Catane , the narrative directorial debut of Romanian filmmaker Ioana Mischie, claimed the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Film at SEEfest , the South East European Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Mischie’s comedy takes place in a remote, mountainous village in Romania where every one of the inhabitants has applied for government benefits, claiming disabilities of various kinds. Suspicious government officials are sent to investigate, resulting in a sequence of humorous, often laugh-out-loud encounters.

“In a world overflowing with content, it’s rare to encounter a story that feels new,” the SEEfest jury wrote in its statement. “From the directing and cinematography, to the lighting and costume design.…