Cristian Mungiu (; born 27 April 1968) is a
Romanian
filmmaker. He won the
Palme d'Or at the
2007 Cannes Film Festival for his film ''
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'', which he wrote and directed. He has also won the awards for
Best Screenplay and
Best Director, at the
2012 and
2016 Cannes Film Festivals, for his films ''
Beyond the Hills'' and ''
Graduation''.
Early life
Mungiu was born in
Iași. His sister is political analyst
Alina Mungiu-Pippidi. After studying
English literature at the
University of Iaşi, he worked for a few years as a teacher and as a journalist. After that, he enrolled at the
University of Film in
Bucharest to study
film directing. After graduating in 1998, Mungiu made several
short films.
Career
In 2002, he debuted with his first
feature film, ''
Occident'', which enjoyed critical success, winning prizes in several
film festivals and being featured in
Director's Fortnight at the
2002 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2007, Mungiu wrote and directed his second feature, ''
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days''. The film was received enthusiastically, attracting critical praise and being selected in the official competition at the
2007 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the
Palme d'Or for feature film,
marking the first time that prize was awarded to a Romanian filmmaker.
His 2012 film ''
Beyond the Hills'' was screened in competition at the
2012 Cannes Film Festival where Mungiu won the award for
Best Screenplay and
Cristina Flutur and
Cosmina Stratan shared the award for
Best Actress.
The film was also selected as the Romanian entry for the
Best Foreign Language Oscar at the
85th Academy Awards,
making the January shortlist.
In 2013, he produced the next film of Nae Caranfil, ''6.9 on Richter''. In April 2013, he was selected as a member of the main competition jury at the
2013 Cannes Film Festival.
His next film,
''Graduation'', premiered at the
2016 Cannes Film Festival. The film was in competition for the Palme d'Or; though it did not win, Mungiu won the award for
Best Director.
Influences and style
Mungiu has said that early
Miloš Forman and
Robert Altman are important filmmakers who influenced him. He also respects the realism of ''
Bicycle Thieves'', among other famous realistic films.
Awards and nominations
Honours
*
Romanian Royal Family: 70th Knight of the
Royal Decoration of the Cross of the Romanian Royal HouseCrucea Casei Regale a României
/ref>
Filmography as director
* 2000
** ''Corul pompierilor'' (short)
** ''Nicio întâmplare'' (short)
** ''Zapping'' (short)
* 2002 – ''Occident''
* 2005 – ''Lost and Found'' - segment ''Turkey Girl''
* 2007 – ''4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days''
* 2009 – ''Tales from the Golden Age''
* 2012 – ''Beyond the Hills''
* 2016 – ''Graduation''
See also
* Romanian New Wave
References
External links
*
* (Romanian
7 scenarii (7 Scripts)
Editura LiterNet - screenplays volume by Cristian Mungiu
interview with ''4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'' director Cristian Mungiu
at -films.net
* In-depth anlayses o
Mungiu's films
and o
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mungiu, Cristian
Category:1968 births
Category:Living people
Category:Romanian film directors
Category:Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography alumni
Category:Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director winners
Category:Directors of Palme d'Or winners
Category:European Film Award for Best Director winners
Category:Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni
Category:Film people from Iași