Cristi Puiu
- Director, Screenwriter, Actor
- Born: 03.04.1967 in Bucharest
He was born in Bucharest, in Titan neighbourhood, whose human fauna he is to bring later to the big screen through a series of films under the title: „Stories from the Outskirts of Bucharest”. During his childhood years, he spent a lot of time playing with his brother in the courtyard of Colentina Hospital, where his father worked as a manager. That is why he initially wanted to be a doctor, building up a chemistry laboratory complete with test tubes and other utensils on the balcony of the family flat.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, with 25.12. Bucharest, North Railway Station.
Trivia
- The film Moartea Domnului Lăzărescu (The Death of Mr.Lăzărescu) ranks 3rdin the ”Top 10 Best Romanian Movies of All Time”, publishedin 2008 and ranked by 40 film reviewers.
- With Anca Puiu and Alex Munteanu, in 2004 he founded a cinema production company, naming it Mandragora.
- He remarried Anca, a childhood friend and neighbour. Together, they have three daughters: Smaranda, Ileana, Zoe
- Ileana Puiu shows signs of stepping into her parents' footsteps, joining the cinema world ever since she was very small. Gifted at drawing, like her father, Ileana is the author of the post for the short Morgen, produced by Mandragora and directed by Marian Crişan, and in 2010 she made her debut as an actress in the film Aurora, playing the part of Viorel's daughter.
Cristi Puiu about...
...actors: „With some actors I'm friends, with others I'm not. The personal relationship you have with an actor matters a great deal, both as regards the pluses and minuses of such friendship. An actor friend may either put a minimum resistance, or they may give their best. It is all about the respect you have for yourself and your job. There are actors, a lot of them, who from the very start have certain ideas about how their character it is supposed to look, and come to me with their proposals. I don't allow this on my set. The first thing I ask of them is to know the lines. I listen to them saying the lines, and only afterwards may they pitch their proposals.”
...editing: „Jean-Luc Godard is a hundred percent right: „each cut is a lie“. This is why I would like my films to unfold in real time. Since that's not possible, I do my best that the pieces between cuts are undeniably true.”
