Mungiu was born in Iași. After studying English literature at the University of Iaşi, he worked for a few years as a Teacher and as a Journalist. After that, he enrolled at the University of Film in Bucharest to study film directing. After graduating in 1998, Mungiu made several short films. In 2002, he debuted with his first feature film, Occident, which enjoyed critical success, winning prizes in several film festivals and being featured in Director’s Fortnight at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2007 Mungiu wrote and directed his second feature, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. The film was received enthusiastically, attracting critical praise and being selected in the official competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d'Or for feature film, marking the first time that prize was awarded to a Romanian filmmaker.
After Beyond the Hills (2012) Cristian Mungiu's new project will deal with parenting and focus on a male character. The producer-writer-director hoped to shoot it in 2015 "ideally while there are still leaves on the trees."
In 2013 he produced the next film of Nae Caranfil, 6.9 on Richter. In April 2013 he was selected as a member of the main competition jury at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
