Carlos Saiz’s Lionel, a Spain-France co-production, won the Transilvania Trophy at this year’s edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival.

The film follows a young man who embarks on a journey with his father, attempting to repair a relationship marked by years of absence and misunderstanding.

“This is a film about family and second chances, but above all, it is a film that brings to the forefront people whose stories rarely make it to the screen. Thank you for helping us give them visibility and for honoring them with this award,” director Carlos Saiz explained upon receiving the prize.

The Transilvania Trophy, the festival’s top prize, is worth EUR 10,000.

The Best Director Award, worth EUR 3,500, went to director Konstantina Kotzamani for Titanic Ocean, a fantastical pop odyssey about adolescence, love, and the freedom to imagine other worlds.

The Special Jury Award, worth EUR 1,500, was presented to Goran Stanković’s Our Father (a Serbia, Croatia, Italy, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina co-production), a story about addiction and rehabilitation.

The Best Performance Award, worth EUR 1,000, went to the entire cast of Muriel d’Ansembourg’s Truly Naked (Netherlands, Belgium, France), namely Caolán O’Gorman, Andrew Howard, Alessa Savage, and Safiya Benaddi. The film was praised for its exploration of vulnerability, intimacy, and the ways people try to reconnect with one another.

In the Romanian Days competition, the Best Feature Film Award, worth EUR 2,000, was won by Y, directed by Maria Popistașu and Alex Baciu. The Best Debut Award, worth EUR 1,500, went to Back and Forth (Dus-întors), directed by Cristian Bota.

The winner of the What's Up, Doc? section this year was Memory (France, the Netherlands), directed by Vladlena Sandu. The EUR 2,000 award recognizes a deeply personal hybrid documentary in which the filmmaker revisits her childhood experiences during the Chechen War and the traces they have left on the present.

The Transilvania IFF audience also chose its favorites: Gábor Holtai’s Feels Like Home (Hungary) received the Audience Award, worth EUR 2,000, while Dan Dinu’s Wild Delta was named the Most Popular Romanian Film in the festival, receiving the Vodafone Hearts’ Award, worth EUR 2,500.

The Transilvania IFF.25 Trophy was awarded to Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu.

The Janovics Jenő Award went to Polish producer and distributor Roman Gutek.

The Excellence Award was awarded to actress Anda Onesa, while the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Italian actress Ornella Muti.

(Photo: Chris Nemes, courtesy of TIFF)

simona@romania-insider.com