Gopo Awards 2026
The Gopo Awards Gala reached its 20th edition this year
Corina Sabău, 16.05.2026, 14:00
The Gopo Awards Gala reached its 20th edition this year and took place at the “I.L. Caragiale” National Theater in Bucharest. The event honored the most significant achievements in Romanian cinema over the past year and featured segments celebrating the gala’s two decades of existence, including retrospectives, tributes, and artistic performances. The feature film Kontinental ’25, directed by Radu Jude and produced by Alex Teodorescu (Saga Film), was the big winner of the evening, taking home the trophy for Best Film following a voting process in which over 900 industry professionals participated. At this year’s edition of the Gopo Awards Gala, “Kontinental ’25” also received awards for the actors’ performance. Eszter Tompa won the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Orsolya, a court officer forced to evict a homeless person from the basement of a building in downtown Cluj, while Gabriel Spahiu (with a filmography of over 100 titles) won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Ion Glanetașu. Gabriel Spahiu, honored at the 2026 Gopo Awards Gala for his role in “Kontinental ’25,” talks about the experience of filming the movie winning the most awards that evening and about his collaboration with director Radu Jude.
Gabriel Spahiu:“I would describe “Kontinental ’25” as a very up-to-date film in terms of issues approached, important to see especially in relation to what we have been experiencing lately. Radu Jude makes all his films like this: he has something to say and he says it, he doesn’t stop. Although the filming only lasted ten days, and the film was made with a mobile phone, for me, as an actor, the experience was not very different from filming with a regular camera. Of course, it also matters a lot that the image was signed by Marius Panduru, an extraordinary operator, and this style suited the film very well. In the end, the actor doesn’t have to worry too much about the camera or the type of device he is filmed with, but to focus on his acting. On the other hand, the phone helped us enormously in certain sequences filmed in the cinéma vérité style. Being much more discreet than a regular camera, no one realized that we were being filmed. I had scenes where I was literally begging at tables in Cluj and people didn’t realize I was part of a movie.”
In the Documentary category, the winner of the 2026 Gopo Awards Gala was “Tata” –“Father”, directed by Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc. “Tata” tells a story about inherited trauma, family silences, and the abuse endured by Romanians who have gone abroad to work in the hope of a better life. It all begins with a hidden-camera investigation conducted in Italy, where Lina Vdovîi documents the abuse her father suffered at work. “Tata” thus becomes an intimate examination of family relationships and the ways in which trauma can be passed down or confronted. We spoke with Radu Ciorniciuc about how this second documentary, co-directed and co-written with Lina Vdovîi, was born as well as about the risk of becoming, alongside his partner, part of the story that unfolded right during filming.
Radu Ciorniciuc: “The fact that we come from this area of journalism and that we have dealt with subjects that develop while you are documenting them, somehow helped us not to panic when the story we were preparing to film in Italy changed somehow or started to show signs of changing. At first, we had in mind an investigation at Lina’s father’s workplace, as he asked for our help to try to solve the problem he was facing at work, having a violent boss there, who only paid him off the books. We are actually talking about slavery. And we went with all the equipment and all the energy towards this subject, we also left a hidden camera for Lina’s father to document all these abuses. We taught him how to do this documentation not only from a technical point of view, but also ethically, because this is also a quite delicate process. Then there emerged the footage made by Lina’s father with the hidden camera. It was a moment that made us take a different approach. Then we realized that Lina’s father had transformed the camera, this investigative device, into a diary, into a tool for direct communication with his daughter. Until then, they had not had an extraordinary relationship, and when we saw those shots intended for Lina, we realized that the film takes a rather dramatic turn and that it cannot exist without this component of the relationship between the daughter and her father.”
The award for Best Direction was won by Igor Cobileanski for “Comatogen”, a film also awarded for best screenplay, signed by Igor Cobileanski and Alin Boeru. In the best actor in a leading role category, the trophy went to Ben Schnetzer for his performance in “The Yellow Tie”, a film that follows the life and career of conductor Sergiu Celibidache. The production also stood out for its large number of technical awards, obtaining trophies for sets, sound, costumes, makeup and hairstyling and also for editing. “The Yellow Tie” was also rewarded with the Audience Award. The award for best picture went to the film “Catane”, thanks to George Dascălescu, and the same production, directed by Ioana Mischie, was designated the best debut film. The gala also included honorary distinctions. Actors Dorina Lazăr and Ovidiu Schumacher received Lifetime Achievement Awards, while director Laurențiu Damian was honored with the Lifetime Contribution Award. (LS)
