Emmy-winning producer with over 100 documentaries John Murray returns to Brașov for second edition of Lynx Festival

From June 4- 9, 2024, the second edition of the LYNX Festival will take place in Brașov, the first event dedicated exclusively to nature photography and documentary film, initiated by the România Salbatica Association and the Forona Association. After last year’s program featured 8 international documentaries, all sold out, most of them premiering in Romania, the festival returns with a new, unique selection that will delight film and nature enthusiasts of all ages.

“I’m very excited for the second edition of the LYNX Festival, which promises to be at least as good as the first. Among the most interesting films we’re bringing, I must mention ‘Wild Transylvania,’ directed by John Murray, one of our special guests from last year’s edition. The film is presented for the first time in Romania and tells the story of the wildlife in this region of our country in a harmonious, intertwined manner, with picturesque landscapes. Another film in the lineup, which has won several profile festivals, is ‘Cactus Hotel,’ a delightful comedy with all kinds of animals and an absolutely fascinating story. I would also include on the list a very interesting film about wolves, one about the Mediterranean Sea, and a BBC production about Antarctica, a documentary that will be presented in 3D format. Photography exhibitions will also be featured, and during the festival, we will announce the winners of the international Milvus competition. This is a summary that I hope will attract the attention of nature lovers, to whom we promise other surprises if they are in Brașov at the beginning of June,” said Dan Dinu, the artistic director of the festival and president of the Romania Salbatica Association.

John Murray, a producer of over 100 documentary films aired on the world’s most renowned channels and winner of numerous awards, including the prestigious Emmy, returns to Brașov after meeting the Romanian audience last year at the world premiere of the documentary “Ireland’s Wild Islands.” At that time, during a masterclass, he declared, “Transylvania is a treasure that cannot be found anywhere else in Europe,” promising to premiere the documentary Wild Transylvania, still in production at the time, at the next LYNX Festival edition. “When I return home to Ireland, I tell everyone that they must come to Transylvania because it is wonderful, and no other place in Europe compares to it and the wildlife it has,” said John Murray, who keeps his promise and will premiere, at LYNX Festival 2024, the footage filmed in the wildest areas of Transylvania.

Another highlight of this year’s selection is Cactus Hotel, which has already won numerous awards at international festivals, including the Grand Prize at Green Screen (Germany), one of Europe’s most important documentary film festivals. Other festivals where it has been awarded include Darss Nature Film Festival (Germany), Festival International Nature Namur (France), Innsbruck Nature Film Festival (Austria), and Sondrio Festival (Italy). Directed by Yann Sochaczewski, who has over 20 years of experience in documentary filmmaking, “Cactus Hotel” brings to the big screen 50 minutes of stories built around a saguaro cactus. “The director has taken on an extraordinary challenge by his courageous decision to highlight a plant from a single location and make it the main character of an entire film. With its magnificent images of animals and a soundtrack that complements the subtext of the production, this becomes a lesson in how to create a cinematic parable about 200 years of a cactus’s life in the desert,” are the words used to describe the documentary by the jury of the Mountain and Adventure Film Festival Graz (Austria).

The opening of the LYNX Festival will take place at Cinema Astra (Lungă Street, No. 1), the main location of the event. More details about the guests, special events, and surprises of the second edition, as well as the complete program, will be announced soon on the official website.