BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Tens of thousands of people gathered in Romania ’s capital Saturday to sit down at a miles-long table to break a Guinness record and raise money for what organizers said will be the country's first pediatric psychiatry hospital.
The 5,055-meter (3.1-mile) “Uniting Table” was sprawled along Unirii Boulevard to Constitution Square in front of Bucharest’s massive communist-era Palace of Parliament. The Romania-based organizers Bloom The World Association were awarded a certificate by Guinness World Records for the “longest table made from recycled materials.”
The event brought together a reported 20,000 people at the many tables, many of which were decorated with flowers and snacks.
Joanne Brent, a senior adjudicator and official onscreen judge for Guinness World Records, who joined the Bucharest event, said on stage that it proved that the record-breaking achievement had been put to good use.
“Everyone, 20,000 people I am told are here today, have come around one table and a common cause,” she said. “I get to see this often, people coming together, record-breaking achievements with real-world impact.”
Money raised from the event will go toward a 3,900-square-meter children’s psychiatric facility within the Obregia Hospital complex in Bucharest. It is being funded by private donations and sponsorships and will cost an estimated 16.5 million euros, according to the Metropolis Foundation, which is behind the construction project.
“It is a project that started from a real need,” the foundation states on its website. “The current section at Obregia Hospital operates in an old, overcrowded space, which no longer meets the medical and emotional needs of children. ... It means the chance to bring closer to reality a hospital that will benefit over 5,700 children facing severe mental illnesses annually."
The foundation says the number of children diagnosed with serious mental disorders, such as depression, behavioral disorders, substance use, autism and ADHD, has “increased alarmingly” in Romania, from 3,839 in 2018 to more than 5,600 in 2024.
The hospital's current pediatric psychiatry clinic has 62 beds, but wards with many beds that lack their own bathrooms, according to the foundation. It also states that the old facility's lack of space can make private discussions with patients and their families challenging.
The new five-level building will host medical offices, occupational therapy and virtual reality rooms, sensory and educational spaces, dedicated relaxation spaces, as well as a section dedicated to treating addiction among adolescents.
"We clearly want as many people as possible to donate (toward) the first psychiatric hospital for children,” said Alexa Vilcan of Bloom the World.
The previous Guinness record for the longest table made from recycled materials was also held by Bloom the World, measuring 2,782 meters in Romania's central town of Alba Iulia, and was recorded on the same date last year.
In 2023, Romania had one of the lowest healthcare budgets in the European Union relative to GDP at 5.7%, compared to a bloc average of about 10%, according to the EU’s statistics office, Eurostat.
Romania’s Minister of Health Alexandru Rogobete has pledged to support the initiative by supplying the “equipment and furniture necessary” to equip the medical facility, construction for which is scheduled to be completed by 2027.
McGrath reported from Leamington Spa, England.
People sit at a 5-kilometer (3.1 miles) long "Uniting Table", made from recycled materials, during a Guinness World Record event to raise money for a children's psychiatric facility, outside the communist-era built Palace of Parliament, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
VENICE, Italy (AP) — “Woman Unknown,” a drama about Denmark in the aftermath of the Nazi occupation directed by May el-Toukhy, won the prestigious Golden Lion at the 83rd Venice Film Festival on Saturday.
The Maggie Gyllenhaal -led jury announced the winners, which included a best actor prize for John Malkovich for his performance in the dark CIA comedy “Wild Horse Nine.”
Malkovich was not in attendance at the ceremony, but he sent a video message, explaining that he is shooting in Montreal.
“I am humbled to be chosen for this award which has been given to so many wonderful actors,” Malkovich said.
El-Toukhy, who was the only woman to have solely directed a film in the main competition this year, is the eighth woman to have won the festival's top prize.
“To me personally, ‘Woman Unknown’ is about the female body as a battleground,” el-Toukhy said. “At the same time the film tells the tale of women who are unseen, invisible and voiceless.”
She thanked Gyllenhaal for using her voice to shine a light on unequal opportunities for women in moviemaking.
