Traffic: Film inspired by Rotterdam art heist carried out by Romanians wins top award at Sofia festival

Traffic (Jaful Secolului), a Romania-Belgium-Netherlands co-production directed by Belgian-Romanian director Teodora Ana Mihai from a screenplay by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu, has won the Balkan Film Award at the Sofia International Film Festival.

The award was handed out by a jury consisting of Ukrainian director and screenwriter Roman Bondarchuk, Austrian producer Oliver Neumann, and Bulgarian film critic Petya Alexandrova. The jury noted that the film follows "the characters with empathy in their attempts to escape the humiliations of their poorly paid work abroad" and is "narrated with visual precision and convincing acting presence."

The film previously won the Grand Prix at the Warsaw International Film Festival (2024) and the Grand Prix and the Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Tokyo International Film Festival (2024). The latter was awarded to actress Anamaria Vartolomei (pictured).

The film is inspired by the real case of a burglary carried out by a group of Romanians at the Kunsthal Rotterdam, in October 2012. The fictionalized story takes place in the Netherlands, where Ginel (Ionuț Niculae) and Natalia (Anamaria Vartolomei) have come to work. Here, they meet up with their fellow villagers, Iță (Rareș Andrici) and Adrian (Robert Iovan), who live off what their girlfriends earn and from small deals. When Natalia is assaulted in a club, Iță convinces Ginel that they have the right to take revenge. Fed up with being treated like second-class citizens, the three plot a coup and end up stealing paintings worth over EUR 20 million.

The film's cast also includes: Macrina Bîrlădeanu, Thomas Ryckewaert and Mike Libanon, Lucian Ifrim, Alexandru Potocean, Mirela Nicolau, Ana Ciontea, Tim Haars, Charlotte Vandermeersch, Janir Izdrăilă, Răzvan Bănică, Geo Dobre, Charlotte De Wulf, Mihai Verbițchi, Truus De Boer, Leny Brederweld, Bart Oomen, Teli Jaloch, Julian De Backer, Safak Karadeniz, Hank Botwinik, Antonia Marin, Sien Eggers, Alice Beatriz Muñoz Mihai, Alexandra Volintiru, Florin Olimp, Alina Natal, Cristian Gavril, Florentina Pană, Cristian Aceleanu, Florin Ivanciu, Ruxandra Bulgaru, Ilie Sauciuc, Gabriel Achim, Mihnea Petrescu, Andrei Radu, Florea Ciocârlia, Lore Gyzels, Mihnea Trușcă, Robert Emanuel, Teodor Drăgan, Robin Kupens, Sebastian Bosoi Diamandi.

Cătălin Dordea and Ann Willems were the casting directors. Marius Panduru is the film's cinematographer. Katharina Wartena and Robert Bitay were in charge of the editing. The set design was made by Simona Pădurețu, and the costumes by Margriet Procee.

This is the second feature film of director Teodora Ana Mihai, after La Civil.

It will be released in Romania beginning September 26, distributed by Forum Film.