Between May 18-20, 2022, activities organized by CICAE (International Confederation of Art Cinemas), an association established in 1995, with representatives from over 37 countries, took place in Cannes. As a representative of the academic environment, Ms. lect. Dr. Eliza Filimon participated in the Annual General Assembly together with other European members of the association. The president of CICAE, Christian Bräuer, presented the activity report for the current year.

The short-term objectives pursued by CICAE include revitalizing the offer of art films in the European environment and stimulating the active participation of the public in the context of the social and financial crisis of the last two years. During the pandemic, cinemas were closed according to the rules established in each country. Financial losses are just one of the challenges facing all cinemas in Europe. Each association or cinema represented in CICAE presented statistics and strategies that gave favorable results and deserve further promotion in order to ensure better visibility at national and international level. CICAE stands firmly in solidarity with Ukraine and condemns the violence caused by the invasion of Ukraine.

The three films competing for the Lux Audience Award were presented: FLEE (dir. Jonas Poher Rasmussen), GREAT FREEDOM (dir. Sebastian Meise) and QUO VADIS, AIDA? (dir. Jasmila Zbanic).

Ms. Lect. Dr. Eliza Filimon had the opportunity to present the activities of the UVT Media Hub and the involvement of LIT students in projects to promote quality films through translation and localization services that she coordinates.

The CICAE activities took place in parallel with the opening of the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, so the representative of the Western University of Timișoara at this event had the honor of participating in several important events, with official accreditation :

• "Rendez-vous with Tom Cruise" - interview with actor Tom Cruise
• "La Semaine de la Critique" opening ceremony with the participation of director Jesse Eisenberg and actors Julienne Moore and Finn Wolfhard, the actors of the main roles of the film "When you finish saving the world"
• Screening at the Palais de Festivals - "Coupez!" (reg. M. Hazanavicius)

Romania is represented in the competition by Cristian Mungiu who competes for La Palme d'or with his latest film "NMR", by Alexander Belc which competes in the Un Certain Regard section with the feature film "Metronome" and by  Radu Jude, who will present his short film "Potemkinists" in the section "Quinzaine des réalisateurs".

Lect. Dr. Eliza Claudia Filimon