Actress Emilia Dobrin and film critic Valerian Sava to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at TIFF.24

With memorable roles in landmark stage productions and standout appearances on the big screen, Emilia Dobrin has distinguished herself through sensitivity, depth, and an inner strength that resonates through each performance. A 1971 graduate of the “I.L. Caragiale” Institute of Theatre and Film Arts, she recalls “learning the craft” from legendary directors such as David Esrig and Radu Penciulescu.

Her first appearances in cinema came during her university years, with roles in Sick Animals (dir. Nicolae Breban, 1970) and the beloved comedy Tonight We Dance in the Family (dir. Geo Saizescu, 1971). Around the same time, she developed a close professional and personal relationship with director Alexandru Tatos, which led to a series of acclaimed collaborations: Red Apples (1975), Rătăcire (1978), Sequences (1982), and The Secret of the Secret Weapon (1988).

Among the emblematic films she starred in during the communist era are Poor Ioanide (dir. Dan Pița, 1980), Man and His Shadow (dir. Iulian Mihu, 1981), and A Lump of Clay (dir. Nicolae Mărgineanu, 1989).

“She is endowed with wit and sensitivity, with a gravity in her voice (which, when she was very young, didn’t quite match her youthful appearance, but is now a major asset), with both strength and femininity. Emilia Dobrin can fill a void we too often fill with less fortunate choices,” said Alexandru Tatos in 1981.

After 1990, Dobrin continued to explore diverse roles in cinema, appearing in films such as Fury (dir. Radu Muntean, 2002), The Japanese Dog (dir. Tudor Cristian Jurgiu, 2013), and The Anniversary (dir. Dan Chișu, 2017). Recently, she returned to the screen in the award-winning The New Year That Never Was (dir. Bogdan Mureșanu), which will also screen at TIFF, and in the experimental docu-fiction Maia – A Portrait with Hands (dir. Alexandra Gulea).

Alongside her impressive film work, Emilia Dobrin has showcased her versatility in dozens of unforgettable stage productions directed by major Romanian theatre figures such as Alexandru Tocilescu, Claudiu Goga, Radu Afrim, and Eugen Jebeleanu. In 2016, she received the UNITER Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance as Elena in The House with Cats (dir. Radu Iacoban).

Valerian Sava, one of the most influential and enduring Romanian film critics, is the author of numerous landmark texts, including A Critical History of Contemporary Romanian Cinema, with a Retrospective from the Beginning (Meridiane Publishing, 1999) and the three-volume collection A Subjective History of the Cinematic Transition: The Fourth Wave, Mediocrate Restoration and the Rebirth of Romanian Cinema (Paralela 45 Publishing, 2011–2013).

In 1963, under the direction of Victor Iliu, Sava became a founding editor of Cinema magazine. During the 1970s and ’80s, he was the secretary of the Critics’ Section and co-organizer of the Critics’ Club of the Romanian Filmmakers’ Association, then headed by Ion Popescu Gopo. In the early 1990s, he was an associate lecturer at the National University of Theatre and Film (UNATC). He received the Romanian Filmmakers’ Association Award for Film Criticism in 1978.

Now at 90 years old, Valerian Sava remains tirelessly active and sharp, fully embracing the digital space, where he continues to post incisive commentary with enviable vigor. He remains a constant presence at major Romanian film events, including TIFF, which he has attended every year since its inception. His long-standing connection with the festival has inspired a series of books published in TIFF Cinefil Collection by Școala Ardeleană Publishing, now in its fourth volume: Post/Neo-history of Romanian Cinema (and Beyond) in Critical Mono-Dialogues (via Facebook & Extra-FB).

At the 2021 launch of the first volume, TIFF Artistic Director Mihai Chirilov wrote:

“Valerian Sava takes a stand. Sometimes with bite, especially when tilting at windmills doesn’t allow for a fair fight. Like any true critic, he stands by his words—even when swimming against the tide. He is firm but never dogmatic, and writes with the verve of a rebellious Facebook youth, but without the recklessness. His insights into the New Romanian Cinema are sharp and deeply articulated, his style uniquely complex and instantly recognizable, with a strong appetite for meaningful polemic—at a time when most arguments are stripped of substance.”