"Death of Mr Lazarescu" picks up new awards

Romania's contender for a foreign-language Oscar "The Death of Mr Lazarescu" looks like being this season's hot ticket in European cinema, as it has picked up another set of awards in Namur. The film, scripted by Cristi Puiu and Razvan Radulescu, is the tale of an elderly man being shipped between hospitals in the middle of the night - a road movie in an ambulance. As well as its previous awards such as Un Certain Regard at Cannes, "Lazarescu" picked up the Bayard d'Or Best Film Award at the International Festival of French-speaking Cinema (although I'm not sure how much French is spoken in the movie) as well as a "mention spéciale" in the First Film section, although the award went to Stefan Libersky's "Bunker Paradise". Luminita Gheorghiu was also singled out as the Best Actress.

In addition to its screenings, the Namur festival is an important date in the production calendar as its hosts a co-production forum and numerous international workshops and round tables.

For the full award line-up (in French) visit the International Festival of French-Speaking Cinema.