Romanian film awarded in Venice
Alina Serban’s feature film "I Matter", won the Armani Beauty Award at the 83rd edition of the International Film Festival in Venice
Sorin Iordan, 14.09.2026, 13:50
“I Matter”, a film written and directed by Alina Şerban, at the end of last week won the “Armani beauty” Award at the 83rd edition of the International Film Festival in Venice. This feature film spoken in both Romanian and Romani, is a co-production Romania, Germany, Belgium and represents actress Alina Serban’s debut in film direction. The film tells the story of Rebeca, a young Roma woman who is getting ready to leave the foster center where she grew up. She pins her hopes onto her father’s release from prison, as she is convinced that he is able to give her the stability and family feeling that she wants. However, leading an independent life proves to be more difficult than she expected. Alina Serban is the first Roma director in Romania who presents a feature film in Venice. Her film has been selected for the Venice Spotlight section devoted to the productions characterized by innovation and creativity.
Upon her return in Romania, she explained what motivated her to write and direct “I Matter”.
Alina Şerban: “First and foremost, I set out to make this film for the young people in disadvantaged areas. I wanted to tell them maybe what I wanted to hear: that you are going to make it, that there is a place in this world even for you. No matter what ethnic group you belong to, no matter your background, whether you are a boy and a girl, you are skilled or not, irrespective of your religion, or the labels we are born with, we deserve to be treated with dignity, respect and love.”
Alina Şerban was also present in the 2023 edition of the aforementioned festival as part of the cast for “Housekeeping for Beginners”, directed by Goran Stolevski. The most awarded Romanian production at the Venice Film Festival is Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark’s film ‘Immaculate’. In 2021, the film, which tells the story of an 18-year-old woman admitted to a rehab center, reaped three awards: the Lions of the Future – Luigi de Laurentiis Award, for the best debut film, GdA Director’s Award and Authors under 40 Award for best screenplay.
This year the Golden Lion for the best film was won by “Woman Unknown”, a film by May el-Toukhy. The Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize went to “Possible Love”, by Lee Chang-dong, while the Silver Lion for best director went to Ilya Khrzhanovsky for his production “DAU”. The Volpi Cup for best actress went to Mathilde Arcel, for her part in “Woman Unknown”, whereas John Malkovich won the best actor award for his role in “Wild Horse Nine”.
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