Berlinale 2026: Romanian Bad Unicorn wins EFM Distributor Award

Ştefan Bradea and Monica Felea, the founders of the Romanian film distribution company Bad Unicorn, are the recipients of this year's European Film Market (EFM) Distributor Award.

The award, endowed with a cash prize of EUR 7,500, will be presented during the EFM Kick-Off event on February 11.

“In a country like Romania, which has one of the lowest numbers of cinema screens per capita in the EU, securing screens and building audiences for European arthouse cinema is a genuine challenge. Yet Monica Felea and Ştefan Bradea of Bad Unicorn consistently demonstrate an exceptional level of commitment to their carefully curated lineup, which in recent years has included titles such as Sentimental Value, Flow, Fallen Leaves, Close, and The Zone of Interest,” the jury that handed the award said.

The three-member jury is made up of industry representatives Dorothee Pfistner, Head of Acquisitions at Neue Visionen Filmverleih; Marta Fernandes, Head of Distribution and Acquisitions at Midas Filmes; and Nicolai Korsgaard, Sales Director at TrustNordisk.

“Nine years ago, here at the Berlinale, we discovered a film that touched our hearts: On Body and Soul. We decided then to become distributors of auteur films, even though we were aware that the Romanian market is not an easy one at all. Here we are again, nine years later, with a portfolio of over 60 titles and over 900,000 admissions. We did it!” a statement from Monica Felea and Ştefan Bradea reads.

The European Film Market is part of Berlinale Pro, which unites the European Film Market, the Berlinale Co-Production Market, Berlinale Talents, and the World Cinema Fund. Berlinale Pro is the festival’s full-circle industry infrastructure serving as “incubator, enhancer and supporter in all stages of film development, production, sales and distribution.”

(Photo: Cineberg Ug | Dreamstime.com)