| A NEW AWARD FOR ROMANIA IN CANNES 26/05/2008 |
| (2008-05-26) |
| Last updated: 2008-05-27 14:30 EET |
This year's Palme D'Or for best short film went to the Romanian director Marian Crisan, for Megatron. This is the second time in a row that Romania wins the much-coveted award, after the achievement last year, when Cristian Mungiu won the Palme D'Or for best film. “This trophy is a new victory for the Romanian cinema industry and a proof of confidence in the new generation of filmmakers,” said Marian Crisan. He tells us more about the story of the film, whose name is inspired by a popular toy:
“In short, a mother and her child go to McDonald's to celebrate the boy's birthday, and the only problem is that this McDonald's restaurant is 40 km away. The film is the story of their trip to this place. It is inspired by a real-life event, a story I heard, which took place in a small town in Bihor, my native region. The story has stuck to my mind and I meant to write a screenplay that reconstructs this trip. A trip that may seem pretty odd to many of us.”
Although his film won the Palme D'Or, Marian Crisan believes short film, as a genre, has a rather small audience. Its only chance to reach the public is the participation in festivals or cinema clubs. The cast of Megatron includes Gabriela Crisu and Maxim Adrian Strinu, both at their first role on the big screen. But Megatron, the winner of the Palme D'Or for best short film, was not the only Romanian production screened in this year's Cannes Festival. Boogie, the third long film by Radu Muntean, was screened in the Quinzaine des realisateurs section, while Ciprian Alexandrescu’s short film Interior. Block of Flats Hallway ran in Cinefondation, a workshop dedicated to new filmmakers.
Moreover, the Romanian-born actress Alexandra Maria Lara, a lead actress in Der Untergang, sat in the Festival's official competition jury. The winner of last year's Palme D'Or, Cristian Mungiu, also took part in the prestigious event. Recently named a Commander in the Order of the Arts and Letters by the French Government, Mungiu hosted a meeting of European Union Culture Ministers and filmmakers in Cannes. The Association Promoting the Romanian Film Industry organised a pavilion in Cannes, with a view to offer as much information as possible on the Romanian film industry.
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2025-04-03
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