Two Jesuits on the Jury of the Transilvania International Film Festival
Every year in June, Cluj-Napoca is transformed by the TIFF – the Transilvania International Film Festival. Squares, gardens, cinemas, and courtyards are literally taken over by screenings: screens of every size fill the main public spaces of the largest city in Transylvania, turning it into a vibrant filmmaking stage.
As it prepares to celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary, for the second consecutive year, TIFF 2025 hosted two juries promoted by SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication: the Ecumenical Jury and the SIGNIS Jury.
The Ecumenical Jury brings together members from various Christian denominations (Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants), while the SIGNIS Jury is composed of representatives from the Catholic world.
Both juries are composed of individuals from various European countries and diverse cultural backgrounds: film critics, journalists, theologians, members of religious orders, and filmmakers. Their task is to award works that stand out not only for their artistic value but also for their ability to make visible the deeper spiritual dimension of human existence.
In Cluj, the two juries differed in their areas of focus: the Ecumenical Jury concentrated on feature films in the official competition, while the SIGNIS Jury focused its attention on a parallel selection of short films.
This year, two Jesuits were part of the respective TIFF juries: Florin Silaghi, a member of the SIGNIS Jury, and Piero Loredan, a representative of the Ecumenical Jury.
Participating in the festival is an excellent opportunity to meet people from diverse cultural, social, and religious backgrounds. The TIFF thus becomes a privileged crossroads where, on the one hand, there is dialogue with the world of culture—understood as a space where the great questions of human existence and the search for meaning emerge—and, on the other hand, the chance to engage with different faiths and perspectives in a spirit of listening and mutual enrichment.
