As Jude said in a statement, “my new film is not an adaptation of Octave Mirbeau’s novel, nor a remake of other adaptations (some made by great filmmakers, including Luis Buñuel). More likely, it is a variation around one of the themes of the book, and the story revolves around the life of a young Romanian woman who works for a family in Bordeaux. It’s a film that mixes various themes: immigration, poverty, the ratio between East and West, literature and cinema- all melted in a shape that I conceived especially for the film and which I would like to consider original”.

The Diary of a Chambermaid / Le Journal d’une femme de chamber stars Romanian actress Ana Dumitrașcu alongside French actors Vincent Macaigne and Mélanie Thierry, and it is the first long film by Jude selected for Cannes after his previous short films Shadow of a Cloud / Ca o umbră de nor (2013), It Can Pass through the Wall / Trece și prin perete (2014), and The Potemkinists / Potemkiniștii (2022).

Jude collaborated again with his usual team including cinematographer Marius Panduru and editor Cătălin Cristuțiu. Independența Film will release the film in Romania later in 2026.

The Diary of a Chambermaid was produced by the well-known French producer Saïd Ben Saïd (SBS) in coproduction with Romania’s Avanpost, without institutional funding (the project didn’t receive support from the Romanian Film Centre), except from partners BRD – Groupe Société Générale, and iSTYLE Romania.

The film is among 19 features, selected from 1,800 submissions, and nine short and medium-length works announced on 14 April 2026 by Directors’ Fortnight.

Click HERE to see the full list of Directors’ Fortnight selected films.