New Transilvania Industry Manager Zooms in on Series and Co-Productions in ‘Increasingly Hard’ Time to Get Projects Made

When asked about his main priority in the first edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival since taking the position of industry manager, Adrian Bilă has the answer at the tip of his tongue: “to keep everything in place and working well.” This answer, he says, is a testament to the work of the festival’s former industry head, Dumitrana Lupu, who helped turn TIFF into a key gathering for producers and filmmakers in the Balkans. 

The actor slash producer took the position in January and spent the last six months getting a better understanding of the industry structures in place at TIFF, both to continue to deliver programs that are already considered successful and to be able to tweak whatever wasn’t fully working. This year’s RO Days, the festival’s industry platform, will take place between June 19-23, with a focus on continuous collaboration and targeting local and regional filmmakers, and has seen an increased number of submissions from last year, a great sign ahead of events kicking off in Cluj-Napoca. 

“In a sense, everything I’ve done professionally up to now is helping me in settling into this new role,” says Bilă, emphasizing his relationship with the creative industries in the country and how connected he feels to emerging talent. Amongst the initiatives he is most excited about is the Transilvania Talent Lab, a program for emerging filmmakers, producers, and screenwriters up to 35 years old from Romania or the Republic of Moldova. 

“It’s not a project development initiative, it’s about taking into account where they are in their career and seeing what they can benefit from in terms of tutoring, mentorship, and meeting local experts,” adds the manager. “We want to give budding filmmakers a chance to fully see how the industry works.”

Speaking about the festival’s central co-production platform, the Transilvania Pitch Stop, Bilă highlights its importance at a time when it is becoming “increasingly hard” to develop projects not only in smaller countries like Romania but all across Europe. Pitch Stop presents a selection of up to 10 projects currently in development and financing from first and second-time directors to international film professionals to foster cross-border cooperation, especially between Black Sea countries.

“Finding international partners and co-producing has become the core of our industry and the best way to get your film made. In this aspect, I hope we can further develop Pitch Stop to be a main attraction in Europe in terms of a co-production market. We are a great option, especially for projects that might not have made in time for Rotterdam or Berlin, or projects rooted in the Balkans and seeking partners within the region. One of my priorities is making Pitch Stop more visible to find the right people and projects,” concludes Bilă.

The industry section is in direct dialogue with the main festival themes by bringing forward several conversations around AI. TIFF is broaching the subject within its “Tomorrow is Fear” strand, which consists of a selection of dystopian films. Industry activities on AI include talks with Pixelrace CEO Maciej Żemojcin, SafeFrame’s Sebastian Cosor and Ștefan Popescu, and AI Creative’s Norbert Fodor and Mihai Cojocaru.

“These talks are in line with the focus of the festival in general this year, where we are looking to the future,” says the industry head. “I believe the amount of information and new tools we have nowadays is overwhelming and rather scary, so it’s a subject we must tackle and understand better. What are the benefits? Should we really be scared? What jobs will be replaced? I don’t believe the future is as negative as it sometimes seems, but I do think that it is better to talk about AI than to live in fear of it.” 

Another attraction at RO Days is the Drama Room, a program launched in 2021 and aimed at developing series in the region. “In Romania, the possibilities of developing and producing series are quite limited,” says Bilă. “The National Film Fund does not have a dedicated open call for series, so, in this sense, one of the reasons why we focus on series is to raise awareness of this gap and look into alternatives on how to develop television in Romania.”

As for what would mark a successful first edition for the new manager, the answer is simple: connections. “If people are still in contact after the festival, if they find partners and start discussions with interested parties in the international market, I will be delighted. Our main goal is to help people connect and work together in an international environment, so that would be a great success for me.”