Winner of the FIPRESCI Award at Cannes 2002.

Before filmmaker Cristian Mungiu collected the coveted Palme d'Or at last year's Cannes Film Festival with 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days (MIFF 07), he wowed critics and audiences alike with his debut feature, a bitter comedy about young people looking to emigrate from Romania.

Occident is set at the dawn of post-Ceausescu Romania, where the excitement of newly acquired freedom is tempered by the harsh economic and political realities of the new society. Mungiu weaves three different storylines that take place at the same time - crossing and interconnecting - with characters often influencing each other without even knowing it. And sometimes, the true nature of a situation is only revealed once viewed from another character's point of view.