Sunday, May 24, 2026, 8:56 p.m
1958 readings
Cristian Mungiu, in a press conference, in Cannes, May 2026 / LeMagCinema video capture – YouTube
Cristian Mungiuthe star of the Film Festival from cannes 2026, awarded for the feature film “Fjord”, argues that contemporary society must find the balance lost in recent years. The filmmaker hopes that “ultraconservatives” and “ultraliberals” will not use the film for the ongoing ideological war.
Arriving back in Romania, on Sunday, May 24, Mungiu expressed his hope that his film will succeed in encouraging viewers to introspect, in the context of the radicalization of society.
“There’s a kind of deeply human side touched by this irreparable conflict that we see in society today, between the ultraconservatives and the ultraliberals, if you will. My plea is that we try some kind of middle ground. This kind of fundamentalism, that it’s left or right involves the same kind of mental ossification and the inability to identify with the other,” said the director.
Cristian Mungiu’s alarm signal: “This attitude in which you think that only you own the truth and you think that everyone else must conform to you, leads nowhere but to a violent conflict”
The lack of dialogue, empathy and consensus can generate extremely dangerous events, warns Mungiu.
“I think we have to try to make this effort, to understand why others have a different opinion than us and how we can, however, live in the same society and not in one so divided, where we don’t care if everyone else sinks and goes to the center of the Earth. It’s not normal. It’s just the first step to take everything by the throat and you see that in general, we live in a very polarized society today, and I’m not just referring to the Romanian society… We have to we’re looking for a way out of this. If not, we know what’s happening, anyone who’s been watching what’s happening, realizes that from this attitude in which you think that only you own the truth and you think that everyone else has to conform to you, it leads nowhere but to a violent conflict,” the filmmaker said.
Cristian Mungiu’s warning and hope: “My efforts are to initiate a dialogue”
In this context, the Cannes award-winning director expressed his hope that his film will not be used as a propaganda tool by the radicals in the conflict.
“What makes me the most happy… In the last 24 hours I received 5 awards for this film. It was declared the best film by all the Cannes juries. It means that it reaches more than a certain social class. I am very interested in this film not being seized in Romania as propaganda by either the ultra-conservative or the ultra-liberal camp, because my efforts are to initiate a dialogue”, the filmmaker added.
Cristian Mungiu’s film, with chances for Oscar
The drama of the Bodnariu family is the basis of the film “Fjord”. More specifically, the feature film tells the story of a Romanian-Norwegian family whose peaceful life is turned upside down when they come into conflict with the representatives of the child protection system in Norway.
“Fjord” received five awards, including the top prize at Cannes, and the feature film will be nominated for the Academy Awards, by Ministry of Culture.
