Interview UNFINISHED 2024: Not just a festival, but a global network for innovation and change

The UNFINISHED 2024 festival transforms an urban oasis in the heart of Bucharest into a space dedicated to ideas, creativity and reconnection, both with oneself and with others. From September 27-29, 3,141 selected people will attend the festival, where they will have the opportunity to participate in interdisciplinary conversations and social experiments, engage in workshops, performances, and wellbeing sessions, and explore immersive installations and spaces.

From discussions on artificial intelligence, urbanism, leadership, and poetry to the challenging ice baths offered by Tiberiu Ușeriu, and sound healing sessions with Awa Ly, the festival explores the connection between theory and practice. It is an invitation to transform from mere recipients of information into active creators of our own learning process. The only way to access the community and participate in the three days of the festival is by completing an application: apply.unfinished.ro, open until September 22, followed by a selection process conducted by the event organizers.

Cristian Movilă, the founder of UNFINISHED, and Capucine Gros, the festival’s artistic director, shared their vision of the role the festival plays in supporting interdisciplinary collaboration. In an interview, they discussed the challenges and achievements faced in organizing such a large-scale event, highlighting UNFINISHED’s essential role as a space for connection and inspiration.

What is UNFINISHED, what is the story behind this festival?

Cristian Movilă: UNFINISHED is a dream come true. It all started with a simple question: How can we recognize the value others bring to our lives? How can we see beyond specialization, beyond the idea of „this is my field, this is all I know”? How can someone completely different from me, with a contrasting background, lifestyle, and values, help me become a better person and evolve?

I also felt that the dialogue between different fields – art, technology, science, journalism, and so on – was either too fragmented or entirely absent. So, in 2016, I said: „Let’s create a space where people aren’t just consumers of ideas, but active creators, where they get involved, get their hands dirty, and experiment!” That’s how UNFINISHED was born. It’s a place where people come to ask questions, step out of their comfort zones, and reconnect with themselves and each other. And that’s the magic of it – everything is constantly evolving, nothing is ever finished. There’s always room for more.

Capucine Gros: I personally was not here the year UNFINISHED started (I joined in the second edition in 2017) but I believe that the reasons I fell in love with UNFINISHED are the very reasons why it started: because some really important bridges were missing between people of different backgrounds. Back in 2016, EIDOS Foundation was already hosting World Press Photo for a while, but I understand that Cristian felt quite frustrated by the fact that a photography exhibition, even if it was about everything urgent happening in the world right now, mostly attracted photography-related people. Non-photo people felt like it was „not for them”. So he had this idea of widening his public by adding speakers and talks from different disciplines, in order to engage with totally different people, and this is really how UNFINISHED came to life. 

„Eventually, in the third edition, UNFINISHED totally separated from World Press Photo and became its own event completely focused on multidisciplinarity. And it’s still happening today because we’re still missing these bridges!”

Life in 2024 is still forcing us to „choose” and to „specialize” and our lifestyles and consumption patterns are still entrenching us in echo chambers and polarized bubbles so we desperately need more occasions to pop our heads above our trenches and learn from others doing something totally different from us, in a safe, creative and positive environment. That’s what UNFINISHED provides. 

An extended family reunion

How has the UNFINISHED community evolved over the editions of the festival, and what challenges have you faced in this development process? What lessons have been learned from these experiences?

Cristian Movilă: It’s incredible to see how this community has transformed. In the early years, it was hard to explain what we were trying to do. „Is it a festival? A conference? A workshop? And what do you mean it doesn’t cost money, but time?” – people didn’t get it. But we kept going, and now, with each edition, I feel like UNFINISHED is a reunion of a large, extended family. People come year after year from all over the world, bringing their friends, their ideas, and actively contributing. During the two pandemic years, when we temporarily moved online, our community expanded globally. We now have members from Brazil, Nigeria, Finland, and many other countries, and we’re grateful for the trust each member places in us.

It’s been, and still is, a tough journey –limited resources, complex organizing spaces – but we’ve learned a lot. Flexibility, adaptability, and most importantly, the understanding that there’s nothing more valuable than the power of community. When people allow themselves to be vulnerable, incredible connections are made.

Capucine Gros: Even if each year we tackle specific individual challenges that vary according to our lineup (anything from urban design, education and tech to mental health, bread-making and gender rights), the biggest single challenge we address is this simple, never-ending question of coexistence. How can totally different people come together across their differences and make their community stronger and more encompassing? Since we believe that curiosity is the simplest and most genuine „solution” to this challenge, a lot of UNFINISHED is designed to spark, nourish and encourage curiosity. There are therefore many overarching ideas that we often address across a variety of topics and disciplines (like open-mindedness, willingness to take risks, reenchantment with the unknown etc.) as well as very urgent and specific subjects (sustainability, politics, global events etc.).

