Radu Jude
Radu Jude | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Jude in 2026 | |
| Born | 28 March 1977 Bucharest, Romania |
| Education | Media University of Bucharest |
| Occupations | Director Screenwriter |
| Years active | 2002–present |
Radu Jude (Romanian: [ˈradu ˈʒude]; born 28 March 1977) is a Romanian filmmaker. A figure in the Romanian New Wave, his films usually explore the country society and politics through comedy and satire.
He is most known for the comedy film Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (2021), which won the Golden Bear at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival. For Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (2023) he won the Special Jury Prize at the 76th Locarno Film Festival.
Biography
[edit]Early career
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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]
Personal life
[edit]Political beliefs
[edit]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]
Filmography
[edit]Feature films
[edit]| Year | English title | Original title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | The Happiest Girl in the World | Cea mai fericită fată din lume | |
| 2011 | A Film for Friends | Film pentru prieteni | Also producer |
| 2012 | Everybody in Our Family | Toată lumea din familia noastră | |
| 2015 | Aferim! | ||
| 2016 | Scarred Hearts | Inimi cicatrizate | |
| 2018 | I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians | Îmi este indiferent dacă în istorie vom intra ca barbari | |
| 2020 | Uppercase Print | Tipografic majuscul | |
| 2021 | Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn | Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc | |
| 2023 | Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World | Nu aștepta prea mult de la sfârșitul lumii | Also producer |
| 2025 | Kontinental '25 | ||
| Dracula | |||
| 2026 | The Diary of a Chambermaid | Journal d'une femme de chambre | French-language debut |
| 2027 | Love Diptych | Cum vine blînda noapte | In production |
| TBA | Frankenstein in Romania | Pre-production | |
Documentary
[edit]| Year | English title | Original title |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | The Dead Nation | Țara moartă |
| 2020 | The Exit of the Trains | Ieșirea trenurilor din gară |
| 2024 | Eight Postcards from Utopia | Opt ilustrate din lumea ideală |
| Sleep #2 | ||
Short films
[edit]Television
[edit]- În familie (TV series, 2002)
Other credits
[edit]Only Writer
[edit]- Stanka se pribira vkashti (2010)
- My Tired Father (co-writer, 2011)
- Film pentru prieteni (writer, 2011)
Assistant director
[edit]- Amen. (2002)
- Furia (2002)
- The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005)
Actor
[edit]- The Unknown (2026)[35]
Accolades
[edit]| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin International Film Festival | 15 February 2015 | Golden Bear | Aferim! | Nominated | [36] |
| Silver Bear for Best Director | Won | ||||
| 5 March 2021 | Golden Bear | Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn | Won | [37] | |
| 23 February 2025 | Kontinental '25 | Nominated | [38] | ||
| Silver Bear for Best Screenplay | Won | [39] | |||
| Karlovy Vary International Film Festival | 7 July 2018 | Crystal Globe | I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians | Won | [40] |
| Europa Cinemas Label Award | Won | ||||
| Locarno Film Festival | 12 August 2023 | Golden Leopard | Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World | Nominated | [41] |
| Special Jury Prize | Won | ||||
| Luxembourg City Film Festival | 16 March 2025 | The Grand Prix | Kontinental '25 | Nominated | [42] |
References
[edit]- ↑ "Radu Jude". Cinemagia (in Romanian).
- ↑ "Radu Jude, regizor: "Mă influențează viața mea și a celor din jur"". Adevărul (in Romanian). 14 April 2012.
- ↑ "Radu Jude". Festival Scope. Archived from the original on 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2015-02-15.
