The grand winner of the 17th edition of the Gopo Awards Gala, held on the stage of the I. L. Caragiale National Theatre in Bucharest was the film ‘Oameni de treabă – ‘Men of deeds, directed by Paul Negoescu. ‘Men of deeds won the trophy for Best Film, following the voting process in which more than 650 professionals from the Romanian film market participated, and 5 other Gopo statuettes: best director – Paul Negoescu, best actor – Iulian Postelnicu, best supporting actor – Vasile Muraru, best script – Radu Romaniuc and Oana Tudor, and the best film editing – Eugen Kelemen. One of the most valuable actors in Romania, Mircea Andreescu, was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Theater critic Marina Constantinescu handed the award to actor Mircea Andreescu and presented his impressive work on the National Theater stage: He graduated as head of an exceptional class, having Valeria Seciu, Mariana Mihuț, Rodica Mandache, and Ovidiu Moldovan as colleagues. I have rarely known such a character like this artist, who has such reverence for the great directors and school, theater and film trainers. His stories about Liviu Ciulei, Lucian Pintilie, Vlad Mugur, David Esrig, Radu Penciulescu, about the Lucia Sturdza-Bulandra Theater from his student days, as well as about his artistic journey, which he took very seriously, are fabulous. I admired him and studied him at leisure in the films he made with Dan Pizza, Mircea Daneliuc, Dan Chișu, and Nicolae Mărgineanu. Also, in Corneliu Porumboiu’s film, in a role that brought him back to everyone’s attention. This consummate actor, a kind of Jean Gabin of Romania, rather grumpy, but very, very playful and generous, is held in great reverence by the actors and directors guild, thanks to his art and skill, his courage and the youth with which he set out on all the paths of his characters.
Mircea Andreescu is one of the main figures associated with the New Wave of Romanian Cinema thanks to the character Emanoil Pișcoci in the satirical comedy A fost sau n-a fost? Was it or was it not? (directed by Corneliu Porumboiu, 2006). His performance was noted by both the public and the critics, Mircea Andreescu winning the Special Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution together with Ion Sapdaru and Teodor Corban at the Cottbus Film Festival in 2006.
In his speech at the Gopo Awards Gala, the actor also referred to this film, which received the Caméra d’Or Award at the Cannes International Film Festival and multiple other prizes at the first edition of the Gopo Awards Gala, in 2007: I had a hard life. This profession is hard, but also full of rewards. And I think that not many of us, in the cinema world, have had the film in which they featured screened in front of 2,500 spectators. This was one of the screenings of the movie ‘A fost sau n-a fost?-‘Was it or was it not? at the Sarajevo Film Festival. “
The Award for Most Promising Young Actress went to Ioana Chițu for the role of Irina in the film Crai Nou – Blue Moon directed by Alina Grigore: I’m not a fan of competitions, that’s why I’m going to consider this award as a team award, for the entire Blue Moon film team. And I would like to thank Alina Grigore, Gabriela Suciu, Adrian Pădurețu, Ilinca Neacșu, my colleague, who is very promising. The film Blue Moon approaches a very tough topic, gender violence. And I would like to emphasize what my colleague, director Teona Galgotiu, also said, that we should not remain indifferent when witnessing violence of any kind, emotional, physical or systemic.
A special moment at the Gopo Awards Gala was the celebration of the renowned filmmaker Ion Popescu Gopo, who gave the name to this event and whose 100th birthday anniversary was marked. The violinist Alexander Bălănescu performed a musical moment inspired by Gopo’s animations, and the actress Medeea Marinescu, who played one of the main roles in the film Maria Mirabela, evoked the personality of the artist.
Medeea Marinescu: Ion Popescu Gopo was one of the most important directors and animators in the history of Romanian cinema, and his works are internationally recognized for their originality and innovation. From Scurta Istorie – A short history and S-a furat o bomba – A bomb was stolen to De-aș fi Harap Alb – If I were Harap Alb or Maria Mirabela, Gopo created films that are still living in the collective memory and that have inspired entire generations of artists. Now, for me, a child then, Gopo was a great playmate, because he was extraordinarily gentle, he was generous, he was kind, and a child feels these things, a child feels sincerity. Gopo was a visionary, a master of animation and a great director who inspired and influenced generations of artists in the film industry. His innovative works and creativity have been recognized worldwide, and his work has been awarded the most important international distinctions, including the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Actress Ioana Crăciunescu received the Lifetime Achievement Award, while the Special Award was given to film editors Melania Oproiu, Nita Chivulescu and Mircea Ciocâltei for their exceptional work. (LS)