Cristi Puiu

Directing

Cristi Puiu

Born 1967-04-03 · Bucharest, Romania

Cristi Puiu (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈkristi ˈpuju]; born 3 April 1967; Bucharest) is a Romanian film director and screenwriter. With Anca Puiu and Alex Munteanu, in 2004 he founded a cinema production company, naming it Mandragora. Cristian Emilian Puiu was born to Iuliana and Emilian Puiu in Bucharest, Romania. Puiu's first interest in art was painting. In 1992, he was admitted as a student to the Painting Department of École Supérieure d'Arts Visuels in Geneva. After the first year he switched to film studies at the same school, where he graduated in 1996. He started working in film after his return to Romania. Cristi Puiu's debut as a director was in 2001 with the low-budget road movie Stuff and Dough (Marfa și banii), starring Alexandru Papadopol and Dragoș Bucur. The film received several awards in international film festivals and competed in the Quinzaines des Realisateurs section of the Cannes Film Festival. Some critics say that this is the film that started the Romanian New Wave in cinema. He continued with a short film, Cigarettes and Coffee (Un cartuş de Kent și un pachet de cafea) (2004), which was awarded the Golden Bear for best short film at the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival. His second feature film, The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu (Moartea domnului Lăzărescu) (2005), was a dark comedy about an ailing old man who is carried by an ambulance from hospital to hospital all night long, as doctors refuse to treat him and send him away. The film was a critical success, being awarded the Prix Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival and numerous awards at other international film festivals. In 2006 this film gained 47 prizes, several nominations in the American Critics' Top 10 lists and in French magazines such as Telerama and Les Inrockuptibles.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu poster
7.4

After suffering terrible headaches and stomach cramps, Mr. Lăzărescu, a lonely 63 year-old man, calls for an ambulance, beginning one man’s hellish journey through Bucharest hospitals in search of proper medical care. As the night unfolds, his health starts to deteriorate fast.

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu

2005

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu poster
7.4

After suffering terrible headaches and stomach cramps, Mr. Lăzărescu, a lonely 63 year-old man, calls for an ambulance, beginning one man’s hellish journey through Bucharest hospitals in search of proper medical care. As the night unfolds, his health starts to deteriorate fast.

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu

2005

Sieranevada poster
6.9

Back from a professional trip to Paris, a neurologist at the pinnacle of his career has to pick up his wife so that they can attend a family meal to commemorate his father, who died a year before. At his mother's flat, the guests are waiting for the priest to arrive while arguing about all kinds of things connected and unconnected with the world’s events and wars.

Sieranevada

2016

Sieranevada poster
6.9

Back from a professional trip to Paris, a neurologist at the pinnacle of his career has to pick up his wife so that they can attend a family meal to commemorate his father, who died a year before. At his mother's flat, the guests are waiting for the priest to arrive while arguing about all kinds of things connected and unconnected with the world’s events and wars.

Sieranevada

2016

Saint Andrew of the Wolves poster
NR

In 1940, in Sinaia, in central Romania, on Saint Andrew's Day, Ionel Hațieganu, Sacha, Amy, Hegheduș and Rakovsky become the protagonists of an eventful story, in which the echoes of war begin to be heard and betrayal becomes the norm.

Saint Andrew of the Wolves

Saint Andrew of the Wolves poster
NR

In 1940, in Sinaia, in central Romania, on Saint Andrew's Day, Ionel Hațieganu, Sacha, Amy, Hegheduș and Rakovsky become the protagonists of an eventful story, in which the echoes of war begin to be heard and betrayal becomes the norm.

Saint Andrew of the Wolves

Aurora poster
5.7

A taciturn Romanian divorcee acquires a hunting rifle and initiates a killing spree.

Aurora

2011

Aurora poster
5.7

A taciturn Romanian divorcee acquires a hunting rifle and initiates a killing spree.

