Alexander Nanau's documentary Collective, about the journalistic investigation that followed the fire at Colectiv club in Bucharest in October 2015, features on former US president Barack Obama's list of favorite films of 2020.

Collective is on the list alongside productions such as George C. Wolfe's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Kantemir Balagov's Beanpole, Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles' Bacurau, Chloé Zhao's Nomadland, and Pixar animation Soul.

Like everyone else, we were stuck inside a lot this year, and with streaming further blurring the lines between theatrical movies and television features, I’ve expanded the list to include visual storytelling that I’ve enjoyed this year, regardless of format. pic.twitter.com/a8BS8jDkSs

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 18, 2020

Collective, which premiered last year at the Venice Film Festival, is Romania's proposal for the 2021 Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category.

Collective was named a runner-up in the Best Documentary category of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) 's best films and best performances of 2020. Garrett Bradley's Time was named Best Documentary. Earlier this December, the Boston Society of Film Critics named Collective Best Documentary of 2020.

The film received the European Documentary prize at the 2020 European Film Awards.

Romanian film review – Movies to Watch Now: 5 Minutes Too Late & Collective

(Photo: screenshot)

simona@romania-insider.com