Bucharest Photofest

OPEN CALL - IPFA Award (International Photography Festivals Association) 🌍📷
Deadline > 12 January!

The IPFA Award invites photographers and artists worldwide to submit projects for an international curatorial review and exhibition platform dedicated to contemporary photographic practices.

With a single application, your work will be reviewed by 20 curators representing 20 photography festivals – expanding your visibility and international projection ✨

Selected projects may be developed as solo exhibitions across the IPFA festival network, while 50 finalists will be featured in a travelling collective exhibition, opening 19 March 2026 in Barcelona 🏛️

No fixed theme – documentary, social inquiry, urban and street, analogue processes, nature & wildlife, experimental and conceptual approaches are all welcome 🧪🌿

Projects will be evaluated for originality, visual coherence, narrative strength, innovation, and transnational relevance.

🎯 Submit your project and enter a global ecosystem of festivals, curators, and audiences.

Made possible by
In collaboration w/

The Roots of Humanity – Antonio Pisani (IT)
18 Nov – 2 Dec 2025
Opening: 18 November, 17:00
National Library of Romania, Bucharest
Curator: Cristina Gârleşteanu

In a world rushing toward automation, The Roots of Humanity asks a crucial question: what remains of the traditions that shaped us?

In the first chapter of an international series, Italian photographer Antonio Pisani captures, in striking monochrome, fragments of rural life - hayfields, hands working the land, children carrying forward the rhythm of their ancestors. Simple gestures, yet essential ones: pieces of collective memory.

As algorithms replicate and machines perfect, these communities preserve the soul. Pisani offers not nostalgia, but a warning: in a future where products may become flawless yet void of story, humanity survives in what remains imperfect, handmade, lived.

The exhibition unfolds as a multisensory experience - image, sound, texture, scent —an invitation to reconnect with the practices that built us and the people who keep them alive.

Institutional Partners: National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, Istituto Italiano di Cultura.

A Thread of Light, A Trembling Sound – The Closing of the 10th edition of Bucharest Photofest

The closing night of the 10th edition of Bucharest Photofest brought together two major figures of the international experimental scene for an outstanding performance that transcended musical boundaries.

Drew McDowall, a central figure in avant-garde and industrial music – known for his influential work with Coil and Psychic TV – delivered a rare and deeply focused live set. His performance combined decades of sonic research into a complex, immersive experience built on modular synthesis, drone textures, and subtle rhythmic tension.

Accompanying him, visual artist Pedro Maia added a distinctive analog film layer, working live with 16mm material and creating visuals that responded in real time to the evolving sound structure. The result was an integrated audiovisual composition – rigorous, hypnotic, and profoundly expressive.

The evening stood as a fitting conclusion to this year’s festival: a moment of concentration and dialogue between sound and image, tradition and experimentation – reaffirming Bucharest Photofest’s role as a platform for contemporary visual and sonic culture.

Gallery > https://bucharestphotofest.ro/drew-mcdowall-review/

Photography > Miluta Flueras / Miluță Flueraș
Control Club

Festival Launch: hinako omori Opens Bucharest Photofest 2025

The tenth edition of Bucharest Photofest commenced with a compelling live performance by Hinako Omori, an internationally recognized artist whose work spans ambient, classical, and vocal music.

Performing at Control Club, Omori introduced the audience to rich, immersive soundscapes constructed through binaural recording, multi-channel installation, and multi-layered compositions. Her debut album, “a journey…”, has been widely celebrated as “remarkable” (Pitchfork), “blissfully restorative” (Loud and Quiet), and “deeply enchanting” (Electronic Sound), exemplifying her ability to transform listening into a meditative and profoundly emotional experience.

The concert was a fitting prelude to a festival dedicated to visual storytelling, photography, and interdisciplinary dialogue, signaling the start of ten days of exhibitions, masterclasses, film screenings, and cultural events. Through her performance, Omori reminded attendees of the power of art to create immersive, shared experiences, bridging sound and vision in ways that inspire reflection, engagement, and creativity.

Full gallery > https://bucharestphotofest.ro/hinako-omori-opens-the-10th-edition/

Photography > Miluta Flueras / Miluță Flueraș

The 10th edition of Bucharest Photofest may have closed its main events last Sunday, but the city still breathes photography.

This weekend, several exhibitions remain on display - from documentary stories to conceptual journeys - each offering a glimpse into the heart of this year’s festival.

Take your time, explore, and let the images speak for themselves.

Tomorrow!
Be there!
✨✨✨

Album Review: Drew McDowall - A Thread, Silvered and Trembling (Dais Records) Former Psychic TV, Coil, and The Poems member Drew McDowall’s A Thread, Silvered and Trembling moves like weather sealed within. Working with Randall Dunn at Brooklyn's

We are deeply grateful to the Juhan Kuus Documentary Photo Centre Tallinn for enriching this year’s edition of Bucharest Photofest with extraordinary exhibitions, powerful stories, and a remarkable spirit of collaboration.

Your dedication, precision, and professionalism have set a new standard - reminding us what documentary photography truly stands for: honesty, empathy, and the courage to see.

Thank you for making the 2025 edition more profound, more inspiring, and undeniably richer.

Moving through the city, one story at a time.

We’re thankful to UBER for helping our artists, guests, and teams get to where inspiration happens - safely, smoothly, and on time.

Because every great festival deserves great rides.

Creativity flows best when you stay hydrated.

Thank you, AQUA Carpatica, for keeping the Bucharest Photofest team and guests refreshed throughout ten inspiring days.

Pure water, pure focus - that’s how great ideas keep moving.

Design is more than function - it’s a way of thinking.

We’re grateful to RUNE for joining Bucharest Photofest as a partner that shares our belief in clarity, balance, and beautiful simplicity.

Thank you for bringing your sense of harmony and refined aesthetics to our story.

Precision, color, and reliability - the backbone of every exhibition.

A heartfelt thank you to EPSON for making sure every detail, every tone, and every image in Bucharest Photofest looks exactly as it should: vibrant, authentic, and alive.
Because great printing means great storytelling.

Where vision meets innovation.

Thank you, SONY, for inspiring creators to see the world differently - and for equipping a new generation of photographers with the tools to capture meaning, not just images.

At Bucharest Photofest, your technology fuels imagination.