My Happy Family also took the Best Performance Award and a prize of 1,500 EUR, which went to Georgian acrtress Ia Shugliashvili. But the real star of the closing ceremony was Alain Delon, greeted with a prolonged standing ovation as he accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Romanian films held their own, with a plethora of awards dedicated to films in the Romanian Days section. The award for best feature film in that section, and a prize worth 6,000 in post-production services, went to Scarred Hearts / Inimi cicatrizate by Radu Jude. Festival director Tudor Giurgiu took a moment to address the current situation facing the Romanian film industry by noting the letter of protest signed by 450 Romanian filmmakers asking the Parliament to open debate the country’s new film law, which was enacted as an emergency ordinance in November 2016 and approved in December, but was rejected in late May by the new government.
Most industry guests were in Cluj especially for the closed industry screenings, which were spread across three days, and for three pitching sessions, including the international launch of the new Less Is More (LIM) workshop for low budget films. The festival stands out for its impressive organisation, which is likely to draw ever more international industry guests as word spreads among the cognoscenti. Partnerships with regional industry heavyweights such as connecting cottbus and HBO-Europe, along with Eurimages, underscore the growing importance of this Transilvanian gem.
The complete list of awards follows:
Transilvania Trophy for Best Film
My Happy Family (Germany, Georgia, France)
Directed by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß
Produced by Augenschein Filmproduktion
Coproduced by Polare Film, Arizona Productions
Supported by the Georgian National Film Center
Best Directing Award
Heartstone (Iceland)
Directed by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
Special Jury Award
God’s Own Country (UK)
Directed by Francis Lee
Best Performance Award
Ia Shugliashvili for My Happy Family (Germany, Georgia, France)
Special Mention of the Jury
Glory / Slava (Bulgaria, Greece)
Directed by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov
Produced by Abraxas
Coproduced by Graal Film, Screening Emotions, Aporia Filmworks, Red Carpet
Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, Greek Film Centre
FIPRESCI Prize
Afterlov / Afterlove (Greece)
Directed by Stergios Paschos
The Audience Award
Heartstone (Iceland)
Directed by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
The Cinepub Audience Award, for the most popular film in Romanian Days section
Planet Petrila / Planeta Petrila (Romania), Documentary
Directed by Andrei Dăscălescu
Produced by FILMLAB
Coproduced by HBO Romania
Lifetime Achievement Award to actor Alain Delon
Excellence Award to actress Tora Vasilescu
Lifetime Achievement Award to actress Violeta Andrei
Romanian Days Award for Best Feature Film
Scarred Hearts / Inimi cicatrizate (Romania, Germany)
Directed by Radu Jude
Produced by Hi Film
Coproduced by Komplizen Film
Supported by the Romanian Film Centre, the MEDIA Programme
Romanian Days Award for Best Debut
Ultimul căldărar / The Last Kalderash (Romania), Documentary
Directed by Cosmin Bumbuț, Elena Stancu
Produced by Teleleu.eu
Romanian Days Award for Best Short Film
Written/Unwritten
Directed by Adrian Silișteanu
Special Mention of the Romanian Days Short Film Jury
Offstage
Directed by Andrei Huțuleac
Best Film Award in the Shadows Shorts Competition
Curve (Australia)
Directed by Tim Egan
Special Mention in the Shadows Shorts Competition
I Am The Doorway (Czech Republic)
Directed by Robin Kasparik
and
Behind (Spain)
Directed by Ángel Gómez Hernández
Transilvania Pitch Stop Awards
Eurimages Co-production Development Award
The Empty House (Georgia)
Directed by Rati Tsiteladze
Produced by Artway Film
Post-production services offered by Chainsaw Europe
The Man Who Surprised Everyone (Russia)
Directed by Natalya Merkulova, Alexey Chupov
Centrul Național al Cinematografiei and DACIN SARA
La Civil (Romania)
Directed by Teodora Ana Mihai
Luna Film
Transilvania Pitch Stop Workshop
Connecting Cottbus Award
The Island (Moldova)
Directed by Dumitru Grosei
Villa Kult Cultural Residency Award
La Civil (Romania)
Directed by Teodora Ana Mihai
The Pitch Competition Award
Santa Claus (Romania)
Directed by Bogdan Andrei Ilieșiu
Local Competition Award
The White Box (Romania)
Directed by Mihai Păcurar
Special Mention in the Local Competition
Catlady (Romania)
Directed by Hedda Bednarszky
Let’s Go Digital!, Award for Best Film produced in the LGD Workshop
Și planetele filozofează (Romania)
Directed by Patricia Suciu, Ștefan Iordache, Sara Pongeac
The Young Francophone Jury Prize
Efectul acvatic / L'Effet aquatique / The Together Project (France, Iceland)
Directed by Sólveig Anspach