Latin American films scoop prizes at Romanian festival

Two Latin American movies scooped the biggest prizes of the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF) which ended Saturday in the northwestern Romanian city of Cluj. "Sin Retorno" (No Return), by Argentine filmmaker Miguel Cohan, won the Transylvania award as well as the best screenplay prize, while "La Vida Util" (A Useful Life), by Uruguayan Federico Veiroj, picked up the jury's special prize. British actress Jaqueline Bisset, who handed the prize to Cohan, was in her turn honoured for her contribution to world cinematography. Michael York, who won a lifetime achievement award, was unable to attend for health reasons but sent a videotaped message from Los Angeles to thank the jury. The audience gave a standing ovation to Romanian filmmaker Lucian Pintilie, author among others of "Reconstituirea" (The Reenactment) and "Balanta" (The Oak), who was awarded the prize for excellence. The 10th edition of the festival, one of the most important in the Balkans, screened some 220 movies, including 3D productions by German Wim Wenders and Werner Herzog.