Corneliu Porumboiu was born in 1975 in Vaslui, Romania. He studied at the National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest. In 2005, he wrote and directed his first feature film, 12:08 East of Bucharest [12h08 à l’Est de Bucarest], which was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight and won the Caméra d’Or. His subsequent films confirmed his talent as a storyteller and director, combining attention to dialogue with precise framing, humor, and intelligence: Police, Adjective [Policier, adjectif] (2009) – which won the FIPRESCI Prize and the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes 2009 – and Metabolism (or When the Evening Falls on Bucharest) [Métabolisme (ou quand le soir tombe sur Bucarest)], selected at Locarno in 2013. He also directed two sports documentaries: Second Game [Match retour] (2014) and Infinite Football [Football Infini] (2018), both selected at the Berlinale.
After The Treasure [Le Trésor], awarded at Cannes 2015, Corneliu Porumboiu appeared for the first time in the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 with The Whistlers [Les Siffleurs].