MANEKINO CULTURAL ASSOCIATION (MCA) is a Bucharest based NGO which organises cultural and educational events, with a particular focus on human rights, diversity, inclusion and the impact of culture on social change. MCA has distinguished itself in the Romanian cultural space through original projects, artistic vision and supporting emerging artists. Currently, the members of the board of directors are Adina Pintilie, visual artist, filmmaker and curator, Bianca Oana, cultural manager, writer/translator and film producer and Dragoș Hanciu, visual artist, filmmaker and cinematographer. ACM has been organising the annual Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival BIEFF since 2016, as well as the Off Season International Artist Residency, a unique cultural partnership between Romania and Albania between 2020 and 2024. In 2022, ACM produced the exhibition project ‘Adina Pintilie: You Are Another Me – A Cathedral of the Body‘, which represented Romania at the 59th Venice Art Biennale and opened the Timișoara European Capital of Culture 2023 exhibition program. The project involved a team of more than 60 professionals from Romania, Germany, Austria and France and placed the Romanian Pavilion in the Top 10 Pavilions in major international media outlets.
In 2018/2019, MCA has organized the International Debate Tour TOUCH ME NOT – POLITICS OF THE BODY, a cultural educational project realized in partnership with seven public universities in Romania and main international and national cultural institutions, with the aim to facilitate a transformative encounter between young audiences and vulnerable communities, in order to change mentalities, to open up new perspectives, to educate and promote diversity and inclusion, respect for otherness and freedom of expression. TOUCH ME NOT – POLITICS OF THE BODY events have been hosted by institutions and events such as MOMA Museum of Modern Art New York, ICA Institute of Contemporary Arts London, BFI British Film Institute, VIENNALE Film Festival, IDFA Amsterdam Film Festival, Karlovy Vary Film Festival, EUROPALIA / BOZAR (Palais des Beaux Arts Bruxelles), Bucharest National Theatre, Forum des Images Paris, SNSPA National University of Political Studies, CESI – Center of Excellence in Image Studies (University of Bucharest) and many others.
In 2018, the MCA project BIEFF Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival was awarded by AFCN (Administration of the National Cultural Fund), the “Prize for the International Promotion of Romanian Culture”, offered to “an initiative which activates significant international partnerships and creates a meeting space between the Romanian artists and works and the international audiences.” Now at it’s 10th edition, BIEFF is an cultural and educational initiative meant to offer the Romanian public, – and in particular the Romanian students and visual arts professionals, – access to the most innovative trends in contemporary cinema and visual art. BIEFF is created under the patronage of UNATC (National University of Drama and Film Bucharest) and UNARTE (National Art University), with the support of the Romanian National Cinema Center, the Ministry of Culture and AFCN. In 2015, BIEFF was also nominated for the Bucharest City Awards – a cultural event organized by the municipality which awards the cultural workers who “nurture the soul of the city and foster positive change”.