RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Niko Becker, Gopo Film Festival’s Young Hopeful

The revelation of this year's Gopo film festival

Niko Becker, Gopo Film Festival’s Young Hopeful
Niko Becker, Gopo Film Festival’s Young Hopeful

, 28.09.2024, 14:00

28Actor Niko Becker in 2024 scooped the Gopo Award in the Young Hopefuls category as part of the Gopo Film Festival, for Dumitru, his role in the film To the North, a film directed by Mihai Mincan.
Niko Becker began his career on stage at the German State Theatre in Timisoara. When he was 15 he featured in One Step behind the Seraphim, a production directed by Daniel Sandu.

In 2021, stage director Eugen Jebeleanu had Niko Becker on the cast for Treplev’s role as part Tchekhov’s Seagull, a stage production that would later be included in the I.L. Caragiale Bucharest National Theater’s repertory. Niko Becker also worked with director Carmen Lidia Vidu, in The Frail Feeling of Hope, playing the part of a youngster diagnosed with schizophrenia, equally fighting his mental condition and the social stigma. Since 2023, the young actor has become the youngest member of Bucharest-based Odeon Theater top-flight troupe. Niko was introduced to the public once with the premiere of An Open House, a stage performance directed by Teodora Petre.

Mihai Mincan’s first feature-length film, To the North, is based on a true story. The five-country European co-production tells the story of Joel, a religious Filipino sailor working on a transatlantic ship. Joel discovers Dumitru, a clandestine passenger hidden between the containers. The discovery of Dumitru puts Joel in an extreme situation that forces him to reconsider his bond with friends and faith. In director Mihai Mincan’s own words, ‘To the North is a film about fear, a film about the confidence in the other one, a film about the ability or inability to put your life in the hands of an unknown person, but also about our relationship with God.’

We sat down and spoke with Niko Becker about his passion for acting. We started off from his role in the psychological thriller, To the North, a production that scooped the Critics’ Award as part of the Venice Biennale, Bisato D’Oro, in the Best Film category. To The North is also included in the selection of major international film festivals.

“I perfectly got along with the team and by that I do not mean the actors alone. Since it was my debut in a lead role, I was somehow in a discomfort zone, I had many uncertainties. Concurrently, I set my own standards very high. As for the experience I had in theatre, that was helpful, obviously, yet film and theatre are different arts and things do not overlap perfectly. There is this specific difference, especially in the way it is materialized in the end, since the movie remains on the film. That puts a lot of pressure on you, as an actor, when you think that what you do on the set remains imprinted. And it is a little bit stressful, the fact that the way you act remains, whereas in theatre, even if you may have a bad evening, you have the opportunity to recreate the role. But like I said, there are always risks in theatre because we can have less inspired moments, you know.

I rarely get out satisfied after completing a performance, I always have the feeling that it could have been better, that I could have put up a better performance. And I believe it’s only natural to want each time more because if we want less, we limit ourselves and we can no longer make headway. And, coming back to the movie, if I know that the part I play – after a series of retakes – is being shot, I succeed in using my intuition and the other qualities. It seems to me that under the pressure of the moment, in a film I can achieve more.”

Nico Becker told us how he contoured, with help from director Mihai Mincan, the part of Dumitru, the stowaway on the ship where Joel, the Filipino, works in ‘To the North’.

“When I prepared the part, I focused on the separate elements the character was made of. I thought what it was like to feel all the things Dumitru himself felt, like hunger, cold, being scared by loud noises etc. And I was trying to express all that through my body by means of the techniques employed by actor Michael Chekhov, which were quite helpful. I also worked a lot on the character’s psychological background. Of course, the script helped me a lot as everything starts with the script, you know.

For me, it is essential to better understand the script, what it is all about, the circumstances, situations, the characters’ reasons and the conflict between them and the rest but also the conflict with themselves. I believe that in this way you can better understand the part you have to play, by finding out the conflict in the entire storyline and the sections making it. Having identified that, I complete the character by using my imagination and expertise.”

One of the latest parts played by Nico Becker is that of journalist Krzysztof Zalinski in “Disquiet”, by Ivan Vyrypaev, directed by Bobi Pricop. “Disquiet”, a performance in which Nico Becker has as partner the extraordinary Dorina Lazăr is, first and foremost, “a show about the relationship between art and life, creation and creator, between love, God and everything we are trying to give a sense to (by means of faith, art or love). Just like life itself, the theatre is and causes disquiet; actually, every one of us is a mixture of disquiet, which art in all its forms is trying and maybe even succeeding in unravelling” Bobi Pricop says.

Il progetto Bestiario - Bene di consumo
World of Culture Saturday, 05 October 2024

Bestiary, a Vanner Collective project

The independent theatre company Vanner Collective is known for its original initiatives in the Romanian cultural space, translating burning social...

Bestiary, a Vanner Collective project
Festivalul Anonimul
World of Culture Saturday, 21 September 2024

Anonimul International Independent Film Festival

The best Romanian short film at the Anonimul International Independent Film Festival was designated “(In) the Circle”, by Andreea...

Anonimul International Independent Film Festival
“Amar”, award-winning documentary film at the Astra Film Festival
World of Culture Saturday, 10 August 2024

‘Amar’, an award-winning documentary film at the Astra Film festival

Last year, the New Perspective Award at the Astra Film Festival went to ‘Amar’, a documentary directed by Diana Gavra. The film has been in...

‘Amar’, an award-winning documentary film at the Astra Film festival
“Mrs. Buică”, a documentary by Eugene Buică
World of Culture Saturday, 27 July 2024

“Mrs. Buică”, a documentary by Eugene Buică

Mrs. Buică, directed by Eugene Buică, premiered in Romanian cinemas at the end of last...

“Mrs. Buică”, a documentary by Eugene Buică
World of Culture Saturday, 20 July 2024

Radio Romania 95. Collectable Performances

The National Radiophonic Theater has launched on www.eteatru.ro a new collection of sound performances, compiled on the occasion of the 95th...

Radio Romania 95. Collectable Performances
World of Culture Saturday, 06 July 2024

Writer Nora Iuga, the subject of a documentary film

A successful documentary film pays tribute to one of Romania's most prominent living...

Writer Nora Iuga, the subject of a documentary film
World of Culture Saturday, 15 June 2024

Emanuel Pârvu wins Cannes award

The Romanian production Three Kilometres to the End of the World, which was selected in the official competition for the Palm d’or at the...

Emanuel Pârvu wins Cannes award
World of Culture Saturday, 08 June 2024

New films featuring actor Bogdan Dumitrache

  Bogdan Dumitrache, one of the most talented and awarded actors of the new wave, is the lead actor in two recent films: “Good Guys Go to...

New films featuring actor Bogdan Dumitrache

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company