The anticipated film Fjord, Romania’s entry for Best International Film at the 99th Academy Awards, directed by Cristian Mungiu had a screening this past weekend at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse as part of the BFI London Film Festival. The film stars Academy Award nominee Sebastian Stan and Academy Award nominee Renate Reinsve.
Fjord is described as a legal thriller about an immigrant Romanian family who moved to Norway where they undergo an investigation under the local judicial system. It is said to have a profound moral dilemma, and Mungiu has pushed the audience to argue about the film.
One letterboxd user writes: “Fascinating! Mungiu never tells me what to think but forces me to confront the fact that reality can’t be reduced to a single narrative”.
Cristian Mungiu is a Romanian filmmaker who is well known for this Palme d’Or winning film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, an award Fjord also won some months ago.
It is not a surprise why the Winter Soldier, Sebastian Stan, was chosen for this film. He has mentioned prevously how he was born in Romania and fled to the United States as a child due to Romania’s political climate. Not only is he one of the few mainstream actors to know Romanian, but his background makes the story personal for him. Stan was nominated for Best Actor at the 97th Academy Awards for his portrayal of Donald J. Trump in The Apprentice.
Renate Reinsve is a Norwegian born actress. She moved to Edinburgh when she was 17 where she performed in small theatres during the Fringe Festival. She had her film debut in 2011 with Oslo, August 31st. She was nominated for Best Actress at the 2025 Oscars for her role in Sentimental Value.
Both actors have worked together before in the 2024 film A Different Man, a thriller which follows an actor with a facial disfiguration who undergoes a procedure to change his face. The film was nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 97th Academy Awards.
Fjord is Romanians entry for the 99th Academy Awards for Best International Film and it is predicted to be also nominated for Best Film. The film it is set to release in UK theatres next month.
Some other films from the BFI London Film Festival making their way to the Filmhouse are The Debut, Wild Horse Nine, Elsinore, and Making Marie Antoniette.
