“Long Day’s Journey into Night” by Renowned Director Timofei Kuliabin – A Sold-Out Triumph on FITS’s Sixth Day
The sixth day of FITS 2025 was marked by a special conversation between theatre and opera director Timofei Kuliabin and Octavian Saiu. The two explored Kuliabin’s previous FITS hit, In the Solitude of Cotton Fields, and his newest staging at the Radu Stanca National Theatre, Long Day’s Journey into Night.
Next, Ionuț Sociu sat down with celebrated German director Johan Simons—former artistic director of Schauspielhaus Bochum (2018–19) and present at FITS with his production of Macbeth at Fabrica de Cultură.
At the Sibiu Performing Arts Market, Joseph V. Melillo, former Artistic Director of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (1983–2018), and current Artistic Director Amy Cassello held an in-depth dialogue about the institution’s evolution, its challenges, and its bold vision for the future of American performing arts.
Meanwhile, the Festival’s final circus performance dazzled audiences of all ages with world-class acrobatics.
At the History Museum’s Altemberger House courtyard, FITS inaugurated its AIFF film series in partnership with the American International Film Festival. Attendees enjoyed Francis Ford Coppola’s Peggy Sue Got Married, followed by an on-stage conversation with actress Kathleen Turner, film critic Radu Toderici, and director Cristian Mungiu.
Back in the grand Main Hall of the Radu Stanca National Theatre, Kuliabin’s Long Day’s Journey into Night drew a full house and earned a standing ovation that lasted several minutes.
At Sala Studio, Who killed my father?, winner of UNITER’s Best Director Award for its powerful portrayal of a fraught father-son relationship, was also sold out.
Overcoming flight delays, Jackie Chan’s Long Yun Kung Fu Troupe delivered an electrifying martial-arts showcase—stage-ready only three hours after the artists landed in Sibiu—demonstrating the festival’s legendary spirit of rapid collaboration.
As night fell in Habermann Square, the French Season offered a mime and clowning spectacle, 2 seconds, followed by Esfera—a poetic, intricately choreographed Belgian showcase.
With FITS 2025 now past its halfway mark, the festival gears up for a blockbuster weekend, as hundreds of thousands of spectators from around the globe flood every corner of Sibiu for its grand finale.