Director Tudor Giurgiu says what the Government should do with Mungiu's film “Fjord” in the Oscar campaign
Tudor Giurgiu called Cristian Mungiu “the most important and influential Romanian filmmaker of all time” on Sunday, after his film “Fjord” was awarded the Palme d'Or at Cannes. The director called for government involvement in promoting the film for the Oscars.
Tudor Giurgiu, one of the most important Romanian directors, says in a post 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 prizes and/or the title of “film of the year”. To be selected in the competition is already an achievement, let alone to win the Palme d'Or, the biggest prize!”, Tudor Giurgiu said.
The director appreciates that the success of the film “Fjord” is important from many perspectives.
“It's an international co-production between 6 countries (Romania, Norway, Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden), filmed in Norway, with a cast in which there are 2 global superstars, which involved an impressive effort (of the Romanian team) to secure the necessary financing for the project”, said Giurgiu.
“Then the film was pre-purchased for the US many months before Cannes by Neon, the most powerful distributor in the US market, who know how to take their films to the Oscars,” added the director.
Last but not least, says Tudor Giurgiu, the film “consecrates Mungiu definitively as the most important and influential Romanian filmmaker of all time”.
“Any normal government at the head should be concerned”
The filmmaker asked the government to get involved in the film's promotion campaign for the Oscars.
“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 budget for representation at the Oscars campaign (an eternal problem),” Tudor Giurgiu said.
The director also believes that, more than the well-deserved success of “Fjord”, “it is above all about an image and cultural diplomacy campaign for the country”.
“And, I would dare to add, to take care of the way money is collected (with difficulty) for 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 have done nothing. Congratulations to the director, the team and everyone involved! It is a historic moment for local cinema”, concluded Tudor Giurgiu.
The jury of the Cannes Film Festival awarded the prestigious Palme d'Or prize to the Romanian director Cristian Mungiu on Saturday evening, for “Fjord”, the film that tells a story that took place in Norway, the story of a family of Romanian migrants.
Mungiu received the Palme d'Or award for the second time in his career. For the first time, Cristian Mungiu received the Palme d'Or in 2007, for the film “4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days”, a painful description of the story of “mandatory” births under Romanian communism.
