Cinephil Takes On Romanian Election Documentary 'Small Expectations' Ahead of IDFA Premiere
International sales firm Cinephil has boarded Small Expectations, a documentary by Alexandru Solomon, which will have its world premiere in the Frontlight sidebar of IDFA, the Amsterdam documentary festival. Deadline broke the news on 14 November 2026.
The film follows the lead-up to Romania's 2025 presidential election, which involved Nicușor Dan, George Simion and Călin Georgescu. It is a Romanian production from microfilm, the company led by Ada Solomon, made in co-production with Belgium's While We're Here. Frederik Nicolai and Annabel Verbeke produce for While We're Here.
Further partners on the film are CNC, VRT, TVR and Avanpost Media, according to the same report. Ada Solomon is also the current chair of the board of the European Film Academy.
Cinephil is run by co-Managing Directors Shoshi Korman and Suzanne Nodale. The company describes itself as an international sales and advisory firm. In plain terms, a sales firm like this takes documentaries to market, lining up distribution in cinemas, broadcast deals with television channels and money to finish the work. Its website says it does this on behalf of producers and directors.
Why the timing matters: a festival premiere is often the first public moment for a documentary, and sales firms tend to come on board before that point. Having a team in place lets them show the film to buyers around its debut rather than after it. A premiere at IDFA also puts the film in front of documentary programmers and buyers who gather there each year.
The deal is one of several steps that will decide where the film is seen next. For now, the next public date is the premiere itself.
