A young couple faces eviction after losing their apartment, and their desperate search for a way out sets off a chain of events that entangles strangers in unexpected ways. Over the course of one week, a man grieving his broken relationship, a woman drawn to the promise of marriage abroad, and a string of chance encounters intersect to form three overlapping stories. Each perspective reveals a different side of the same moments, where ordinary decisions ripple into new beginnings, missed opportunities, and the constant pull between staying and leaving.
Occident had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the Directors’ Fortnight section, introducing global audiences to the emerging Romanian New Wave.
The film is largely shot in Bucharest, capturing the atmosphere of post-Communist Romania at a time when emigration to Western Europe was a pressing social theme.
Its nonlinear structure—three intersecting stories seen from different angles—was unusual for Romanian cinema at the time and gave the film its playful, puzzle-like feel.
