12/05/2020 - One year after it was launched, the Transilvania IFF’s VoD platform is set to offer Romanian films to worldwide audiences

One year after it was launched (see the news), the VoD platform of the Transilvania International Film Festival, TIFF Unlimited, has announced some major expansion plans, including its eagerly awaited availability outside Romania starting next month. The platform’s team is currently working hard in order to release a substantial selection of Romanian productions to worldwide audiences.

This news is accompanied by figures demonstrating its growth, as the platform can boast increases of 40% in viewership and of 60% in the number of hours that viewers spend watching films on the platform. In order to accommodate this increased level of attention, TIFF Unlimited has expanded its film catalogue, with new titles being added every week. Most of these are available only in Romania, but this will change in June.

Regarding the decision to make Romanian movies available worldwide, TIFF Unlimited project manager Dorina Oargă tells Cineuropa that the move is an answer to “numerous requests from the Romanian diaspora asking to have access to our platform and to be able to enjoy the films. We have already made several Romanian documentaries available, in partnership with FAV, but for now, most of them are only in Romanian. We will add subtitles so that these films can reach more people. Moreover, the Romanian movies that will be available will have English subtitles. We are currently in negotiations with the rights owners so that, starting this June, we will be able to offer a substantial catalogue of films.”

According to Oargă, the platform is also expected to host some films set to be shown at the 2020 edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival. “It all depends on the form the festival will take this year,” she says, as the gathering’s 19th edition has been postponed until further notice.

Festival president Tudor Giurgiu has discussed the possibility of TIFF Unlimited becoming complementary to a physical edition of the festival. “The situation remains uncertain regarding any large physical gathering for the rest of the year. We are still planning an edition in Cluj-Napoca, but hope to be able to schedule online screenings on TIFF Unlimited, at least for the main sections of the festival, for those who cannot attend. It’s not only that; I think many of the films we have selected will also need a platform in Romania if the cinemas are forced to remain closed,” Giurgiu explains.

TIFF Unlimited currently offers approximately 120 titles, with three new films added every week.