Director Cristian Mungiu collaborates in his newest project with the American actor of Romanian origin Sebastian Stan, nominated for the Best Actor in a Leading Role category at the Oscars for his portrayal of Donald Trump in “The Apprentice”, but also winner of the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his role in the film “A Different Man”, Agerpres reports.
The director’s new film – “Fjord” – is being shot mainly in Norway, and the cast includes actors from Denmark, Sweden and Romania.
Cristian Mungiu reveals, in an interview with AGERPRES, how he met Sebastian Stan, the idea behind the film, and when it could be offered to the public.
“With film, it’s easier to say when you hope to start than when you think you’ll finish. Many things depend on the actors’ schedules, the weather, the duration of the special effects and post-production. (…) At this moment, it’s more likely that the film will be ready to be shown to the public only in 2026, but after we finish filming we’ll know better if we could be ready faster,” said Mungiu.
The director also announces another project he will start working on after filming for “Fjord” ends – “Memories of the Golden Age 3”.
AGERPRES: You have started a new project – a film that has the working title “Fjord.” What is this film about?
Cristian Mungiu: Through the meanings of the story in “Fjord”, I continue to ask myself questions and bring into discussion aspects of today’s globalized society, in which people with very different cultures and upbringings end up intersecting, having to communicate and coexist – which is sometimes not easy to do. I probed this relationship of the individual with the atavistic part of himself in “RMN”, I sought an explanation for the reasons why Eastern Europeans identify with the victims of Western colonialism in “Traffic / Jaful Secolului”, and now, in “Fjord”, I question the causes of the extreme polarization in our world today. Society is divided, not only Romanian, but Western society as a whole, and it is not just about ideology or social classes, but also about substantial differences explained by very different education, culture, well-being, historical and religious developments. Today, in an era in which we theoretically proclaim tolerance and individual freedom, we are in fact almost incapable of assimilating visions of society and private life that are different from our own.
AGERPRES: Actor Sebastian Stan will have one of the main roles in your film. How was your first meeting with Sebastian Stan and how did he accept the role you offered him? What will be the role he will play?
Cristian Mungiu: In 2016, Sebastian came to the screening of “The Baccalaureate” at the New York Film Festival to meet us. I remember the meeting because his mother made the effort to drive 300 miles that day just so Sebastian and I could talk for a bit after the screening. We talked and he stayed in touch, to see if one day we could find a project to work on together.
A few years later, I invited Sebastian as a guest at the American Independent Film Festival, and that was his first meeting with the Romanian public. A very warm one, I would say, even though he didn’t have the notoriety he has today. We continued to talk and looked for ways to collaborate on other projects before “Fjord”, but for various reasons it wasn’t possible. Last year, however, it seemed to me, since I started writing the story, that Sebastian would be a good fit for the role in “Fjord”. I wrote to him, told him a little bit, then when I had the first version of the script ready, I sent it to him, he read it and we agreed that we would work together. Sebastian plays the role of a father who is looking for the most appropriate answers related to the education of his children in a society in rapid change.
AGERPRES: How is the collaboration with Sebastian Stan?
Cristian Mungiu: I will be able to tell you more about this after we finish filming. For now, we are not able to see each other very often physically, as Sebastian continues to have a lot of promotional obligations from the two remarkable films he made last year. However, we went through the script several times with him and his main partner in the film, Renate Reinsve, we talked about the character and discussed his biography, we exposed Sebastian to different experiences that he had to have in order to know what his character’s values ??and beliefs were, and we did various tests looking for the most suitable appearance and outfits.
AGERPRES: What is the subject of the film and where will the filming take place?
Cristian Mungiu: Filming will take place mainly in Norway. The film starts from the relationship between two families with children who end up living next to each other in a very small settlement, a proximity that makes them meditate more on the limits of personal freedom, the fluid border between family authority and that of society, as well as the relationship between personal values ??and social norms.
AGERPRES: What other actors are in the cast?
Cristian Mungiu: Renate Reinsve plays Sebastian’s wife in the film. There are many other actors from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, but also a few from Romania.
AGERPRES: You said that filming could start in March and finish in May. When do you expect the film to be ready to reach the public?
Cristian Mungiu: With film, it’s easier to say when you hope to start than when you think you’ll finish. A lot depends on the actors’ schedules, the weather, the duration of the special effects and post-production. We are in the process of creating a series of partnerships for the production of the film, associations that will give us as much creative freedom as possible. At this point, it is more likely that the film will be ready to be shown to the public only in 2026, but after we finish filming we will know better if we could be ready faster. A lot also depends on the date when we start filming for “Memories of the Golden Age 3”, which we hope to start working on as soon as possible after filming for “Fjord”.