The festival’s top prize, the Transilvania Trophy, was awarded to Lionel (Spain, France). The distinction was presented on stage by Irish actor Aidan Gillen, a member of the Official Competition jury. Directed by Carlos Saiz, the feature follows a young man who embarks on a journey with his father, attempting to repair a relationship marked by years of absence and misunderstanding.
In an emotional moment, director Carlos Saiz stated on stage: “This is a film about family and second chances, but above all, it is a film that brings to the forefront people whose stories rarely make it to the screen. Thank you for helping us give them visibility and for honoring them with this award.”
Transilvania IFF.25 Winners
Transilvania Trophy
Lionel (dir. Carlos Saiz, Spain, France)
Best Directing Award
Konstantina Kotzamani for Titanic Ocean (Greece, Germany, Romania, France, Spain)
Special Jury Award
Our Father (dir. Goran Stanković, Serbia, Croatia, Italy, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Best Performance Award
The cast of Truly Naked (dir. Muriel d’Ansembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, France): Caolán O’Gorman, Andrew Howard, Alessa Savage and Safiya Benaddi
What’s Up, Doc? Award
Memory (dir. Vladlena Sandu, France, Netherlands)
Special Mention of the “What’s up, Doc?” Jury
Variations on a theme (dir. Jason Jacobs, Devon Delmar, South Africa, Netherlands, Qatar)
Romanian Film Days Award - Feature Film Section
Y (dir. Maria Popistașu, Alex Baciu, Romania)
Romanian Film Days Debut Award
Back and Forth (dir. Cristian Bota, Romania)
Special Mention of the Romanian Days Jury
The Circle (dir. Valeriu Andriuță, Romania)
Romanian Film Days Award - Short Film Section
County Captain (dir. Dan Panaet, Romania)
Audience Award
It Feels Like Home (dir. Gábor Holtai, Hungary)
Most Popular Romanian Film Award (Vodafone Hearts’ Award)
Wild Delta (dir. Dan Dinu, Romania)
TIFF.25 Trophy, the special award of the anniversary edition, presented to Corneliu Porumboiu
Janovics Jenő Award, presented to Roman Gutek
Excellence Award, presented to actress Anda Onesa
Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to actress Ornella Muti
FIPRESCI Award, presented by the jury of the International Federation of Film Critics to a film from the Romanian Film Days section
Don’t Let Me Die (dir. Andrei Epure, România)
Youth Award (TEEN Spirit)
Los Domingos (dir. Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, Spain, France)
Ecumenical Jury Award, offered by SIGNIS and INTERFILM to a film from the Festival Competition
Truly Naked (dir. Muriel d’Ansembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, France)
SIGNIS Award, offered by SIGNIS Romania to a short film from the Romanian Film Days section
Edges (dir. Roberta Șerban, Romania)