In the end what’s truly remarkable at UNFINISHED is the combination of all these ideas, subjects and people in a single place. Each challenge or subject is not necessarily extraordinary on its own, but their overlap is. Such things are normally discussed separately, in vacuums. We discuss sustainability at sustainability conferences. Politics at political events. We use the power of music at music festivals, but we forget about its power to bring people together in other events. Etc, etc. But we believe urgent subjects and issues concern everyone and that in real life everything is connected. This is what we try to achieve at UNFINISHED and, time and time again, we’ve seen that these crossovers are indeed where the real changes happen.

„Some speakers go to the biggest conferences and events worldwide (for which attendees sometimes pay a fortune to attend) and still, they say UNFINISHED is the best crowd. As a result, they recommend us to others, they become our best ambassadors, they want to return, they want to build relationships for the long-term. They want to test new things at UNFINISHED. They want to create something special for us.”

Who is the ideal participant for UNFINISHED?

Capucine Gros: Curious and open-minded. It doesn’t matter their age, profession, political orientation, or anything at all really, as long as they’re curious and they care for the world and/or others beyond themselves. These are the traits we look for in the applications. There is no right or wrong answer in the application. We are really looking for those who are stepping outside the line.

What renowned international personalities have participated in previous editions of the festival, and how has their presence influenced the evolution and visibility of this event?

Cristian Movilă: I’ve been fortunate to attract people with radical visions. Since 2016, UNFINISHED has hosted over 250 guests, including Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith, Louis Vuitton’s artistic director for menswear Virgil Abloh, award-winning artist Marina Abramović, the digital strategist from the Obama administration, musician Nicolas Jaar, and Esther Perel, the renowned couples therapist.

And it’s not just about their presence; it’s about what they leave behind. Each guest has helped us create memorable moments, offering that balance between a well-organized event and serendipity, making UNFINISHED what it is today.

Real connection

How do you manage to create a distinct and interactive atmosphere that encourages collaboration and open dialogue among participants, artists, and guests? What makes UNFINISHED a different event?

Cristian Movilă: It’s all about connection and being present. We create a bubble of time and space where people are truly there. For example, this year, House of Ideas (Casa Universitarilor) has no signal – it’s a No-Phone Zone. This allows you to talk to someone without any distractions, to listen to yourself, to read freely, to just be, and then, when you leave, to share your ideas with others.

The atmosphere builds gradually – UNFINISHED is something you experience, not just attend. From the way we arrange the chairs to how we share meals together and how the guests interact – it’s all about genuine, not superficial, connection. The atmosphere is about vulnerability, those moments when someone opens up and the others receive that gesture with respect and openness. That’s the force that unites us.

Capucine Gros: A few years ago we articulated this manifesto which outlines our values in the most synthesized way and guides many of our decisions. Leaving content and participants aside (since we already talked above about how our multidisciplinarity of both people and content really sets us apart from other events), we are also uniquely multidisciplinary in our programming, as we mix and invent formats like nowhere else, proposing everything from classical talks, workshops, concerts and DJ sessions to very experimental things like walking workshops, tasting experiences, crossed conversations, multisensory presentations, bootcamp mornings, singing circles, fire ceremonies… just to name a few! 

As our manifesto states, we also try to be intentional about everything.  Food, for example, is often meaningless at other events while so important at UNFINISHED, since the entire community comes together to break bread. Our physical space, also, is approached with a very long-term, ecosystem mindset, as we work year-round to regenerate this long-neglected garden year by year, in a collaboration with the University of Bucharest. Finally, we try very hard to find just the right balance between planning and serendipity.

„We try to provide a lot of content, experiences and inspiration but we also want to leave room for participants themselves to bring something to the table and co-create UNFINISHED. So far, they’ve never disappointed us!”

What is the theme of this year’s edition and how does it reflect the central message you want to convey?

Cristian Movilă: This year, we’re talking about PRAXIS. Finally, it’s not just about theory – we’re moving to action. For too long, we’ve passively consumed information without doing anything with it. We want people to leave UNFINISHED with more than just cool new ideas – we want them to know how to turn those ideas into something concrete. PRAXIS is about getting hands-on, about applying what we learn. It’s time to take responsibility and ask ourselves, „What are we actually going to do with everything we know?”.

Guests with different perspectives

Who is coming to UNFINISHED 2024?

