Radu Jude’s ‘The Diary of a Chambermaid’ Secures U.S. Distribution With Film Movement (EXCLUSIVE)
Film Movement has acquired U.S. distribution rights to "The Diary of a Chambermaid," Romanian director Radu Jude's first French-language feature, following its world premiere at Cannes Directors' Fortnight. The deal, struck between Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg and Kevin Chneiweiss of Paris-based SBS International, marks a further expansion of the specialty distributor's international slate and brings the prolific filmmaker's latest work to American audiences after a wide release strategy encompassing theatrical, VOD, digital and home entertainment.
The film, produced by Saïd Ben Saïd of SBS Productions, adapts Octave Mirbeau's novel previously filmed by Jean Renoir, Luis Buñuel and Benoît Jacquot, and stars Ana Dumitrașcu as a Romanian housekeeper working for a wealthy Bordeaux couple played by Vincent Macaigne and Mélanie Thierry. It represents Jude's twelfth feature in eleven years, following a run that included competition entries at both Berlin and Locarno in 2025. The film will next screen at Toronto for its North American premiere before its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival, ahead of the planned theatrical rollout.
In short
- Film Movement buys U.S. rights to Radu Jude's "The Diary of a Chambermaid"
- Cannes-premiered film heads to Toronto, then New York Film Festival
- Adapts Mirbeau's novel; stars Ana Dumitrașcu, Vincent Macaigne, Mélanie Thierry
Explained simply
Radu Jude is a Romanian filmmaker known for making films across a range of subjects and styles. The Diary of a Chambermaid is his first feature film in French and is based on an 1900 novel by French writer Octave Mirbeau.
The story follows a Romanian housekeeper employed by a wealthy couple in Bordeaux. Mirbeau’s novel has been adapted for the screen several times, including by directors Jean Renoir and Luis Buñuel, so Jude’s film joins a long line of interpretations.
Film Movement is a US distributor specialising in independent and international films. Its acquisition means it will bring Jude’s film to American audiences, giving the work of a European filmmaker a route into the US cinema market.
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