Cristi Puiu is considered to be a pioneer of the “Romanian New Wave” movement. In 2005, he won the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes for his film, The Death of Mister Lazarescu (2005). The film Aurora (2010) was also screened in Cannes and won the East of the West Award at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. The drama Sieranevada (2016) was nominated for a Palme d’Or Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Puiu often uses documentary film techniques in his feature-length films. His masterclass answers the questions of whether he uses them to achieve “truth” and greater authenticity, whether a documentary is more truthful than a feature film, whether there is any truth to film at all, or whether Godard’s saying, “every cut is a lie,” remains a valid notion.