Cristian Movilă: People from all over the world and from completely different fields are coming. It’s essential for us to find as diverse perspectives as possible and different lenses through which to view ourselves and others. This holistic view of the festival’s themes generates dialogue, and from that dialogue often come extraordinary ideas.

This year is no different. We have guests with different perspectives, including pianist Faraj Suleiman, poet Ben Okri, who is traveling from the UK to Romania by train, Slowness platform founder Peter Conrad, Sanda Weigl artist, Barbara Soalheiro, the founder of MESA, the film-maker and futurist Jason Silva and multi-sensory artist Grace Boyle.

We’ll have conversations, installations, performances, wellness and tasting sessions, and some really cool experiences. Tibi Ușeriu will lead some ice bath sessions, bread sommelier Lara Schütz will host bread tastings, Nicolas Triboi will map the garden of Casa Universitarilor, recording every tree, plant, and insect in this incredible green space, there will be sound and vibration healing sessions, a tea ceremony, circle singing workshops, and much more.

What do we hope people take away from UNFINISHED after three days?

Capucine Gros: Everything and anything from practical tips and everyday advice (from relationships to work or from nutrition to democracy) to life-changing experiences. Participants have written to us with personal stories of how they made major life decisions after UNFINISHED, like moving, changing careers or pursuing childhood dreams.

People write to us sharing projects and companies that they decided to start during UNFINISHED, or that they’ve created with someone they met at UNFINISHED! We hope that UNFINISHED is like a perfect trip: you go with some ideas about what it will bring you, but mostly with an open heart and mind, and you return thinking something impalpable in you changed and thank goodness you took a leap of faith and went.

„UNFINISHED therefore only has people who really, really want to be there and want to make the most out of it. And this is really felt throughout. Our speakers especially feel it. Every year, they tell us how impressed they are with our community and with the quality of questions and encounters they have.”

Tell us about a memorable moment from previous editions of the festival.

Cristian Movilă: There are so many memorable moments. Each edition brings small episodes or unforgettable moments. From the Taraf de Caliu concert that spilled out onto the street from Casa Radio to House of Ideas, with dozens of people dancing and singing, to the collective hug we shared in 2022, guided by Jurgis Didžiulis.

But one moment I’ll always remember is the opening dinner in 2019 when Manolo Lopez, one of the invited speakers, was so inspired by the way Gache’s team was preparing the meal that he jumped over the counter and started serving alongside the cooks and waiters. That’s what it’s all about – that moment when you feel you can forget who you are, what hat you’re wearing, and what you know, to let yourself be inspired by others and try something completely different.

More than a festival

What does UNFINISHED mean to you? How do you see the evolution of the festival in the coming years, and what initiatives do you have planned to address current challenges as well as to facilitate international and interdisciplinary collaborations?

Cristian Movilă: UNFINISHED is much more than a festival – it’s a community. And around it revolves a series of satellite projects that together form a micro-universe we call UNFINISHED Dreams. Our future plans are still innovative and focus on how completely different sectors can come together at the same table to generate connection and bring positive change to society. In particular, we want to build on initiatives like Unfinished Future – a think tank exploring the future of various fields, Unfinished Institute – which aims to bridge different educational specializations, and Unfinished Residency – a multidisciplinary residency in the heart of Bucharest.

Capucine Gros: Coming to UNFINISHED with my background as an artist, I see it as a chance, or platform, to explore and experiment on a larger and more collective level the ideas that I also explore in my own personal work. The overarching artistic mission is really the same: bridging gaps between people across culture, languages and space; and shifting our perception of „the other”. But with UNFINISHED we are doing this on a much larger level than I’ve ever been able to in my own work, reaching a larger and far more diverse audience than those we find in galleries and museums. It’s „real life everyone” but without prejudice (since our application process takes care of accepting only curious and open-minded people!) and that’s unique and beautiful. 

I really believe that the world needs more free, experimental „laboratories” like UNFINISHED, and as long as I can and/or as long as it’s needed, I feel I must keep it going. And on a very personal level, it truly helps me grow, year after year, not just from the experience and responsibility of organizing it and from the people who come (speakers, artists, musicians and participants alike) but also in this general spirit of constant reinvention and adaptation, which UNFINISHED demands constantly in order to stay alive and authentic.

About UNFINISHED

Held under the high patronage of the European Parliament, UNFINISHED is the first multidisciplinary festival in Romania and was created by the Eidos Foundation as an evolving experience. Since 2016, UNFINISHED has hosted over 250 guests, including Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith, artistic director for the men’s line at Louis Vuitton Virgil Abloh, award-winning artist Marina Abramović, digital strategist during the Obama administration, musician Nicolas Jaar, and Esther Perel, the most well-known psychotherapist specializing in couple relationships.

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