As part of its ten year celebration, the Romanian Film Festival in London announced the inaugural annual Profusion scholarship scheme. 

The aim of the Profusion scholarship is to contribute to the development of young film makers with a Romanian background.

The 2013 scholarship was launched at a special event during the Festival, in the presence of the first recipient: the young Romanian cinematographer Simona Susnea.

The 2013 scholarship, with the value of GBP 1,500, consisted of:
- a stay of one week in London, during The Romanian Film Festival in London, and
- a GBP 500 contribution towards Simona Susnea’s tuition fees for the National Film and Television School in London (NFTS), where she is currently enrolled as an MA student.
The funds guaranteed by the scholarship covered the cost of travel Bucharest-London-Bucharest, local transport in London, hotel accommodation for one week, per diem, tickets for screenings.

The scheme also offers assistance in the fields of fund raising, supervision and mentoring. In 2014 the Profusion scholarship scheme intends to promote films based on the diasporic experience and to encourage the development of young filmmakers growing up in the diaspora.

Biography:
Simona Susnea is a photographer and a DOP. She graduated from the Faculty of Cinematography of the National University of Theatre and Cinematography in Bucharest, Romania. She has been recently accepted by the National Film and Television School in London to continue her studies and obtain a Cinematography MA. In 2011, through the Media Mundus program of the European Union, Simona received a scholarship in order to participate to the prestigious Budapest Cinematography Masterclass, led by Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC. In 2010, Kodak Romania offered her the cinematography award for Romanian film. Her portfolio has been appreciated by cinematographers such as John Bailey, ASC, and Andy Fallon, and her short films were presented at international festivals such as Cannes International Film Festival. More details on www.simonasusnea.com

My Festival experience and the Profusion scholarship:
“Taking part in the Romanian Film Festival in London meant a double celebration for me.

First, this was my first time in the festival and it happened to be for the 10th year anniversary of the RFF. I was happy to be able to join the audience, the personalities and the Romanian artists celebrating the success and achievements of our cinematography. I believe this is an important event not only because of that, but also because it brings together people from the Romanian community as well. It was a pleasure for me to meet the organising team and to get a glimpse at what it takes to make this happen and bring the films in front of the audience. After experiencing this, I would like the films which I’ll make in the future, after graduation, to be selected and brought in front of the British-Romanian audience.

My second reason for celebration was the fact that the organisers of the RFF, Profusion International creative Consultancy, inaugurated a scholarship scheme and I had the honour to be awarded the first scholarship. The Profusion scholarship brought me nearer my dream of studying at the NFTS and is helping me in the process of raising the necessary funding in order to cover my tuition fees. Gaining this scholarship strengthened my belief and determination in pursuing my plan and trusting it will be successful. Young people need guiding and mentorship in order to make it to the top, and I am very lucky to have the backing of Profusion. I thank them for this opportunity, for their initiative and for the efforts they make in order to promote Romanian cinematographers.” - Simona Susnea