01What happened

The story, straight

Cristi Iftime's 'The Fear's Artist' and Marius Olteanu's 'We Won't Get Old Together' were named dual recipients of the inaugural Transilvania HBO Award at the Transilvania International Film Festival's industry awards ceremony. The two Romanian projects, both from the festival's Works in Progress program, will share the €30,000 ($34,400) prize.

two Romanian films — Cristi Iftime's 'The Fear's Artist' and Marius Olteanu's 'We Won't Get Old Together' — just split the first-ever Transilvania HBO Award at TIFF's industry ceremony. They're both works-in-progress picks, sharing a €30,000 pot that works out to about $34,400.

02Spread timeline

Where it actually started

Jun 21, 2026Origin
Variety reports both films won the inaugural Transilvania HBO Award at the festival's industry awards ceremony.Variety breaks the news — both films take the first-ever prize
source

03Source receipts

Every claim, linked

04What's solid, what isn't

What's solid and what isn't

Confirmed
  • 'The Fear's Artist' and 'We Won't Get Old Together' won the inaugural Transilvania HBO Award.
  • The prize is €30,000 ($34,400), split between the two films.
  • Both projects are from the festival's Works in Progress program.

05Why it matters

The editorial take

The Transilvania HBO Award is a new prize, and the decision to split it between two projects signals the festival's investment in emerging Romanian filmmaking. Both films are still in progress, meaning the funding arrives at a critical production stage — a model more festivals are adopting to support projects before completion.

brand-new prize, immediately split between two films — that's the festival saying Romanian cinema has too much good stuff to pick just one. And the money lands while both projects are still in production, which is when it actually matters.