VIDEO The “Bolojan” moment from the Gopo Awards Gala. “That's why I'm here, to tell you where to cut and how much”

At the Gopo 2026 Awards Gala, held on Monday evening, “Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan” also appeared, played by comedian Ionuţ Rusu. The Bolojan character warned the film producers that “we are living in difficult times” and “we shouldn't be throwing money around”.

The Gopo Awards Gala, the most important event dedicated to Romanian cinema, reached its 20th edition, an anniversary edition, and took place on Monday evening at the “IL Caragiale” National Theater in Bucharest. During the event, the performances of local cinema from the last year were rewarded.

The Gopo Awards Gala was presented, for the third year in a row, by the stand-up comedy actor Claudiu Teohari, known as Teo.

In a humorous moment during the gala, presenter Teo announced the intervention via video link of “Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan”, who had several tips for film producers in these “times of crisis”.

The role of Bolojan was played by the comedian Ionuț Rusu.

“I received notifications from my people in the territory that small producers no longer get funding because of the smart guys in cinematography. Let's face it: I'm not going to give you funding, there's no more money, but I'm going to teach you how to deal with the small budgets you have. That's exactly why I'm here, to tell you where to cut and how much,” said the Bolojan character in the sketch.

Then he warned: “We are living in difficult times, we must not throw money left and right. Too much is spent on locations, sets and costumes. I propose to make reading films, with actors reading the script, you don't have to give the viewer mouth-to-mouth. It would be good for him to use his imagination too.”

“My soul hurts when I hear about so much waste. Couldn't you film with a cheaper phone? (…) We live in times of crisis, good people!”, “Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan” also conveyed, who also had a piece of advice for the viewers: “Why go to the cinema, when the film will appear on the net anyway in a month”.