Mihai Mincan’s Milk Teeth has gathered the most nominations at this year’s Gopo Awards, which recognize the achievements of local cinema.

The two juries reviewed 124 Romanian films (feature films, documentaries, and shorts) that were released last year in cinemas, at national and international festivals, and on streaming platforms.

The winners will be announced on May 4th, at the event's anniversary gala, which marks the 20th edition of the awards.

Milk Teeth is followed in number of nominations by Andrei Epure’s Don't Let Me Die, with nine nominations, and Serge Ioan Celebidachi’s The Yellow Tie, with eight nominations. Igor Cobileanski’s Comatogen and Radu Jude’s Kontinental '25 gathered seven nominations each.

Five films compete in the Best Film category, namely Comatogen (directed by Igor Cobileanski), Milk Teeth (directed by Mihai Mincan), Kontinental '25 (directed by Radu Jude), Don't Let Me Die (directed by Andrei Epure), and the documentary Dad (directed by Lina Vdovîi, Radu Ciorniciuc).

Igor Cobileanski, Mihai Mincan, Radu Jude, Andrei Epure, and Tudor Giurgiu (for The Spruce Forest) are nominated in the Best Director category.

In the Best Actress category, the nominees are: Daniela Nane for the role of Alina Zlot in Comatogen, Ilinca Hărnuț for the role of Lena in Ink Wash, Eszter Tompa for the role of Orsolya in Kontinental '25, Cosmina Stratan for the role of Maria Laurint in Don't Let Me Die, and Coca Bloos for the role of Minodora in The Spruce Forest.

The nominees for Best Actor are: Daniel Popa for the role of Gabriel Vânătoru in Dismissed, Andrei Aradits for the role of Pavel in Comatogen, Ben Schnetzer for playing young Sergiu Celibidache in The Yellow Tie, and Mircea Andreescu for the role of Gheorghe Holovati in The Spruce Forest.

In the Best Documentary category, the jury will decide the winner from the following nominees: Simona Constantin’s Caliu: Nothing Else, What Else Can I Do?, Mădălina Roșca and Reem Karssli’s Little Syria, Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc’s Dad, Andrei Ujică’s TWST / Things We Said Today, and Andra MacMasters’s Bright Future.

The full list of nominations is available here.

In the coming period, more than 700 industry professionals will be invited to cast their ballots to decide the winning films. The voting is audited by PwC Romania.

The Gopo Awards have two preselection juries, one for feature films and another for documentaries and shorts.

The feature film jury was made up of film critics Irina Margareta Nistor, Alin Ludu Dumbravă, and Andrei Șendrea; directors Bogdan Mureșanu and Andrei Tănase; actress Elvira Deatcu; producer Oana Iancu; cinematographer Alexandru Sterian; film editor Eugen Kelemen; production designer Cristian Niculescu; and costume designer Dana Anghel.  

The documentary and shorts jury included Laura Mușat, chief editor of Films in Frame; directors Isabela Tent and Paul Negoescu; film editor Tudor D. Popescu; and promoter Cătălin Anchidin.

(Photo: Sorin Florea, courtesy of Gopo Awards)

simona@romania-insider.com