“Always! I played soccer as a libero”

It is the second supreme prize at Cannes won by the Romanian, after the one won by “4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days”, in 2007.

• The film “Fjord” follows the Gheorghiu family, a family of religious Romanian migrants, settled in Norway, from whom the Norwegian state takes one of their children, who showed up with a bruise at school.
• At the premiere celebration, this evening, Mungiu was accompanied by the main actors, Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, who play the roles of the parents in the film.
• The Palme d'Or is the most prestigious award given at the Cannes International Film Festival. It is the equivalent of the “Best Picture” award at the Academy Awards, and is considered one of the highest honors in the world film industry. The award is given to the director of the best feature film in the festival's official competition.

Cristian Mungiu, after winning the Palme d'Or award: “The first time is a surprise. Then comes the pleasure”

“Please allow me to savor the moment. The first time is a surprise. Then comes the pleasure. We always remember the second time. This evening will remain etched in my memory. This award makes me happy, but we will have to wait twenty years to know what the best films were. The state of the world is not the best. I am not very proud of what I leave to our children. Change should start with us. We need to talk about the relevant things, and they are at hand. We took the risk of raising our voice”, said the 58-year-old director after receiving the grand prize, according to news.ro.

“What I feel is the radicalization and fracturing of society. This film is a commitment against any form of fundamentalism, a plea for empathy, which we need to apply more often,” he added.

Which team is Cristian Mungiu with: “After the Negresti derby, in the Cup, the rivalry was born”

In an interview for Gazeta Sporturilor, in 2012, Mungiu, who is originally from Iași, was asked which Romanian football team he was with. The answer was a sharp one:

I have always been a fan of Poli Iasi. In my father's time it was called CSMS, but it doesn't matter. You know how it is with these teams, which one day have a different name. You stick with the team that was called what it was called when you were 14 years old. It's not very easy to keep up with Poli Iasi now, but I kept up with them when they were in A, B or C. During the period when they were in C, the local rivalry with Vasluiul was born. I remember that it was a derby, at Negresti, as it were, in the Cup. And from then on a small local thing started. So that's it. I have to watch their matches from time to time.

Mungiu confessed that he also played football:

I played, but not like my friend Porumboiu, who was a pro. I played at school. I finished a special philology high school. I was in a half-mechanics, half-mathematics-physics class. I also had some sports classes. And once or twice a year we played football, as it was called, with the “professionals”, almost “professionals”. I was enjoying it. But apart from school… There were other positions at that time, I played libero. I never went beyond this stage.

Currently, Poli Iasi is in League 2 in Romania.