Special Screening of "Traffic", Romania’s Submission at the Oscars, at Laemmle Royal Theatre in Los Angeles
- RCI USA
- Dec 1, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 9, 2025
About the Event
We were excited to present, in partnership with Mindset Productions, the Consulate General of Romania in Los Angeles and with the support of the Romanian Film Centre, a special screening of Traffic (Jaful secolului), the official Romanian submission for the 2025 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
The event took place at the Laemmle Royal Theatre in Los Angeles on November 25 in the presence of director Teodora Ana Mihai, a powerful, daring voice among Romania’s younger cohort of filmmakers. Joining online was the film’s producer and writer Cristian Mungiu, one of the most acclaimed contemporary filmmakers.
Traffic tells the story of Romanian immigrants who, driven by exploitation and invisibility, transform from unwanted second-class citizens into perpetrators of one of the most improbable crimes. Inspired by the real-life 2012 art heist in Rotterdam, the film uses the trappings of the genre to probe the moral and systemic fractures of contemporary Europe—its migrations, inequalities and the commodification of identity.
In Cristian Mungiu’s own words: “On one side we have societies where wealth and education allowed them to flourish to the point of losing survival instincts. On the other, we have migrants determined to succeed in exploiting what they see as the naivety of a decadent society… this film foreshadows a future generation doomed to repeat the same cycle.”
This event was part of an ongoing campaign to bring Traffic to the consideration of the members of the American Academy of Motion Pictures and before American cinephiles with the aim to foster dialogue about Romania’s vibrant and evolving creative scene.
Reviews
Filmotomy, For Your Consideration: ‘Traffic’ (Teodora Mihai), Romania’s Official Entry for the 98th Academy Awards by Robin Write
The name, Cristian Mungiu, is great ammunition here for sure. But director, Teodora Mihai, has crafted an organic depiction of just a small, but integral, chapter of Romanian culture. And thus deserves her place on that Academy Awards shortlist come 16th December. Traffic is an important cinematic window to look through as we continue to learn about our diverse neighbours. As one guy says to the next in regard to their treatment and reputation, “where you are born matters.
