The Whaler Boy, the debut film of Russian director Philipp Yuryev won the top prize of this year's Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF). 

The TIFF jury decided to award "this beautiful, meticulous portrait of an isolated community and of the dreams of a boy stunned by social media."

The film received the Transilvania Trophy, amounting to EUR 10,000. Ballet star Sergei Polunin, a guest of the festival this year, handed Yuryev the award.

The jury included Mexican writer, director and producer Guillermo Arriaga, producer Katriel Schory, director and producer Scott Coffey, actress Maria Popistașu, and Christian Jeune, the director of the Film Department of the Cannes Festival.

Eugen Jebeleanu won the Best Directing Award, amounting to EUR 3,500 for Poppy Field. The production also won the Audience Award.

The Best Performance Award, amounting to EUR 1,000, went to actress Petra Martínez, the protagonist of Spanish production That Was Life, directed by David Martin de los Santos.

The Special Jury Award, worth EUR 1,500, went to P.S. Vinothraj's Pebbles, while a Special Mention of the Jury was awarded to The Flood Won't Come, directed by Marat Sargsyan. 

The FIPRESCI Prize, offered by The International Federation of Film Critics for a film in the Romanian Days section, went to Bogdan George Apetri's Unidentified.

Dan Dinu and Cosmin Dumitrache's Wild Romania received the Audience Award for the most popular Romanian film.

TIFF also offered the Excellence Award to director Nae Caranfil, the Lifetime Achievement Award to actress Cezara Dafinescu, and the Special Transilvania 20 Award to film critic Dan Făinaru.

Furthermore, the Romanian Days Award for Best Feature Film, amounting to EUR 10,000 in post-production services, went to Otto the Barbarian, directed by Ruxandra Ghițescu. #dogpoopgirl, directed by Andrei Huțuleac, won the Romanian Days Award for Best Debut, while the Romanian Days Award for Best Short Film was granted to When Night Meets Dawn, directed by Andreea Borțun. Paul Mureșan's Cradle received the Special Mention of the Short Film Jury in the Romanian Days.

At the same time, the Alex. Leo Șerban Scholarship, worth EUR 2,500, went to A Flower is Not a Flower, a debut feature film and short story by Cristian Pascariu. 

The full list of TIFF 2021 awards is available here.

(Photo: Nicu Cherciu, courtesy of TIFF)

simona@romania-insider.com