Romanian actor wins prize in San Sebastian

Bogdan Dumitrache was designated best actor at the International Film Festival in San Sebastian. This is the first time when the Romanian cinematography wins a prize in this festival

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Mihai Pelin, 02.10.2017, 14:23

Present in almost all the important international festivals of the moment, Romanian filmmakers have obtained further recognition of their worth. Bogdan Dumitrache received the Silver Shell Prize for best Actor at the San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain for the role he played in “Pororoca”, the latest movie directed by Constantin Popescu.

The Spanish press enthusiastically welcomed Romania’s participation in the San Sebastian festival, and the good reviews the film received after the first screenings placed it among the favorites to winning the festival’s grand trophy.

The EAM Magazine writes that the Romanian feature film is a demonstration of mise-en-scene that highlights the talent of a filmmaker who deconstructs the common, rigid spirit of Romanian filmmaking and reaches new heights of excellency in the recent European cinematography.

“Pororoca” tells the story of a happy family. The male character, Tudor, played by Bogdan Dumitrache, works for a telephony company and his wife, played by Iulia Lumanare, is an accountant. They have the life of a normal couple, without further cares except the inherent ones related to raising and educating their children: Maria, aged 5, and Ilie aged 7. On a Sunday morning, Tudor takes the children out in the park near their home, and in just a moment of lack of attention, the little girl disappears. Together with the other parents, the father looks for her in the area desperately, but to no avail. 30 minutes later Tudor calls the police and the little girl, Maria, is declared officially missing.

Bogdan Dumitrache has admitted that this role has been the most complex one in his career: “The roles involving physical transformation are quite rare. I want ‘Pororoca’ to be seen by as many people as possible, I want it to be disseminated. I think that, for me, personally, this is a role of artistic maturity. I hope it is a launching pad for other roles. I believe that this is the most difficult and also the best role I have had so far.”

Aged 40, Bogdan Dumitrache is one of the outstanding actors of the New Wave in the Romanian Cinematography, his portfolio including films such as “Trafic” by Cătălin Mitulescu, “The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu” by Cristi Puiu, “The Way I Spent the End of the World” by Cătălin Mitulescu, “Portrait of the Fighter as A Young Man” by Constantin Popescu and “When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism” by Corneliu Porumboiu.

Bogdan Dumitrache was also designated Best Actor at the International Film Festival in Locarno in 2011 for his part in the movie Best Intentions by Adrian Sitaru and played in “Child Pose” by Calin Peter Netzer, a feature film that won the Golden Bear Award in Berlin in 2013.