Teodora Mihai Directs Heist Drama ‘Traffic,’ Written by Cristian Mungiu

Belgian-Romanian director Teodora Ana Mihai, who made a spectacular fiction feature debut with “La Civil,” continues to blend genres in her next film “Traffic,” where politically charged social drama meets heist movie. “Traffic” makes its world premiere as the closing film of the Warsaw Film Festival.

The film’s screenplay was written by Cristian Mungiu, Palme d’Or winner for “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” and stars “Happening” breakout Anamaria Vartolomei, who starred recently in Cannes entry “Being Maria.”

While “La Civil” fused investigative thriller and social realism, focusing on a mother’s search for her kidnapped daughter, now it’s all about Romanian immigrants in Belgium, tired of being treated as second-class citizens.

Referring to Mungiu’s involvement, Mihai tells Variety: “For me, it’s an ‘auteur’ film. I was asked to carry someone’s brainchild into existence, a bit like a surrogate mother. But you still get very attached and entitled to decide where the kid will ultimately go to college, you know?,” she says.

“Traffic” explores the divide between the East and the West while “ironically referencing gangster movies,” Mihai says. Natalia, played by Vartolomei, is assaulted by a local. Her friends want to help her – even if it means stealing something “they” – the privileged – value so much, like priceless works of art.

“Whether you see ‘us’ or ‘them’ depends on your position as a spectator, but what’s remarkable about cinema is its ability to encourage empathy. And what’s empathy if not the ability to experience things from a different perspective, without immediately condemning it as inferior or irrelevant?,” she wonders, also praising Vartolomei.

“I needed someone with an angelic face, who could also convey a sense of wisdom and cunning. Natalia couldn’t feel flat or one-dimensional. Cristian was attentive to the dialogues as this was Anamaria’s first role in Romanian and my first film featuring Romanian actors.”

The cast also includes Ionuț Niculae, Rareș Andrici, Thomas Ryckewaert and Mike Libanon.

“I believe the film offers a critical perspective on both the East and the West, exposing their blind spots and clichés. When they intersect, it creates a volatile, almost combustible mix,” adds Mihai.

“For simplicity’s sake, we can refer to them as ‘the colonialists’ and ‘the barbarians,’ though the film doesn’t go easy on either. There are no heroes here: just layers of historically built-up absurdity.”

Mihai could draw on her own memories when making the film.

“Cristian was well aware of my background, which is one of the reasons he entrusted me with directing the film,” she reveals.

After fleeing communist Romania, her parents received political asylum in Belgium in the late 1980s.

“I believe I was blessed with a better future because of this, but this journey wasn’t always smooth – especially for them. When we arrived in Antwerp, it was under the influence of the far-right Vlaams Blok party, frequently accused of racism and promoting hate speech. It has marked my youth. I would empty our mailbox to find pamphlets with slogans like ‘Take the trash out.’ I remember wondering why we were seen as ‘trash’.”

Mihai’s parents had to endure “many humiliations” over the years. Many of her countrymen still do.

“When I walk around the city, I often see many hardworking people, like construction workers, who continue to be looked down on. Many times, during casual conversations, new acquaintances say to me: ‘Oh, Romania. My cleaning lady, my parents’ cleaning lady or my neighbor’s cleaning lady is Romanian too.’ It’s followed by an awkward silence, as we both realize how normal it has become to associate people from my birth country with those doing the jobs that are needed but no one else is eager to take.”

While Natalia and her partner accept their situation, others “reject the humility and follow a vindictive narrative that leads them astray,” she observes. But as Europe is “plagued” by far-right movements once more, it’s necessary to finally “break old patterns.”

“This film foreshadows a future generation doomed to repeat the same cycle, unless there’s a fundamental shift in mindsets and the way we approach one another in this increasingly multicultural society,” she says.

“Despite its distinctly tragicomic tone, its underlying theme remains profoundly serious, highlighting life’s contradictions, which is a good thing – for film and for art.”

“Traffic” is produced by Tudor Reu and Mungiu. A Mindset Productions, Lunanime, Bastide Films and Les Films du Fleuve production, it’s sold by SBS Films International.