Oscars 2021: Double nominee happy to travel from Romania to share Oscar experience with other filmmakers

HOLLYWOOD -- Imagine you are a filmmaker, and your project becomes a hit that resonates with moviegoers around the world. Then you receive TWO Oscar nominations - the first Oscar nods ever for your home country. And then you remember there is a pandemic and the Oscar spotlight is much different than you expect!

In any other year, Academy Award nominees would arrive at a bustling Dolby Theatre for Oscar's big night. But this year's affair will be very scaled back, held at Union Station in downtown L.A. with a much smaller footprint.

No matter the scale, double nominee Alexander Nanau is happy he is able to travel from Romania to the U.S. for the event.

"We're looking forward to meet all our colleagues," said Nanau. "It was a year where we couldn't meet, face to face and there's great films and incredible talents. I can't wait to meet them."



Nanau's film "Collective" is nominated in two categories: best international feature and best documentary. "Collective" follows a team of journalists searching for answers in the wake of a Bucharest nightclub fire that killed 64 people. What they eventually uncovered was a government health care system riddled with corruption.

Nanau thinks all of the nominated films told stories that were important for us to hear this year.

"What can I say? How can you not watch the films that describe the world that we're living in," said Nanau. "It expands your perception of the world, and your whole personality, because you live through the stories."

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