Liviu Ciulei received the Best Director Award at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival for his work on Forest of the Hanged, a feature film adaptation of the novel by Liviu Rebreanu. Over a career spanning more than five decades, he navigated multiple roles as an actor, architect, scenographer, and theatre manager, establishing himself as a prominent figure in Romanian arts.
Early Career and Education
Born in Bucharest in 1923, Ciulei attended the Gheorghe Lazăr National College before pursuing studies in architecture and theater at the Royal Conservatory of Music and Theatre. He began his professional acting career in 1946, appearing as Puck in the Odeon Theatre staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He soon joined the Teatrul Municipal din București, which was later renamed Teatrul Bulandra, where he would eventually serve as artistic director for over ten years.
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Ciulei's work extended beyond directing to include set and costume design, as well as architectural projects. He contributed to the reconstruction of the Bulandra Theatre auditorium. His stage repertoire featured classical works by William Shakespeare, Maxim Gorky, Bertolt Brecht, and Tennessee Williams. He served as a guest director in cities including Munich, Paris, Düsseldorf, and Sydney, where he received the 1977 Australian Critics' Award for his production of The Lower Depths. From 1980 to 1985, he directed and designed for the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, and later taught theater direction at Columbia University and acting at New York University.
Filmography and Later Life
His cinematic career involved directing, screenwriting, and acting. Following his 1965 Cannes success, he starred as Captain Otto Klapka in Forest of the Hanged. During the 1980s, the Communist regime marginalized his work, relegating him to documentary production at the Sahia studio. After the 1989 revolution, he returned to Romania, becoming the honorary director of the Bulandra Theatre. He was elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1992 and held the Order of the Star of Romania. Ciulei died in 2011 in Munich and is buried at Bellu Cemetery.
Fast facts
- Born: 1923, Bucharest
- Died: 2011, Munich
- Notable work: Forest of the Hanged
- Awards: Cannes Best Director (1965)
- Languages: Romanian, German, English
- Education: Gheorghe Lazăr National College
- Final burial place: Bellu Cemetery
Questions readers ask
What subjects did Liviu Ciulei teach in academia?
He taught theater direction at Columbia University and graduate acting at New York University.
Was Liviu Ciulei involved in architecture?
Yes, he was a trained architect and contributed to the rebuilding of the Bulandra Theatre auditorium.
Achievements
- Order of the Star of Romania
- Notable work: Forest of the Hanged
- Worked as actor, film director and architect
