30/04/2025 - Bogdan Mureşanu’s first feature has taken home the Gopos’ “big five”, while Emanuel Pârvu’s Three Kilometres to the End of the World was almost completely overlooked

Director Bogdan Mureşanu with one of his awards for The New Year That Never Came (© Adrian Holerga)

It’s like it’s 2024 all over again: after Tudor Giurgiu’s Freedom [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tudor Giurgiu & Cecilia Ste…
film profile] won ten Gopo Awards last year (see the news – although some may have considered that Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Jude
film profile] was a more accomplished film), yesterday, another movie about the Romanian Revolution, Bogdan Mureşanu’s ultra-popular The New Year That Never Came [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bogdan Mureşanu
film profile], went home with just as many gongs. However, some Romanian critics may opine that Andrei Cohn’s Berlinale-selected Holy Week [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrei Cohn
film profile] or Emanuel Pârvu’s Cannes-selected Three Kilometres to the End of the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emanuel Pârvu
film profile] (also Romania’s 2025 Oscar candidate) should have won Best Film.

It was a sweep virtually across the board for The New Year That Never Came: it won, among other categories, Best Film, Best Directing, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actress (for Nicoleta Hâncu) and Best Lead Actor (Adrian Văncică). It also pocketed Best First Feature.

Meanwhile, the 800 voting film professionals, journalists and critics didn’t leave much of the remaining trophies for the other titles. Holy Week won three gongs: Best Supporting Actor (Ciprian Chiricheş), Best Cinematography (Andrei Butică) and Best Costumes (Viorica Petrovici), while Three Kilometres to the End of the World went home with two acting prizes for newcomer Ciprian Chiujdea, who won Best New Hope, and Alina Berzunţeanu, who scooped Best Supporting Actress.

Alice On&Off [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Isabela Tent
film profile], which Cineuropa labelled an “instant classic” in its review last October, won Best Documentary, after emerging as a rare Romanian doc nominated for Best Film, and Buzz House: The Movie by Florin Babei, a movie that ended its run in local cinemas with more than 500,000 admissions, was given the Audience Award.

It must be said that this was the most diverse edition of the Gopos: given the small number of films produced in Romania (and the even smaller number deserving of awards), for many editions, there were only four filmmakers or films nominated in a given category. This year, there were as many as six possibilities, bringing to mind a bleak 2013 when there was no Best Leading Actress Award handed out, simply because there were not enough contenders for it.

Here is the complete list of award winners:

Best Film
The New Year That Never Came [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bogdan Mureşanu
film profile] - Bogdan Mureşanu (Romania/Serbia)

Best Director
Bogdan Mureşanu – The New Year That Never Came

Best Screenplay
Bogdan Mureşanu - The New Year That Never Came

Best Lead Actor
Adrian Văncică - The New Year That Never Came

Best Lead Actress
Nicoleta Hâncu - The New Year That Never Came

Best Supporting Actress
Aline Berzunţeanu – Three Kilometres to the End of the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emanuel Pârvu
film profile]

Best Supporting Actor
Ciprian Chiricheş - Holy Week [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrei Cohn
film profile] (Romania/Switzerland)

Best Cinematography
Andrei Butică - Holy Week

Best Editing
Vanja Kovačević, Mircea Lăcătuș - The New Year That Never Came

Best Sound
Sebastian Zsemlye - The New Year That Never Came

Best Score
Marius Leftărache, Nikita Dembinski – Nasty – More Than Just Tennis [+see also:
film review
film profile]

Best Production Design
Iulia Fulicea, Victor Fulicea - The New Year That Never Came

Best Costumes
Viorica Petrovici - Holy Week

Best Make-up and Hairstyling
Iulia Roșeanu, Domnica Bodogan - The New Year That Never Came

Best First Feature
The New Year That Never Came - Bogdan Mureşanu

Best Documentary
Alice On&Off [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Isabela Tent
film profile] - Isabela Tent

Best New Hope
Ciprian Chiujdea - actor (Three Kilometres to the End of the World)

Best Short Film
@Tiktok_Cowboy - Anastaseu Ștefan

Best Animated Short Film
White Noise - Alexia-Ioana Badea

Audience Award
Buzz House: The Movie - Florin Babei

Best European Film
The Zone of Interest [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Jonathan Glazer (UK/Poland/USA)