Cristian Mungiu (; born 27 April 1968) is a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n filmmaker. He won the Palme d'Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival for his film ''

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days ''4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'' ( ro, 4 luni, 3 săptămâni și 2 zile) is a 2007 Romanian art film written and directed by Cristian Mungiu and starring Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, and Vlad Ivanov. The film is set in Communist Romania i ...

'', which he wrote and directed. He has also won the awards for

Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...

and Best Director, at the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and

2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian director George Miller was the President of the Jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies. On 15 Marc ...

s, for his films '' Beyond the Hills'' and ''

Graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

''.

Early life

Mungiu was born in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

. His sister is political analyst Alina Mungiu-Pippidi. After studying

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

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 Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

to study

film directing A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pro ...

. After graduating in 1998, Mungiu made several

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

Career

In 2002, he debuted with his first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

, '' 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, ''

''. 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 The 65th Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian film director Nanni Moretti was the President of the Jury for the main competition and British actor Tim Roth was the President of the Jury for the Un Certain Regard sectio ...

where Mungiu won the award for

and

Cristina Flutur Cristina Flutur is a Romanian film and theatre actress. In 2012 she made her debut in cinema, portraying the complex Alina Ringhis, main character in Cristian Mungiu's praised drama, Beyond the Hills. For her outstanding performance in this fil ...

and

Cosmina Stratan Cosmina Stratan (born 20 October 1984) is a Romanian film actress. She is best known for her performance as Voichița in Beyond the Hills. Selected filmography Awards * Best Actress Award at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival The 65th Canne ...

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 The 85th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2012 and took place on February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p. ...

, 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 The 66th Cannes Film Festival took place in Cannes, France, from 15 to 26 May 2013. Steven Spielberg was the head of the jury for the main competition. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the Cinéfondation and ...

. In 2016, he directed a tragedy, ''Graduation'', which premiered at the

. The film was in competition for the Palme d'Or. It did not win, but Mungiu won the award for Best Director. Mungiu was the Jury President of the

Semaine de la Critique Critics' Week (french: link=no, Semaine de la critique), until 2008 called International Critics' Week ('), is a parallel section to the Cannes Film Festival organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. It was created in 1962 after the Fre ...

non-competitive section of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. At the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, Munjiu's feature '' R.M.N.'' was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The film's coproducers include the

Dardenne brothers Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne (; born 21 April 1951) and Luc Dardenne (born 10 March 1954), collectively referred to as the Dardenne brothers, are a Belgian filmmaking duo. They write, produce, and direct their films together. The Dardennes ...

' Les Films du Fleuve.

Influences and style

Mungiu has said that

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Forman ...

and

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New ...

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 The Romanian royal family ( ro, Familia regală a României) was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Romania, a constitutional monarchy in Central-Eastern Europe. The kingdom existed from 1881, when Carol I of Romania was proclaimed king, unti ...

: 70th Knight of the Royal Decoration of the Cross of the Romanian Royal HouseCrucea Casei Regale a României
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Filmography as director

* 2000 ** ''Corul pompierilor'' (short) ** ''Nicio întâmplare'' (short) ** ''Zapping'' (short) * 2002 – '' Occident'' * 2005 – ''Lost and Found'' - segment ''Turkey Girl'' * 2007 – ''

'' * 2009 – ''

Tales from the Golden Age ''Tales from the Golden Age'' ( ro, Amintiri din epoca de aur) is a 2009 Romanian omnibus film. It was screened as part of the Un Certain Regard section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. The film is composed of six whimsical yet blackly comic ...

'' * 2012 – '' Beyond the Hills'' * 2016 – ''

'' * 2022 – '' R.M.N.''

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 analyses o
Mungiu's films
and o
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mungiu, Cristian 1968 births Living people Romanian film directors Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography alumni Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director winners Directors of Palme d'Or winners European Film Award for Best Director winners Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni Film people from Iași Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay winners