Nanau told FNE he got word of the nomination while attending MIP-Doc. Nanau heard of Ion Barladeanu when the then-unknown artist was living on the streets and sifting through garbage. He was discovered by chance, and his collages which juxtapose a communist past wih western icons catapulted him to international attention, with gallery showings alongside world famous artists. Nanau's documentary follows Barladeanu on a journey as surrealistic as the images the artist creates.

The film competed in the Bratislava IFF (www.iffbratislava.sk). It was awarded the prize for Best Balkan Documentary in Kosovo and received a national Gopo award for Best Documentary, along with awards from Neurandenburg and Montenegro.

The World According to Ion B. was produced by HBO Romania (www.hbo.ro) and Alexander Nanau Production, in collaboration with Avro-Netherlands, YLE Teema and SVT Sweden.