The awards gala of the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) was as different this year as the whole festival itself: It was shorter, much less glamorous and with a lot less celebration. There were almost no international guests whatsoever, and almost everyone gave their “thank-yous” in short video messages. The gala was organized in the city center of Kolozsvár-Cluj-Napoca in compliance with pandemic-related regulations.
The artistic director of the festival, Mihai Chirilov, showed up in full protective equipment against the coronavirus. Chirilov, skeptical of the measures taken against the spreading of the disease, was probably standing up for director Cristi Puiu, who slammed the government’s epidemiological measures at the screening of his movie Malmkrog at TIFF and was massively criticized for doing so.
Babyteeth, the coming-of-age comedy-drama directed by Australian Shannon Murphy, won the Transilvania Trophy at this year’s edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF), held in Cluj-Napoca.
The film, awarded “for the joy of life told through the experience of our passage beyond,” received a EUR 10,000 prize.
Transilvania IFF 2020: the winners
The jury awarded the Best Director Prize, amounting to EUR 3,500, ex-aequo to Tim Mielants for Patrick and Zheng Lu Xinyuan for The Cloud in Her Room. Patrick impressed the jury with a story that “managed to create a wonderful yet strange world with the most natural ease,” and Zheng Lu Xinyuan’s production was awarded with these words: “This cinematic/cinephile delight reveals a remarkable emerging talent to watch.”
The Special Jury Award, amounting to EUR 1,500, went to Svetla Tsotsorkova’s Sister, “a strange, surprising, comic tale in which a trail of lies leads to the truth.” She had previously competed at TIFF with Thirst.
At the same time, actress Evgeniya Gromova, the star of Fidelity, received the Best Performance Award, worth EUR 1,000. The prize was awarded “for the incisive foray into the private life of a woman in crisis.”
The FIPRESCI Prize, offered by the International Federation of Film Critics to a title in the Romanian Film Days section, went to Everything Will Not Be Fine, Adrian Pîrvu and Helena Maksyom’s documentary road movie that follows the lives of young people affected by the Chernobyl disaster. Andrei Zincă’s So, What’s Freedom? received the Romanian Days Audience Award, worth EUR 1,500.
Radu Ciorniciuc’s Acasă, My Home, a film previously awarded at Sundance, la DOK.fest München and Krakow Film Festival, took home the Romanian Days Award for Best Feature Film. It received EUR 10,000 in film stock and production services offered by CineLabs Romania.
The Romanian Days Award for Best Debut, worth EUR 1,000, went to Dorian Boguță’s Legacy, while a special mention went to Ivana Mladenović for Ivana the Terrible, “for bravely exposing a wounded soul in a charming, tender and uniquely personal way.”
Sarra Tsorakidis’s Kaïmós won the Romanian Days Award for Best Short Film, amounting to EUR 1,500 offered by UCIN and camera, electric and grip equipment services offered by CutareFilm, amounting to EUR 5,000. The jury also awarded two Special Mentions to Alina Șerban’s Letter of Forgiveness and Radu Gaciu’s Death and the Knight.
The prize of the local competition went to Farkas Boglarka Angela’s What We Didn’t Notice, while a special mention went to Maria Cinar-Jiga’s In Between Worlds.
At this year’s edition of TIFF, Romanian actress Maria Ploae received the Excellence Award for her entire activity.
The jury for this year’s competition included film producer Ada Solomon, director Adina Pintilie, writer Philip O’Ceallaigh, playwright Csaba Székely and actor Hatházi András.
Featured photo: awards gala, TIFF
