Cristian Mungiu

Mungiu made his feature film debut with "Occident" (2002), a bittersweet comedy about three Eastern European youths unwittingly influencing each other's lives as they emigrate to the West. "Occident" was shown at over 75 film festivals across the globe, earning Mungiu 10 international audience and film critics' awards. The success of the film led Mungiu to take a considerable amount of time off between features - five years, to be exact - though he remained active throughout. He shot the "Turkey Girl" episode of "Lost and Found," a collection of short films made by directors from the former Eastern Bloc of the Soviet Union that was developed through the Berlinale Talent Campus in 2004. After serving as executive producer on comrade Didi Danquart's romantic comedy, "Offset" (2006), Mungiu formed Mobrafilms, a full service production company that covered everything from preproduction, production and post-production on features, shorts, documentaries and commercials.With the desire to tackle a film that was truly different, Mungiu began work on "4 Days, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" (2007) - chronicling the day in the life of a young Romanian student (Laura Vasiliu) who pays a steep price to a menacing doctor (Vlad Ivanov) for an illegal abortion during the last days of Communism in the country. Finely crafted with long, single-take shots, "4 Days" wowed audiences at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival where it took home the Palme d'Or.