17/08/2016 - Cristi Puiu’s film may become the first Romanian feature ever to be nominated for the Academy Awards

After competing in the Cannes main competition this spring, Cristi Puiu’s 173-minute family drama Sieranevada [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Cristi Puiu
film profile] may bring Romania its first nomination for the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign-language Film category. Cristian Mungiu’s Graduation [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Cristian Mungiu
film profile], winner of the Best Director Award at Cannes, and Bogdan Mirică’s Dogs [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bogdan Mirica
film profile], winner of the FIPRESCI Award in the Un Certain Regard sidebar, were among the favourites in the race, but the jury consisting of seven film critics selected by the National Film Center preferred the Mandragora production.

A universal film about family relationships and communication, Sieranevada centres on Lary (Mimi Brănescu), a neurologist attending a memorial service organised 40 days after the death of his father. The screenplay, written by Cristi Puiu, uses extensive dialogue in order to explore the concept of family, in an effort deemed by Cineuropa to be “a directorial triumph”.

Sieranevada was released in France on the first weekend of August by Wild Bunch Distribution, while the domestic release is scheduled for 9 September. The film is handled internationally by Elle Driver. It has been sold to 20 European countries. Sieranevada will also be released in Brazil, Canada and Mexico, and negotiations with Argentina, Peru, South Korea, China and Japan are ongoing.

Romania was previously represented by Radu Jude's Aferim! [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Jude
film profile] (2016), Tudor Cristian Jurgiu's The Japanese Dog [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2015), Călin Peter Netzer's Child's Pose [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Calin Peter Netzer
film profile] (2014) and Cristian Mungiu's Beyond the Hills [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cosmina Stratan
interview: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Cristian Mungiu
film profile] (2013). No Romanian film has ever been nominated for an Oscar, and Beyond the Hills is the only title to have been shortlisted in the race for a nomination. In 2008, the snubbing of Mungiu’s Palme d’Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Oleg Mutu
film profile] sparked the ire of many American film critics, which made the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reorganise the nomination process for the Foreign-language category.