His father, Mordechai Buchman, of Bessarabian descent, after escaping from the ghetto in Transnistria, hid under forged documents in the name of Ion Mihäileanu, under whom he became known after the war as a journalist and translator. In 1980, Radu Mihäileanu, fled the country, then under the control of the dicta- tor Ceausescu. The young man, who worked in a theatre company as actor, playwright and director, was preparing his entry into IDHEC (theInstitute of Cinematography in Paris) from Bucuresti. Via Israel, he reached France and enrolled at the institute (these days known as FEMIS). He embarked on a career as assistant director to Marco Ferreri (I love you, 1986 and How Good the Whites Are, 1988) with whom he co-wrote the script ofa film produced for television (Le Banquet Les saisons du plaisir, 1988), Fernando Trueba (The Mad Monkey, 1990), Nicole Garcia (Every Other Weekend, 1990) and Edouard Niermans (The Return of Casanova, 1992). Winner of: Vancouver International Film Festival - Most Popular International Film (2005); César Award for Best Original Screenplay (2005); Berlin International Film Festival - Europa Cinemas Label (2005); Venice International Film Festival - FIPRESCI Prize (Best First Feature) (1998); David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film (1998); Montreal World Film Festival -Grand Prix des Amériques (1993), and others.