- ↑ Dalton, Stephen (11 February 2015). "Aferim! by Radu Jude Review". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (14 February 2015). "Aferim! wins the Silver Berlin Bear for Best Director". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ Linden, Sheri (21 January 2016). "Aferim!, Romania's entry for the Foreign Language Academy Awards won the Silver Berlin Bear for Best Director". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- 1 2 sfodor (2021-10-21). "Berlinale winner "Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn" is Romania's proposal for the 2022 Oscars". Romania Insider. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
- ↑ Barraclough, Leo (2018-08-02). "Oscars: Romania Selects 'Barbarians' as Academy Awards Entry". Variety. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
- ↑ Goodfellow, Melanie (21 January 2020). "Uppercase Print". Screen Daily. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ Cardamenis, Forrest (15 November 2021). "The Horror and Humor of Romania's Dictatorship". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ↑ Obenson, Tambay (20 January 2020). "Iesirea trenurilor din gara, by Radu Jude and Adrian Cioflanca". IndieWire. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ↑ "The Prizes of the International Jury". Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ↑ Staff, IndieWire (2025-06-16). "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)". IndieWire. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
- ↑ Zilko, Christian (2023-12-01). "Cahiers du Cinema Names Best Films of 2023, Including 'Anatomy of a Fall' and 'Close Your Eyes'". IndieWire. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
- ↑ "Radu Jude partiu a loiça toda em Locarno com uma sátira endiabrada aos tempos que correm". Expresso (in Portuguese). 2023-08-05. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
- ↑ Radu Jude (24 January 2025). "Kontinental '25". Cineuropa. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ↑ Rosser, Michael (21 January 2025). "Berlin film festival reveals 2025 competition line-up 2025". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ↑ Davide Abbatescianni (21 January 2025). "The Berlinale unveils the titles playing in its Competition and its Perspectives and Berlinale Special strands". Cineuropa. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ↑ Ntim, Zac (2025-02-22). "Berlin Film Festival: Norwegian Film 'Dreams (Sex Love)' Wins Golden Bear, Andrew Scott & Rose Byrne Take Acting Honors — Full List". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-02-22.
- ↑ "Romanian director Jude shoots latest film in 10 days on an iPhone". France 24. 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ Mona Tabbara (8 July 2025). "Locarno unveils 2025 line-up including premieres of Radu Jude's 'Dracula', Kamal Aljafari's 'With Hasan In Gaza'". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
- ↑ "Dracula". Locarno Film Festival. 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
- ↑ Crump, Andy (31 October 2025). "How a New Dracula Movie Became a Focal Point in the Debate Over AI in Film". Time. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ sfodor (2026-04-14). "Romanian director Radu Jude's latest project to premiere at Cannes Directors' Fortnight". Romania Insider. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
- ↑ Lavallée, Eric (2025-08-14). "Ana Dumitrascu, Vincent Macaigne & Mélanie Thierry Board Radu Jude's 'The Diary of a Chambermaid'". IONCINEMA.com. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
- ↑ Szalai, Georg (2025-08-10). "'Frankenstein in Romania': Sebastian Stan Set to Star in Film That Radu Jude Is Writing". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
- ↑ Pearce, Leonard (2026-05-08). "Radu Jude Will Shoot New Feature Love Diptych Next Month". Retrieved 2026-05-08.
- ↑ "The first clapperboard to slam on Radu Jude's Love Diptych this month". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. 2026-06-01. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ "Radu Jude, Hong Khaou and Maryam Zaree receive regional German fund backing for feature projects". ScreenDaily. 30 March 2026. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- ↑ "Gaza : des cinéastes du monde entier demandent un cessez-le-feu immédiat". Libération (in French). 28 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ↑ Newman, Nick (29 December 2023). "Claire Denis, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Christian Petzold, Apichatpong Weerasethakul & More Sign Demand for Ceasefire in Gaza". The Film Stage. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ↑ "Directors of cinema sign petition for immediate ceasefire". The Jerusalem Post. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ↑ "Shigeru Umebayashi (Japan) x Radu Jude (Romania) - Greetings from Crîngasi". YouTube. 15 September 2023.
- ↑ "Magic and defiance animate Berlinale Shorts". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. 2026-01-12. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
- ↑ "L'INCONNUE (THE UNKNOWN)". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
- ↑ Vladimir Kozlov (7 August 2015). "Berlin Winner 'Aferim!' Picked Up for U.S. Distribution". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
- ↑ Parfitt, Orlando (5 March 2021). "'Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn' wins Golden Bear at 2021 Berlin Film Festival". Screen Daily. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ↑ Scott Roxborough (21 January 2025). "Berlin Film Festival Lineup: Movies From Richard Linklater, Michel Franco, Hang Song-Soo in Competition (Full List)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ↑ Scott Roxborough (22 February 2025). "Norwegian Queer Love Story 'Dreams' Wins 75th Berlin Film Festival (Full Winners List)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
- ↑ Evans, Greg (2018-07-07). "Karlovy Vary Fest Gives Top Prize To Radu Jude's 'I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians' – Winners List". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
- ↑ "Radu Jude partiu a loiça toda em Locarno com uma sátira endiabrada aos tempos que correm". Expresso (in Portuguese). 5 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ↑ "Official competition the Luxembourg City Film Festival". Luxembourg City Film Festival. 13 February 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
