Born in Romania in 1967, Cristi Puiu is an artist, director, screenwriter and producer, known for his use of the camera as an instrument for an anthropological approach to cinema. He made his directorial debut with Stuff and Dough (2001), founding, three years later, the production company Mandagrora, together with his wife, Anca Puiu, also a director, and Alex Munteanu, a producer. In 2005, Mandragora delivers its first production and Cristi Puiu’s second feature film, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu. It is with this film that the director is present for the first time in major festivals, namely in Cannes, where he won the Best Film Award in the Un Certain Régard Section. His third feature film, Aurora, also premiered in the same section of the Cannes Film Festival, in 2010, and was part of the Estoril Film Festival Competition. From his filmography, Sieranevada (2016), also selected for the official Cannes competition and equally praised, stands out. In 2020, with Malmkrog, he won the Encounters Award for Best Director at the Berlin Festival.

Cristi Puiu's work is governed by his constant reflection on moral values and philosophical conceptualizations, and is guided by references to literature and a libertarian search for the frontiers of cinematic savoir-faire, as well as the ones of the human condition itself.