A Romania in the Jury of the Cannes Film Festival

Romanian film director Cristian Mungiu is part of the jury of the Cannes Film festival, alongside international movie stars like actress Nicole Kidman, Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee and Austrian actor Cristoph Waltz.

After winning the Palme d’Or in 2007 with his film “4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days”, romanian director and screenwriter Cristian Mungiu returns to the Cannes Film festival in 2013, this time as a jury member alongside important names of the world film industry.

Renowned American director Steven Spielberg will chair the jury that hands out the top prize, which also includes American movie star Nicole Kidman and Indian actress Vidya Balan. The latter is one of the most successful Indian actresses of the moment, her presence in the jury mirroring the organizers’ decision to mark 100 Years of Indian Cinema.

The jury also includes, apart from Cristian Mungiu, Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee, French actor Daniel Auteuil who has also taken up directing, the recent Oscar winner Christopher Waltz and women directors Naomi Kawase of Japan and Synne Ramsay of England. Having Cristian Mungiu in the jury of the Cannes Film Festival is, according to experts, a great honor for Romanian cinematography, and something at least equally important as the selection of a Romanian film.

After being acclaimed internationally six years ago for his film “4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days”, a drama about illegal abortions in Romania during the communist regime, the Romanian filmmaker returned to Cannes again in 2012 with the production “Beyond the Hills” which won two awards for Best Script and Best Actress, the latter being shared by the Romanian debut actresses Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur.

Written and directed by Cristian Mungiu, the feature film is based on a true story of an exorcism gone wrong. This year’s edition of the Cannes Film Festival will open with the screening of “The Great Gatsby”, featuring Leonardo the Caprio. As many as 19 productions by renowned directors like Roman Polanski, Paolo Sorrentino, Steven Soderberg and the Cohen brothers compete for the grand prize.

Leonardo di Caprio, Rober Retford, Matt Damon and Michael Douglas are but a few of the big names attending the festival this year. Moreover, organizers have invited American actress Kim Novak to attend the restored version of one of the masterpieces of world cinematography, “Vertigo” by Alfred Hitchcock, in which she stars alongside James Stewart.

Although Romania is not competing for the grand prize this year, it is still represented in Cannes with two productions, the short film “Shadow of A Cloud” by Radu Jude, in the Quinzane des Realisateurs section and “In the Fish Tank”, by Tudor Giurgiu, who entered his production in the Cinefondation section.

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