilvania Trophy for Special Contribution to World Cinema.

At TIFF.24, audiences will have the unique opportunity to meet Maria de Medeiros not only on the red carpet at the festival’s closing gala, but also at a public masterclass open to both industry professionals and cinephiles. The festival will also screen her latest film, Una Quinta Portuguesa (2025), directed by Avelina Prat. Both the actress and director will attend the screening in Cluj-Napoca.

Legendary filmmaker Béla Tarr, one of the most important and influential auteurs in contemporary cinema, will be the guest of honor at TIFF.24. Tarr will be presented with the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award and will hold a special masterclass for young filmmakers and festival audiences.

With the exception of Sátántangó, Transilvania IFF 24 will screen the complete fiction filmography of Béla Tarr in special one-time-only screenings: Family Nest, The Outsider, The Prefab People, Almanac of Fall, Damnation, Werckmeister Harmonies, The Man from London, and The Turin Horse. Béla Tarr’s presence at Transilvania IFF 24 is made possible with the support of the National Film Institute Hungary and the Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Centre Bucharest.

Filmmaker Andrei Ujică, the author of several landmark works of documentary cinema, will be honored at TIFF.24, where he will receive the Excellence Award for his outstanding contribution to the art of filmmaking. His presence at TIFF.24 will be marked by a special screening of TWST – Things We Said Today, a masterclass, and meetings with the audience.

The 24th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (Cluj-Napoca, June 13–22, 2025) will open with Christy (dir. Brendan Canty, Ireland/UK, 2025), a hopeful coming-of-age story about resilience and the power to start over, recently awarded at the Berlinale. 

The screening will take place on the grand outdoor screen in Unirii Square on Friday, June 13, at 8:45 PM, as part of a special event preceded by a tribute to legendary actor Florin Piersic, who will be honored with a Excellence Award.

Two prominent figures of Romanian cinema will be honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 24th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (June 13–22, 2025): actress Emilia Dobrin and film critic Valerian Sava. 

With memorable roles in landmark stage productions and standout appearances on the big screen, Emilia Dobrin has distinguished herself through sensitivity, depth, and an inner strength that resonates through each performance. A 1971 graduate of the “I.L. Caragiale” Institute of Theatre and Film Arts, she recalls “learning the craft” from legendary directors such as David Esrig and Radu Penciulescu.

Two prominent figures of Romanian cinema will be honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 24th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (June 13–22, 2025): actress Emilia Dobrin and film critic Valerian Sava. 

Valerian Sava, one of the most influential and enduring Romanian film critics, is the author of numerous landmark texts, including „A Critical History of Contemporary Romanian Cinema, with a Retrospective from the Beginning” (Meridiane Publishing, 1999) and the three-volume collection „A Subjective History of the Cinematic Transition: The Fourth Wave, Mediocrate Restoration and the Rebirth of Romanian Cinema” (Paralela 45 Publishing, 2011–2013).

Rodrigo Cortés is a director, screenwriter, producer, and occasional actor, best known for the thriller Buried (2010), starring Ryan Reynolds. He later directed Red Lights (2012), featuring Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver, and the musical drama Love Gets a Room (2021). His latest film, Escape (2024), a surreal satire produced by Martin Scorsese, premiered at the San Sebastián Film Festival to critical acclaim. Cortés is also a celebrated author and co-host of two popular podcasts, Todopoderosos and Aquí hay dragones.
 

Rainer Sarnet, is one of the most intriguing voices in contemporary Eastern European cinema. His feature debut was Where Souls Go (2007), followed by The Idiot (2011), a free adaptation of Dostoevsky’s novel. November (2017), a gothic tale inspired by Estonian folklore, gained international attention and was shown at numerous festivals. In 2023, Sarnet released The Invisible Fight, an absurdist comedy that won nine awards at the Estonian Film and Television Awards, including Best Film and Best Director.

