Radu Jude

Early career

In 2003, Jude studied at the Film Directing Department at the Media University of Bucharest. He worked as an assistant director for feature films including Amen., directed by Costa-Gavras and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, directed by Cristi Puiu. He directed several short films, among them Corp la corp (2003), Marea Neagră (2004), Lampa cu căciulă (2006) – the most awarded Romanian short film of all time, winner of grand prizes at Sundance, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Grimstad, Hamburg, Bilbao, Huesca, Trieste, Montpellier, Cottbus, Aspen, IndieLisboa, Brussels, Mediawave, Kraków, Almería, Valencia, Uppsala and selected, among others, at Toronto, Telluride, New Directors/New Films Festival, Tampere, Rotterdam. His short films Dimineața (2007) and Alexandra (2007) were selected in over 30 festivals, including Clermont-Ferrand, San Francisco, Cottbus, and Oberhausen (where he won the Grand Prix). Jude also directed over 100 commercials.^[1]

The Happiest Girl in the World is his feature debut.^[2] Before the theatrical release in Romania, Cea mai fericită fată din lume won the CICAE Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, the FIPRESCI Award (International Federation of Film Critics) at the Sofia International Film Festival, the Prize for Best Screenplay at the Bucharest International Film Festival and FIPRESCI Prize at IndieLisboa. The film was selected in ACID Programme at 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

2010s

His thriller film Everybody in Our Family (2012) premiered at the Forum section of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival. It won the Heart of Sarajevo Award at the 2012 Sarajevo Film Festival.^[3]

Aferim! (2015),^[4] won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.^[5] It was also selected for the Tribeca Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival, AFI Fest, and London Film Festival. It was selected as the Romanian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, reaching the December shortlist but was not nominated.^[6]

His biographical film Scarred Hearts (2016), won the Special Jury Prize at the 69th Locarno Film Festival. It also won the Best Director award at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival.^[7]

I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians (2018) won the Crystal Globe at the 53rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. It was selected as the Romanian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.^[8]

2020s

Uppercase Print (2020) had its world premiere at the Forum section of the 70th Berlin International Film Festival. It follows Mugur Călinescu, a Romanian teenager who wrote protest graffiti messages against the communist regime of dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and was subsequently arrested and interrogated by the secret police.^[9][10] The festival also featured his archival footage documentary film The Exit of the Trains, co-directed with Adrian Cioflâncă.^[11]

Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (2021) won the Golden Bear at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival.^[12] It follows Emi Cilibiu, a history teacher at a prominent Romanian secondary school, who has a sex tape with her husband leaked online. The film was selected as the Romanian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.^[7]

An English-language monograph on Jude's work was published in 2023: Beyond the New Romanian Cinema: Romanian Culture, History, and the Films of Radu Jude, by Andrei Gorzo and Veronica Lazăr.^{[citation needed]}

Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (2023), won the Special Jury Prize at the 76th Locarno Film Festival, it follows Angela a young worker frustrated with Romania contemporary society dynamics. It was later screened at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and at the 2023 New York Film Festival. It ranked seventh on Cahiers du Cinéma's top 10 films of 2023, while IndieWire ranked the film at number 38 on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)".^[13][14] It was selected as Romanian entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 96th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.^[15]

Eight Postcards from Utopia (2024), a documentary composed entirely of archival advertisement footage from post-communist Romania explored the country's economic transition. The film had its world premiere out of competition of the 77th Locarno Film Festival.

His drama film Kontinental '25 (2025), loosely inspired by the Roberto Rossellini film Europe '51 (1952),^[16] had its world premiere at the main competition of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival,^[17][18] where it won the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay.^[19] It follows a bailiff in Cluj-Napoca who faces a moral crisis when a homeless man she has evicted kills himself. It was Jude's first production shot on IPhone due to a tight budget.^[20]

Also in 2025, Jude released Dracula, loosely inspired by Bram Stoker's classic novel of same name. Set in contemporary Transylvania, it explores the echoes of the Dracula legend in Romanian society and politics.^[21] The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 78th Locarno Film Festival in 2025, where it was nominated for Golden Leopard.^[22] Also shot on IPhone, the film drew controversy for its use of artificial intelligence, although it was used for satirical purposes.^[23]

His French-language debut feature, The Diary of a Chambermaid (2026), had its world premiere at the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.^[24] Starring Ana Dumitrașcu, Mélanie Thierry and Vincent Macaigne, it's loosely based on the novel of same name by Octave Mirbeau.^[25]

Upcoming projects

In 2025, Jude confirmed he would shoot Frankenstein in Romania, loosely inspired by the 1818 novel by Mary Shelley and starring Sebastian Stan. Like Jude's previous works, the film will explore contemporary Romania.^[26]

In 2026, Jude confirmed plans for filming Love Diptych, another feature film loosely inspired by the Roberto Rossellini works (1948's L'amore).^[27] Shooting will start between 10 and 24 June 2026, with a small budget of just half a million euros.^[28] It's expected to premiere in early 2027.

Also in 2026, Jude received €400,000 in backing for a project named Heia, Heia, Safari, revolving around a German art student whose research into a 1917 German POW-camp, located in Romania, for African colonial soldiers causes controversy at her university. The project is co-written with German writer and director Heleen Gerritsen.^[29]

Political beliefs

In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Jude signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.^[30][31][32]

Feature films

Documentary

Short films

• Lampa cu căciulă (2006)
• Alexandra (2006)
• Dimineața (2007)
• O umbră de nor (2013)
• Trece și prin perete (2014)
• Plastic Semiotic (2021)
• The Potemkinists (2022)
• Greetings from Crîngasi (2023)^[33]
• Shot Reverse Shot (2026)^[34]

Television

• În familie (TV series, 2002)

Other credits