The film, which does not yet have distribution in North America, is centered on a young nanny and housemaid who is about to marry her wealthy employer in the immediate aftermath of the war. But she harbors a secret past intimate relationship with a German soldier that threatens to upend her reputation. The lead, Mathilde Arcel, won the festival's best actress prize.
Arcel was visibly emotional as she accepted the award, which she placed on the floor as she spoke as she said it was very heavy.
“This is my first lead role in a movie and my first time at a film festival,” she said. “I’m extremely honored.”
South Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong’s poetic portrait of class and labor, “Possible Love,” won the Silver Lion grand jury prize. “Possible Love” is Lee’s first film in eight years, following his acclaimed “Burning.”
“We are living in an era where the meaning of labor is fading and human connections are increasingly becoming severed,” Lee said through a translator. “I made this film to ask what cinema can and should do in times like these. I take this award as a sign that you want me to keep asking these questions.”
“NAZA,” a harrowing documentary about military strategies employed in the war in Gaza from Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, was awarded a special jury prize.
“It’s honestly not very easy to stand here, thinking of all the people, the Israeli politicians, the journalists back home who are attacking this film, denying it without even seeing it,” Abraham said. “It is really, really especially important to us that Israelis watch this film.”
The was added to the main competition late — at the request of the filmmakers — and debuted late in the schedule as well, but its impact was felt as it received a record-breaking standing ovation, lasting some 25 minutes, after its premiere.
Shot on the rooftops of Tel Aviv at night in extreme secrecy over three years, “NAZA” features testimony from 24 Israeli military insiders including intelligence officers and soldiers give who insight into the war in Gaza and what they say is the systemic killing of Palestinian civilians.
The jury gave the Silver Lion for directing to Ilya Krzhanovsky for his film “Dau,” a project about the Soviet physicists who built the atomic bomb that has taken over 20 years to make. Krzhanovsky, who renounced his Russian citizenship in protest of the war in Ukraine, dedicated the prize to Ukrainians, including his mother who was born there.
French director Stéphane Brizé’s won the screenplay prize for his corporate drama “A Good Little Soldier.” Malou Khebizi was given the Marcello Mastroianni award for emerging actor for her role in Cédric Kahn’s “A Place to Heal,” which is set in an adolescent psychiatric ward in a public hospital.
The jury this year included “The Voice of Hind Rajab” director Kaouther Ben Hania, English composer Daniel Blumberg, French filmmaker Xavier Giannoli, Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat and Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To.
Aside from Malkovich's win, the starrier, Hollywood films playing in competition were shut out of the awards, including “Primetime,” “Bunker” and “Ink.”
Some look to the Venice Film Festival awards for early indications of who might be in with a shot at Oscar nominations and wins. In recent years, Venice has launched winning best actor campaigns for people like Brendan Fraser and Adrien Brody.
Malkovich has yet to win an Oscar.
For more coverage of the 2026 Venice Film Festival, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival
Jury member Johnnie To, left, presents director Lee Chang-dong the grand jury prize for the film 'Possible Love' during the closing ceremony of the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
John Malkovich poses for photographers at the red carpet for the film 'Wild Horse Nine' during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP)
Director May el-Toukhy poses for photographers after receiving the Golden Lion for best film for 'Woman Unknown' during the closing ceremony of the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Lee Chang-Dong poses for photographers at the closing ceremony red carpet during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
May el-Toukhy, left, and Mathilde Arcel Fock pose for photographers at the closing ceremony red carpet during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal poses for photographers at the closing ceremony red carpet during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Rachel Szor, left, and Yuval Abraham pose for photographers at the closing ceremony red carpet during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Maggie Gyllenhaal speaks to the audience prior to Ellen Burstyn receiving the golden lion for lifetime achievement during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Driector Lee Chang-dong, from left, Sul Kyung-gu, Jeon Do-yeon, Cho Yeo-jeong and Zo In-sung pose for photographers at the red carpet for the film 'Possible Love' during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP)
John Malkovich, left, and Sam Rockwell pose for photographers at the red carpet for the film 'Wild Horse Nine' during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP)
Directors Yuval Abraham, left, and Rachel Szor pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Naza' during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Robert Pattinson poses for photographers at the red carpet for the film 'Primetime' during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP)
