Banca Transilvania supports Romanian culture and values, and the Gopo Awards Gala 2017 is a very good example of that. The most important event dedicated to Romania’s film industry, now in its 11th edition, is approaching: it will take place on March 21, at 8:00 p.m., in Bucharest, at the Ion Luca Caragiale National Theatre. Another piece of good news is that the gala will be broadcast live on the website www.premiilegopo.ro and on TVR 2.

This year’s competition sets a record: it features the largest number of films ever entered for the Gopo Awards — nearly 90 feature films, documentaries and short films. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to actor Ion Dichiseanu, while the Career Achievement Award will go to actor Valentin Uritescu. As one of the gala’s main partners, Banca Transilvania will present the Best Director award.

How did it all start?

In 2007, fifty years after Ion Popescu Gopo won the Palme d’Or for Best Animated Short, the Romanian Film Promotion Association marked the occasion by organising the first edition of a gala intended to honour the previous year’s film productions. From the very beginning, it was decided that this landmark annual event would bear the Gopo name, as he is considered the father of animated films in Romania.

What the Gopo Awards mean:

• Held every year for the past 11 years, the gala follows a model inspired by countries renowned for strong film industries, such as France (Cesar Awards), the United Kingdom (BAFTA), Spain (Goya Awards) and Sweden (Guldbagge Awards).
• Winners are chosen by the votes of more than 500 professionals from all sectors of the Romanian film industry, who vote individually and by secret ballot for the best nominees in each category. Nominations are made by a jury of industry figures.
• The categories are: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Make-up and Hairstyling, Best Documentary, Best Short Film, Audience Award — the highest-grossing film — and Best Newcomer.
• Also awarded each year are the following distinctions: the Career Achievement Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award and a Special Award recognising an industry professional. Among past honourees are Ion Besoiu, Iurie Darie, Tamara Buciuceanu, Radu Beligan, Mitica Popescu, Jean Constantin and Florin Piersic.
• Among the award-winning films over the years are: “A fost sau n-a fost?” (directed by Corneliu Porumboiu, 2006), “Eu cand vreau sa fluier, fluier” (directed by Florin Serban, 2010), “Aurora” (directed by Cristi Puiu, 2011), “Toata lumea din familia noastra” (directed by Radu Jude, 2012), “Pozitia copilului” (directed by Calin Peter Netzer, 2013), “Closer to the Moon” (directed by Nae Caranfil, 2014) and “Aferim!” (directed by Radu Jude, 2015).
• The gala is organised by the Romanian Film Promotion Association and the Film and Urban Culture Association, with the support of the National Centre for Cinematography.

Ion Popescu Gopo & His Little Man

Ion Popescu Gopo (1923 – 1989) was a leading figure in Romanian cinema — an actor, film editor, screenwriter and film director. Internationally appreciated, he was at one point appointed vice-president of the International Animated Film Association, as well as director of the film section at the World Health Organization.

Moreover, he created animated films whose main character was Gopo’s Little Man, or simply the Little Man. He was more than just a character, taking on roles that — with intelligence and subtlety — highlighted the dilemmas and anxieties of the era. Bold and open-minded for those times, his animated films conveyed information and allusions, and even brought together live actors and animated characters in the same productions. The Little Man’s first major success was the Palme d’Or at Cannes, received in 1957 for "Scurta istorie".

Gopo’s Little Man also inspired the concept behind the trophies awarded at the gala.

This is the story of the Gopo Awards Gala: 11 successful “episodes” that recognise values and reward the achievements of Romanian cinema.