Kazakh director, screenwriter, editor, and producer Adilkhan Yerzhanov is known for his style that blends minimalism with satire. He gained international recognition with The Owners (2014), selected at Cannes, and The Gentle Indifference of the World (2018), presented in Un Certain Regard. His film A Dark, Dark Man (2019) earned him Best Director at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In 2025, he released Cadet, a psychological thriller with horror elements, screened at the Berlinale.

Italian producer, director, and screenwriter Uberto Pasolini is known for his eclectic and deeply humanistic artistic approach. He produced the international hit The Full Monty (1997), which was nominated for an Oscar and won a BAFTA, and as a director, impressed with films like Machan (2008), Still Life (2013), and Nowhere Special (2020), featured at major festivals like Venice and Karlovy Vary. His latest film, The Return, starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, will screen at TIFF.24. Pasolini has a long-standing relationship with the festival, having attended multiple times as both a juror and filmmaker – Still Life won the Audience Award at TIFF 2014.

Bosnian director and screenwriter Danis Tanović made a spectacular debut with No Man’s Land (2001), which won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and Best Screenplay at Cannes. Throughout his career, he has continued to explore political and social themes in films such as Cirkus Columbia (2010), An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker (2013), and Death in Sarajevo (2016), which won the Silver Bear in Berlin. At TIFF.24, he presents his latest film, My Late Summer (2024), which premiered at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
 

Alessandro del Vigna is a producer who has quickly made a name for himself in the film industry. Among the acclaimed films he has worked on are Siberia (dir. Abel Ferrara, 2010, Berlinale Competition), Triangle of Sadness (dir. Ruben Östlund, 2022, Palme d’Or at Cannes), and The End (2024), the first fiction film by acclaimed director Joshua Oppenheimer, screening at TIFF.24.

Ukrainian director Pavlo Ostrikov earned a master’s degree in law from the National Aviation University in 2012. He has participated in prestigious international festivals such as Locarno, Tampere, Palm Springs, Black Nights, Brussels, and the European Film Awards. His first feature, U are the Universe, had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.

With a career spanning over three decades, Eduard Fernández is considered one of the most versatile and acclaimed actors in contemporary Spanish cinema. A four-time Goya winner, his notable films include Biutiful, El Niño, Smoke & Mirrors, Perfect Strangers, and Mediterráneo. At TIFF.24, he presents his latest film, Marco, the Invented Truth (dir. Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño, 2024), which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival.

Irish director and screenwriter Brendan Canty gained recognition through award-winning short films. His feature debut Christy (2025), a coming-of-age story, had its world premiere in the Generation 14plus section of the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize. Christy will open the 24th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival.

Danny Power is an emerging Irish actor who caught the attention of critics and audiences alike with his outstanding performance in the lead role of Christy, Brendan Canty’s feature debut.

Producer and screenwriter Paula Vaccaro is the founder of the production company Pinball London, known for collaborations with acclaimed directors such as Sally Potter, Luca Guadagnino, Jim Jarmusch, Guillermo Arriaga, and Emir Kusturica. Her latest production is Diciannove, the debut feature by Giovanni Tortorici, which premiered in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival.

With a background in theater and film production, Fabrice Du Welz worked as a TV presenter and actor in France and Belgium before debuting as a director. His first feature Calvaire premiered in Cannes’ Semaine de la Critique, and his latest, Maldoror, screened at the Venice Film Festival.
 

Director, screenwriter, and producer Bogdan Mureșanu transitioned from literature and advertising to film with great success. He is known for The Christmas Gift, an Oscar-nominated short film in 2020 with 200 festival selections and 72 awards, and his debut feature The New Year That Never Was, winner of the Orizzonti section in Venice. He is currently preparing three new feature projects.

Agustina Chiarino is a renowned Uruguayan producer with over 15 Latin American features premiered at top international film festivals. She is a member of the Co-Production Forum selection committee at San Sebastián and has been an advisor for the Sundance Film Institute, Doha Film Institute, Torino Film Lab, and Ventana Sur.
 

Ciro Guerra is one of Colombia’s most important directors, with films selected at major festivals from Cannes to Locarno and San Sebastián. His most recent film, Waiting for the Barbarians (2019), starring Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp, and Robert Pattinson, competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.