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The white-hot moment of the Romanian new-wave film renaissance is long in the past. “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu” came out in 2005, “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” in 2007. Other landmarks of Romanian cinema also now go back quite a ways, like “Police, Adjective” (2009), “If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle” (2010), and “Graduation” (2016). That’s not to say there haven’t been good Romanian films of late — earlier this year, I championed Two Lottery Tickets, a kind of droll Romanian Jim Jarmusch film. The bitter truth, though, is that over the last decade the profile of international impact and acclaim that Romanian cinema once held has radically diminished.

It might jump-start again with the appearance of “Miracle,” one of the best films I’ve seen at the Venice Film Festival. It’s the third feature written and directed by Bogdan George Apetri, and it shares many of the classic qualities of Romanian cinema.

A leading figure of the Romanian New Wave, Cătălin Mitulescu has had a heralded career since winning the Palme d’Or for his 2004 short film “Traffic.” His first two features, “The Way I Spent the End of the World” (2006) and “Loverboy” (2011), both premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard sidebar. He also co-produced and co-wrote the 2010 Berlin Silver Bear winner “If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle,” directed by Florin Șerban.

Mitulescu’s fourth feature, “Heidi,” had its world premiere this week at the Sarajevo Film Festival. The film centers on an aging policeman on the verge of retirement tasked with finding two prostitutes who are willing to testify in an organizing crime trial. But finding them proves to be easier than convincing them to take the witness stand. Produced by Mitulescu for Bucharest-based Strada Film, “Heidi” stars veteran actor Gheorghe Visu alongside newcomer Cătălina Mihai.

Mitulescu spoke to Variety in...

When an isolated forest ranger rescues a mysterious young woman he finds beaten and unconscious, his long-suppressed emotions surge out of control in Romanian multi-hyphenate Florin Şerban’s third feature “Love 1. Dog.” Set in some indeterminate time during the 20th century, this enigmatic but engrossing drama may look completely different from Şerban’s 2010 Berlinale prize-winner, “If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle,” or his 2015 sophomore outing, “Box,” but like these films, “Love 1” has at its core a battle of wills between a male and a female. Further festival travel is likely, with potential longer shelf life as the first of an announced trilogy.

Middle-aged Simion lives rough in a remote cabin built by his grandfather, high on a pine-forested mountain. His only companions are a fierce shepherd-mix dog that he has never bothered to name and a donkey to haul fuel for his fire. As he patrols the woods with his rifle,...

Four world premieres selected for festival’s Competition.

The 2018 Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 10-18) has unveiled the titles selected for its Competition and In Focus programmes.

This year’s Competition selection features four world premieres, one international premiere and five regional premieres, all either produced or co-produced from the Eastern European region.

As previously announced, Asghar Farhadi will preside over the Competition jury, which will award the festival’s top prize, the Heart of Sarajevo.

Selected titles having their world premieres include All Alone, the latest feature from Croatian director Bobo Jelčić, whose 2013 drama A Stranger premiered at Berlin and...