Aurora

2011

Niki and Flo poster
5.6

In this very black comedy about ill-suited neighbors united by marriage, Niki is a former colonel in the Romanian army whose daughter is married to the son of Flo, an aging Bohemian who is full of schemes for the “new” Romania. As the young couple prepares to emigrate to the U.S., Niki is obliged to interact with Flo, whom he finds totally unbearable.

Niki and Flo

2003

The Bridges of Sarajevo poster
6.3

Thirteen European directors explore the theme of Sarajevo; what this city has represented in European history over the past hundred years, and what Sarajevo stands for today in Europe. These eminent filmmakers of different generations and origins offer exceptional singular styles and visions.

The Bridges of Sarajevo

2014

The Bridges of Sarajevo poster
6.3

Thirteen European directors explore the theme of Sarajevo; what this city has represented in European history over the past hundred years, and what Sarajevo stands for today in Europe. These eminent filmmakers of different generations and origins offer exceptional singular styles and visions.

The Bridges of Sarajevo

2014

Stuff and Dough poster
6.5

A young man from Constanța who has his own business aims to expand, but he doesn't have the resources.

Stuff and Dough

2001

Stuff and Dough poster
6.5

A young man from Constanța who has his own business aims to expand, but he doesn't have the resources.

Stuff and Dough

2001

Malmkrog poster
6.8

Among the guests who come to the mansion of aristocratic landowner Nikolai over Christmas are a politician, a young countess, and a general with his wife. They dine and discuss topics such as progress and morality. As the debate becomes more heated, cultural differences become increasingly apparent.

Malmkrog

2020

Malmkrog poster
6.8

Among the guests who come to the mansion of aristocratic landowner Nikolai over Christmas are a politician, a young countess, and a general with his wife. They dine and discuss topics such as progress and morality. As the debate becomes more heated, cultural differences become increasingly apparent.

Malmkrog

2020

MMXX poster
6.6

Different portraits, four short stories, four moments in time capturing the wanderings of a few souls, stuck at the crossroads of History.

MMXX

2023

MMXX poster
6.6

Different portraits, four short stories, four moments in time capturing the wanderings of a few souls, stuck at the crossroads of History.

MMXX

2023

Offset poster
6.4

The plot focuses on the lives of the soon to be married Stefan, a German working in Romania for a wealthy and eccentric printing company owner, Nicu Iorga and his soon-to-be bride Brîndușa, who is Nicu's secretary.

Offset

2006

Cigarettes and Coffee poster
6.6

The father, fired two years before retirement, wants to get rehired, requiring the support of his son. The action takes place in a restaurant in Bucharest.

Cigarettes and Coffee

2004

Cigarettes and Coffee poster
6.6

The father, fired two years before retirement, wants to get rehired, requiring the support of his son. The action takes place in a restaurant in Bucharest.

Cigarettes and Coffee

2004

No artwork available
NR

A telephone repairman sits down at the table of a woman who is tactfully petting a puppy and begins to tell her some bizarre dreams. In a register of absurd comedy, the two analyze the young man's dreams.

Activitate psihică nedirijată

1998

Francesca poster
5.1

Wanting to follow the current trend, Francesca, a young teacher from Bucharest, is eager to emigrate to Italy. Unfortunately,whilst desperately seeking support from those nearest and dearest to her, various untold truths unravel.

Francesca

2009

Three Interpretation Exercises poster
5.2

Three films based on Three Conversations by Russian writer and philosopher Vladimir Solovyov.The actors' 'exercises' develop into a minimalistic trilogy on cinema and literature, social and spiritual life, acting in film and in real life.

Three Interpretation Exercises

2013

Three Interpretation Exercises poster
5.2

Three films based on Three Conversations by Russian writer and philosopher Vladimir Solovyov.The actors' 'exercises' develop into a minimalistic trilogy on cinema and literature, social and spiritual life, acting in film and in real life.

Three Interpretation Exercises

2013