Corneliu Porumboiu’s latest feature La Gomera/ The Whistlers was the big winner at this year’s Gopo film awards, which reward the local film industry.

The movie, which was part of the Cannes film festival 2019 selection, took home nine awards out of 13 nominations.

Corneliu Porumboiu received the Best Director and Best Script awards, while producers Marcela Ursu and Patricia Poienaru received the Best Film award. For their work on The Whistlers, Roxana Szel received the Best Editing award, Tudor Mircea RSC - the Best Image award, István Téglás – the Best Supporting Actor award, Rodica Lazăr- the Best Supporting Actress award, Andre Rigaut, Sophie Chiabaut, Niklas Skarp and Christian Holm – the Best Sound award, and Simona Pădurețu – the Best Set Design award.

At the same time, Judith State won the Best Actress award for her role in Marius Olteanu’s film Monsters, while Iulian Postelnicu won the Best Actor award for his performance in Andrei Cohn’s Arrest.

Ana Ioneci and Claudia Bunea received the Best Costumes award for their work on the film Queen Marie of Romania. 

The Distance Between Me and Me, directed by Dana Bunescu and Mona Nicoară, was named Best Documentary Film.

Enxhi Rista’s He Loves My Eyes received the Best Documentary Short award, while Andrei Huțuleac’s Havana Cuba the Best Short award. 

Actress Cătălina Mihai, the protagonist of Cătălin Mitulescu’s film Heidi, received the Best Newcomer award. 

Film professionals and critics voted Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory as Best European Film, while the Public’s Choice award went to Oh, Ramona!, which recorded 256,115 viewers, and 5Gang: A Different Christmas, with 167,025 viewers. 

Actress Adela Mărculescu and actor Virgil Andriescu were awarded for their entire career, while special awards went to writer Radu Cosașu and film editor Cristina Ionescu.

Furthermore, cinematographer Tudor Mircea, who also worked on Corneliu Porumboiu’s The Whistlers, received the award of the Romanian Society of Cinematography.

The 14th edition of the Gopo Awards was held on Monday, June 29, outdoors, after being postponed three months from its initial date because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A recording of the event will be broadcast on Pro Cinema channel on July 1, starting 22:15.

The full list of winners is available here.

(Photo: Miluta Fluieras/ courtesy of Gopo Awards)

editor@romania-insider.com