Crowdfunded Making Waves Fest Grows into New York

23-07-2013

Crowdfunded Making Waves Fest Grows into New York

By Iulia Blaga

BUCHAREST: The New York-based fest Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema will expand in December from the its home at the Film Society of Lincoln Center into the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY, showcasing the best of Romanian cinema in 2013, and hosting the Czech Republic and Slovakia as guest contributors.

The festival, run by the Romanian Film Initiative since 2012, is safeguarding the spirit of the Romanian Film Festival in New York, which was founded in 2006 and had a key role in spreading appreciation for the country's rising cinematic talents of recent years.

This year, in order to gain a needed 25,000 USD for its budget, the fest has turned to a source many US indie filmmakers know well: Kickstarter. About 15,000 USD has been pledged by donors to the crowdfunding site so far; if the goal isn't met by Aug 4 at 4:29pm New York time, the fest will receive nothing and funders will be reimbursed.

Supported by Transilvania International Film Festival , Making Waves plans to spend the funds to bring in various filmmakers and actors.

With the motto Bigger and Better, the festival will take place 29 November-3 December at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and 5-10 December at the Burns center. It will screen new releases alongside retrospectives and classics.

Published in Romania