Sieranevada by Cristi Puiu and Witten/Unwritten by Adrian Silisteanu are among the winners of Italy’s 2017 Trieste Film Festival.

The CEI (Central European Initiative) Award, with a value of EUR 3,000, went to Romanian director Cristi Puiu, for his latest film Sieranevada and “for his entire work.”

“For the whole of his work, that our audience knows so well. This year we have selected in the Festival programme his latest work, his feature film Sieranevada, which premiered in Cannes last May and will be soon released in Italy. The work of Cristi Puiu, one of the most prominent Romanian filmmakers of his generation, can denounce with sharp and biting irony the most controversial and unsettling aspects of today’s Romania,” according to the information posted on the event’s website.

Sieranevada follows the story of a successful Romanian doctor who attends a family event supposed to commemorate his deceased father. But the occasion does not go according to expectations. Forced to confront his fears and his past, to rethink the place he holds within the family, Lary finds himself constraint to tell his version of the truth.

Meanwhile, Written/Unwritten, directed by Romanian Adrian Silisteanu received the TSFF Shorts Award for Best Short Film, and a cash prize of EUR 2,000.

The 2017 Trieste Award for Best Feature Film (EUR 5,000) went to A Good Wife, directed by Mirjana Karanović, while the Best Documentary award was won by Communion, directed by Polish Anna Zamecka.

More viewers for Romanian films: domestic viewership almost doubles in 2016

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com