Born in 1968, Cristian Mungiu studied English and American literature. A graduate of Bucarest film school, he worked as assistant director on some 15 features from 1994 to 1998, among them Bertrand Tavernier's Captain Conan and Radu Mihaileanu's Train de vie. A journalist for various magazines, he has published short stories in literary periodicals and directed several prize-winning shorts. He wrote the scripts for Tina and her Mother and For City Ends. Occident is his first feature.