F-Sides, sometimes stylized as F-SIDES, is a Romanian

cineclub A film society is a membership-based Club (organization), club where people can watch Public and private screening, screenings of films which would otherwise not be shown in mainstream Movie theater, cinemas. In Spain, Ireland and Italy, they are kn ...

and feminist film festival. Its aim is to combat gender inequality in cinema by exclusively screening films by female creators, being the first such film society in Romania. Its main event consists of bi-monthly film screenings taking place in various venues across Bucharest over five months in summer and autumn, with several other events throughout the year. Founded in July 2020 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, it has since expanded to include screenings in other Romanian cities,

roundtable The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...

discussions on issues of gender and cinema, art exhibitions,

social research Social research is research conducted by social scientists following a systematic plan. Social research methodologies can be classified as quantitative and qualitative. * Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable ...

and

youth program Youth programs are particular activities designed to involve people between the ages of 10 and 25. Activities included are generally oriented towards youth development through recreation, social life, prevention, intervention, or education. Duri ...

History

F-Sides was created in Bucharest in 2020 by Alexandra Lulache and Ioana Diaconu as a means to combat the small number of films by female directors, with only 17% of movies shown in Romanian cinemas in 2019 having been directed by a woman. According to Diaconu, the project seeks to ”''bring the female perspective into the spotlight as to be a starting point for debating topics such as sorority, freedom of one’s own body, girls’ education, violence against women, exploring sexuality, motherhood or intergenerational communication''”. It was the first Romanian film society to focus on female creators. Because it debuted during the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, screenings took place in outdoor venues during the 2020 season, with some screenings moving online. Beginning with its second year, F-Sides began expanding to other cities in Romania, with screenings taking place in

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

and

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

, among others. The cineclub's selection mostly consists of

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

and international

art film An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

s, but in 2022 it also inaugurated "''F-Sides Premieres''", a curatorial line which selects more recent movies which proved popular with general audiences. In April 2022, F-Sided collaborated with the

archiving An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

project of the UNATC film school to organize a retrospective of Romanian director , with the stated aim of re-popularizing her work among modern audiences. In 2022 F-Sides launched a side-project called "''Chapters''", which consists of film screenings in small and medium-sized towns, mainly to an audience of young people, as well as of a social study researching cultural consumption among youth living in small urban areas. In October 2022, F-Sides marked the end of its third season with a

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

exhibition by women artists.{{Cite news , date=14 October 2022 , title=Cineclubul F-SIDES marchează sfârșitul sezonului printr-o expoziție de artă contemporană - "Honey, I got you a seat" în cartierul Giulești, clădirea ISAF , language=ro , work=IQads , url=https://www.iqads.ro/articol/61635/cineclubul-f-sides-marcheaza-sfarsitul-sezonului-printr-o-expozitie-de-arta , access-date=3 March 2023

External links

Official website

References

Film societies Women's film festivals Film festivals in Romania Film festivals established in 2020 Annual events in Romania Women in Bucharest 2020 establishments in Romania