New international recognition for “colectiv”

“colectiv, by Alexander Nanau, was awarded as best documentary by the European Film Academy

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Roxana Vasile, 14.12.2020, 13:50

In Rolling Stone magazines top 20 films of this year, the Romanian Alexander Nanaus documentary “colectiv is ranking first. It looks at the tragedy of October 30, 2015, when a fire broke out during a concert held in a rock club operating in a decommissioned plant in Bucharest. 64 people died, 27 of them on the spot, and around 200 were injured, one of whom committed suicide later on. Some of the injured were flown abroad for medical care, others, who stayed in the country, died because of the burns and of in-hospital infections.

Following journalists, victims and governmental officials, Alexander Nanaus documentary talks about the awakening of civic engagement and the need for non-partisan journalism in a democratic world.

The British The Economist, and the American Vanity Fair are some of the publications that do not conceal their admiration for this documentary: The Economist calls it a “remarkable film, Vanity Fair describes it as “shattering.

After the awards won at international film festivals in Brazil, the US, Belgium, Israel, Switzerland and Luxembourg, last weekend the documentary won the European Film Academys award for best documentary.

“colectiv is the first Romanian documentary to win this competition of the European Film Academy, an institution founded in 1988 and bringing together over 3,800 European filmmakers. This prompted director Alexander Nanau to say that this is particularly a sign of recognition of the importance of journalism in society, of courage on the part of whistle-blowers and of citizens rights to be respected and protected by their politicians.

“colectiv is also nominated, alongside 2 other films (‘Another Round’ and ‘Corpus Cristi’), for the Lux European Audience Award. The winner will be announced on April 28, 2021 in a European Parliament session, and will be based on the votes of the audience and of the MEPs, each weighing 50% in the decision.

We should also mention that “colectiv by Alexander Nanau is Romanias contribution to next years Oscars for best international feature, previously known as the best foreign film. (tr. A.M. Popescu)