Ilarion Ciobanu was a famous Romanian actor. He also directed two films. In 1950 he had a rugby career as a player. His debut in cinema was when he was 30 years old. In the first edition of the Bucharest International Film Festival (BiFEST) in 2004, the actor received the Award of Excellence for his contribution to the art of cinema. Ciobanu Ilarion died the morning of September 7, 2008 , killed by throat cancer.