Romanian cinema: Directors Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc awarded at Krakow Film Festival

Directors Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc were awarded the Krakow International Film Festival's Silver Horn Award for a socially relevant film for their documentary Dad/ Tata.

This is the duo’s second win at the festival. In 2020, they took home the Golden Horn for best documentary film for Acasă - My Home, directed by Radu Ciorniciuc from a screenplay by Lina Vdovîi.

“The film, whose universal theme deserves to be debated, deeply moved us due to the directors’ courageous effort to stop the cycle of intergenerational trauma. The jury decided to award the Silver Horn to the screenwriter of an intimate, first-person documentary, whose social theme is complemented by an investigation into abuse and illegal practices,” the jury’s motivation reads.

The documentary was filmed over six years in Italy, the Republic of Moldova, and Romania. It is an exploration of the relationship between a daughter about to become a mother who is looking to heal from the hurts of the past and an estranged parent who asks for her help to expose the abuse he has been subjected to over the years by his employer in Italy.

Originally from the Republic of Moldova, Lina Vdovîi lives in Romania, where she has gained extensive experience in investigative journalism, narrative journalism, and new media. She has won numerous awards for her materials covering topics related to migration, conflict zones, poverty, education, and social integration. She made her debut in television journalism as a news and documentary producer for the German national television station ZDF. Tata/ Dad is her debut as a feature-length documentary director.

Radu Ciorniciuc is a director, cinematographer, and investigative journalist. His debut documentary Acasă - My Home had an impressive festival run – from the World Cinema Documentary award for cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival (2020) to being nominated in the official selection of the European Film Academy Awards (EFA 2020) and the Best Documentary Award at festivals such as DOK.fest Munich, Krakow Film Festival, ZagrebDox, Dublin International Film Festival, Sofia International Film Festival. Ciorniciuc is one of the co-founders of the independent media organization Casa Jurnalistului. Since 2012, he has worked as an investigative reporter for multiple publications and television networks, including The Guardian, Al Jazeera, and Channel 4 News. His work focuses on human rights, animal protection, and environmental issues.

(Photo: Romanian Cultural Institute)