It is rush hour in Bucharest and young businessman Tudor is soon to be late for a meeting. Every passing minute seems endless as he sits wedged behind the wheel of his car. When he finally abandons his vehicle to confront a family drama, he finds a new perspective on the everyday life he leads. Trafic is a disturbing and dazzling introspective into the sometimes meaningless rituals of contemporary urban life. It won the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film at the Cannes International Film Festival.

Awards and festivals

Palme d’Or Cannes 2004 for Best Short Film
ARTE Award Premiers Plans Festival, Angers
Special Award of the Jury Premiers Plans Festival, Angers

Official selection: Rotterdam, Sarajevo, Athens, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, Oslo, Vienna, Florence, Paris, Brussels, Jerusalem, Milan, Berlin, amongst others.

Catalin Mitulescu, Director

Born in 1972 in Bucharest, Romania Catalin Mitulescu graduated from the UNATC’s (National University of Drama and Film Art - Bucharest) Film Directing Department. His short films Bucharest-Wien 8:15 and 17 Minutes Late were both selected for the Cinefondation of the Cannes Film Festival and many other international festivals including Clermont-Ferrand, Karlovy Vary, Angers or Torino. His first feature film The Way I Spent the End of the World, premiered at Un Certain Regard in Cannes where it received the Best Actress Award and was awarded the 2005 NHK/Sundance Filmmakers Award for Best European Project.