“MMXX”, interview with director Cristi Puiu

October 1, 2023

Cristi Puiu, director of "MMXX": “The meaning of talent is debatable, when it comes to actors, I believe in courage not in talent”.

"MMXX", interview with director Cristi Puiu Chiara Nicoletti

Podcast | Download

At Kinótico, on the occasion of the special coverage of the San Sebastian Film Festival, in collaboration with FRED Film Radio, we talked with Cristi Puiu who is competing for the Concha de Oro with the film “MMXX“, a deep look into how Romania lived during the Covid 19 pandemic, through intersecting stories.

With Cristi Puiu we also talked about how the film is depicting the lack of communication between people and also about our responsibilities and our cowardice.

Cristi Puiu won the Cannes Un Certain Regard award with “Dommului Lazarescu (The Death of Mr. Lazarescu)”, which was included in 2014 in the Eastern Promises retrospective at San Sebastian. In 2010 he returned to Un Certain Regard with “Aurora”, in which he also played the lead character, and in 2016 opened the Official Competition at Cannes Film festival with “Sieranavada”, later screened in Perlak at San Sebastian Film Festival. In 2020, with “Malmkrog”, he won the Best Director Award in the Encounters section of the Berlin Film Festival.

Interview by David Martos.

Plot

Oana Pfifer, a young therapist, gradually slips into the net of the questionnaire she submits to her patient. Mihai, Oana’s brother, worrying about his birthday, is stuck in a story far bigger than he can handle. Septimiu, Oana’s husband, concerned about his health, vaguely listens to a strange story his colleague was caught up in a while ago. Narcis Patranescu, an organized crime detective, deals with an unsettling dark story while interrogating a young woman at a funeral.

Written by: Chiara Nicoletti

Kinótico