The director Tudor Giurgiu states, after the success achieved by Cristian Mungiu at Cannes, with the film Fjord, that any normal government headed by a country whose director wins the second Palme d’Or should be concerned, not with decorations and snoring messages, but with ensuring a decent representation budget for the Oscar campaign.
Director Tudor Giurgiu points out in a message on Facebook that the Cannes Festival is the equivalent of the World Cup in football or the Grand Prix in snooker.
“The best films in the world are selected in a competition where, regularly, the award-winning films end up winning either Oscars or many other awards and/or the title of “film of the year”. Being selected in the competition is already an achievement, let alone winning the Palme d’Or, the grand prize!“, states Tudor Giurgiu.
He believes that the success of the film “Fjord” by Cristian Mungiu is important, from several perspectives: it is an international co-production between 6 countries (Romania, Norway, Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden), filmed in Norway, with a cast that includes two global superstars, which involved an impressive effort (by the Romanian team) to secure the necessary funding for the project; the film was pre-purchased for the USA many months before Cannes by Neon, the most powerful distributor on the American market, “who knows how to take his films to the Oscars”; “definitively enshrines Mungiu as the most important and influential Romanian filmmaker of all time”.
“Any normal government at the head of a country whose director wins the second Palme d’Or should be concerned not with decorations and snoring messages, but with ensuring a decent budget for representation at the Oscars campaign (an eternal problem), as this is more than the deserved success of the film Fjord, but above all an image campaign and cultural diplomacy for the country“, says Tudor Giurgiu.
He also believes that the Government should take care of the way in which – with difficulty – money is collected for the Romanian film, its circulation and promotion in the country and abroad.
“Without the understanding that film is a powerful industry, which can generate jobs and bring consistent business to the country, we did nothing. Congratulations to the director, the team and everyone involved! It’s a historic moment for local cinema”concludes Tudor Giurgiu.
Cristian Mungiu writes history at Cannes
Cristian Mungiu won the Palme d’Or at the Film Festival, with the film “Fjord”, a drama inspired by a real case, which provoked strong reactions both among the public and international critics. It is the second Palme d’Or in the career of the Romanian director, after the success obtained in 2007 with the film “4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days”.
Cristian Mungiu received four trophies for “Fjord”: the François Chalais Prize, the Citizenship Award, the Ecumenical Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize (International Critics’ Prize).
