Thirteenth issue of CRONOGRAF International Documentary Film Festival opened in Moldovan capital

Chisinau, 12 May /MOLDPRES/ - The 13th issue of the CRONOGRAF International Documentary Film Festival (FIFD) was opened at the Chisinau-based Odeon Culture Centre today. The festival is held on 12-18 May.    

At a today’s news conference, FIFD director Virgiliu Margineanu said that a record number of more than 600 documentaries from all over the world had been registered for the pre-selection. After having watched them, the jury chose 50 films, which will compete in four divisions: principal division, CadRO division, local productions division and Un (One) LIKE for documentary division.    

Film fans will have occasion to watch documentaries from Iran, France, Georgia, Israel, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Latvia, Greece, Germany, Poland, Canada and other countries.  

According to the director of the festival, the current issue brings a novelty – CRONOGRAF Junior – a programme of educative films for pupils of primary and gymnasium forms. The festival’s goal is to attract children to cinema halls, in order to familiarize them with the world of the documentary, teaching them to have a critical reasoning and a wider intellectual and artistic horizon.  

For her part, the FIFD artistic director, Leontina Vatamanu, said that, this year, a string of events-satellite would be organised for diverse categories of public. Thus, participants in a roundtable, Education through Film, will initiate discussions on the importance of education through audiovisual means, especially through documentary. Attending the event will be representatives of the Education Ministry, teachers and members of school cinema clubs, as well as experts from other countries, who will speak about the impact of the documentary on the formation of the individual and about the use of the film as instrument of training in schools.    

Attending the event, Culture Minister Monica Babuc highly appreciated the level of the festival’s organisation and the quality of films, stressing that the festival contributed to promoting Moldova’s image worldwide.   

Ambassador of France to Moldova Pascal Vagogne said that, within the festival, several French films would be watched as well. The movies approach a quite sensitive subject: childhood and juvenile justice. “All films are focused on juvenile justice and, in particular, on educative intervention in a judicial framework,” the French diplomat noted.   

So far, FIFD CRONOGRAF has been the most comprehensive film festival from Moldova – a unique occasion for film fans from Chisinau to watch quality documentaries from all over the world, discuss with their authors and discover the latest tendencies in terms of documentary films. The CRONOGRAF festival was launched in 2001 and is organised by OWH Studio, with the support of its partners. The general partner of the 13th issue of the festival is the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The festival has a budget worth over two million lei.

(Reporter N. Roibu, editor A. Raileanu)