On the first page of Bram Stoker’s Victorian horror classic Dracula, Jonathan Harker notes in his journal that he had arrived to the city of Klausenburgh “after nightfall”. Now better known as Cluj, the city is the capital of the Transylvania region in the Carpathian mountains. The region owes much of its international fame to the fact that Stoker’s titular character called it home, a fame no doubt widened by the countless film adaptations that followed the novel’s release in 1897. In early June, Cluj now hosts the annual Transylvanian Film Festival, which showcases the best of young European and world cinema as well as the annual Romanian film production during the Romanian Days. It seems a fitting way for the region to return the favour to the medium that literally put it on the map for many.

 

It is funny that Spanish broadcaster Antena 3 (A3) was the official sponsor of the recent Málaga Spanish Film Festival, and was so devoted -- during the ten days the festival lasted -- to vividly promote the Spanish movies that were part of the Official Selection in its news bulletins. Considering that A3 normally only talks about Hollywood premieres, this must have been some kind of mirage for the Spanish film industry. Now that the festival is over, A3 is back to reporting about the highly anticipated Hollywood smash hit of the moment: Frank Miller’s 300. Have they already forgotten about the weak Spanish film industry, until next year, perhaps? Is it really useful to overwhelm the audience during a few days with a lot of Spanish releases and then forget about promoting our very own cinema for the rest of year?