Radio România Internațional

Tag: drama

Mammalia, a surrealist drama directed by Sebastian Mihăilescu

The surrealist drama Mammalia, directed by Sebastian Mihăilescu, had its world premiere in the Forum section of the 73rd edition of the Berlin International Film Festival and has recently entered cinema halls across Romania. The film was screened for the first time in Romania in Cluj-Napoca as part of the Transylvania International Film Festival – TIFF. The film was also selected at the Uruguay Film Festival and was included in the SMART7 Competition, an itinerant program that highlights innovative voices and which is founded by seven prestigious festivals. Mammalia was also shown at Kino Pavasaris in Vilnius (Lithuania) and IndieLisboa (Portugal). Mammalia (a Romania-Germany-Poland coproduction) is a surreal journey through the crisis of masculinity, written by Sebastian Mihăilescu and Andrei Epure, and it combines drama with mystery and comedy.

Sebastian Mihăilescu spoke at RRI about how he came to make a film, about the type of filmmaking in Mammalia, about the SMART7 competition and the international trajectory of the film: In terms of approach, I tried to get closer to a poetic cinema. A poetic cinema that makes full use of the cinema means, obviously, such as editing, time, light, and for this reason I also assumed the film as an analog medium. I probably chose this approach also because I’m afraid of time. It’s all about my struggle with time, my fear of time, things that I also shared during the Q & A sessions. Regarding SMART7, it’s the first time that a Romanian film is selected in this circuit. This month the film will also have two screenings in Reykjavík, I will definitely attend one of them, and it will also be screened in Thessaloniki. Returning to the discussion about time, for me, cinema is my second career, which I started at 27. Before starting filmmaking, I was an IT engineer. This year I turned 40 and I think this is a turning point for any human being. I was not really happy with my IT career at the time, that’s why I abandoned it. Initially I wanted to be a painter, but I didn’t have the courage, then I wanted to be an architect, again I didn’t have the courage. That’s how I ended up at the Polytechnic University, but at the same time I studied design, I continued to paint and do street art. But the wish to express myself through art was always there, it remained there, I tried to express myself somehow, and somehow the film connected all these skills, namely my passion for writing, my passion for painting, image and photography.

In Mammalia, István Téglás plays Camil, a 39-year-old man who embarks on an oneiric journey where the mundane and the fantastic intertwine. Having lost control over his work, his social status and his love relationship, Camil embarks on a quest that makes him question his identity and his masculinity. As he follows his partner, he ends up in a bizarre community with disturbing rituals, where he eventually experiences a tragicomic reversal of roles.

István Téglás admits that the role of Camil was one of the most demanding in his entire career: It was very difficult for me, and I often got anxious. This way of working on a film, when you never know what’s going to happen the next day, obviously creates all kinds of moods for you. Moreover, after several days of work you start getting tired, given that you have many shooting sessions a day, sometimes from five in the morning, for example. But I tried to focus, I tried to be present, that was the most important thing, and I think I succeeded. Indeed, it was a very demanding and physical role, and I say this even though I am used to this kind of work, I have played demanding roles in theater shows as well. So I was trained, prepared in that sense, but there were quite a few challenges. For example, I had to go into the water at the end of October, when it was cold outside. In these conditions, the diving suit helps you up to a point, but beyond that, all you need is to be resilient. Mammalia is a film where the director gave me freedom, but he also gave me a kind of direction, because the situations I had to perform were clear. So I didn’t feel lost for a second.

István Téglás also talked about the collaboration he had on Mammalia with non-professional actors: In general, I like to work with people who don’t have a degree in acting because it seems to me that they have a much greater openness than professional actors. I knew this, I wanted to work with amateur actors, this has actually happened. We got along very well and, in a way, in those moments, I let them lead me more, instead of me leading them. And I enjoyed doing that, although generally, as an actor, it’s not easy to do that. Because you want or are tempted, most of the time, to lead the whole play. But the Mammalia experience was a happy case.

Besides István Téglás, the cast of the movie Mammalia includes Mălina Manovici, Denisa Nicolae, Steliana Bălăcianu, Rolando Matsangos, Mirela Crețan, Andreea Gheorghe, Mircea Bujoreanu, Marian Pîrvu, Dan Zarug Mihai and Elena Chingălată. (LS)

21 October 2023
“Viața într-o valiză”, la un an de la invazia Rusiei în Ucraina

Pentru a marca un an de la invazia Rusiei în Ucraina, Radio România Cultural (RRC) invită românii să aducă valize la Sala Radio, din Bucureşti. În data de 25 februarie va avea loc un concert-eveniment organizat împreună cu Orchestrele și Corurile Radio România, pe scena Sălii Radio.

Având titlul “Viața într-o valiză”, evenimentul va sublinia drama prin care milioane de oameni au fost nevoiți să își părăsească țara, luând cu ei doar o valiză.

Pentru a fi alături de acești oameni, Radio România Cultural invită publicul să aducă la sediul Radio România valize de care nu mai are nevoie. Ele vor fi așezate pe scenă, în cadrul concertului din 25 februarie, constituind astfel un simbol al exodului.

“La un an de zile de la începutul războiului, mulți dintre noi am devenit doar spectatori. De parcă ne-am fi obișnuit cu nenorocirea. Pentru a opri dramele, pentru a învăța ceva din ce se întâmplă atât de aproape de noi, este nevoie să nu ne oprim. Avem datoria de a face tot ce putem pentru a opri dezastrul și mai ales pentru a nu uita! Radio România Cultural își folosește arma sa mediatică, o armă simbolică a păcii”, declară Radu Croitoru, managerul RRC.

Tot atunci, în foaierul Sălii Radio, va fi organizată o expoziție realizată de Fundația Arte și Artiști în Dialog (FAAD), care a suprins imagini dramatice în timpul primelor luni ale exodului ucrainean. Întregul calvar al exilului de la începutul războiului din Ucraina a fost concretizat în această expoziție de pictură și artă contemporană.

“O poetică sumbră însoțește imaginile din expoziție, drama transpare din lucrările fiecărui artist. Fiecare plastician percepe nuanțele suferinței prin propria viziune”, spune Iulia Mihalcea, reprezentanta Fundației Arte și Artiști în dialog, curatoarea expoziției.

Până pe 20 februarie, oricine are o valiză pe care nu o mai folosește o poate aduce la sediul Radio România din București (strada Temișana, program luni-vineri, 9.00-17.00), putând să își exprime în acest fel solidaritatea cu suferința poporului ucrainean.

30 January 2023
November 6, 2022 UPDATE

GAS
According to data released by the national company Transgaz, on Monday morning
Romania will rely on 3 billion cubic meters of stored gas, which is tantamount
to a storage degree of 97.7% of its total capacity. Romania has exceeded the
quantity of stored gas in the same period last year by 701 million cubic meters.
The minimum threshold of 80% approved for Romania in the new European
Commission regulation was attained on September 17.

REFUGEES According to the Romanian border police, roughly 187 thousand
people crossed Romania’s borders either to enter or to leave the country on
Saturday. They were Romanian and foreign citizens who used over 50,500 vehicles.
Out of them 9,158 were Ukrainian nationals, 16.81% more than the previous day.
According to a press release, since February 10th, two weeks before
the Russian invasion, 2.7 million Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania. Most
of them transited the country for other destinations and over 86,500 decided to
stay in Romania.

SUPPORT Authorities in Bucharest are presently
considering a series of alternatives to ease the access of population to firewood, after
the initial cap of 80 Euros per cubic meter has led to a market crisis. One of
the options could be the idea of granting vouchers to the needy. According to
the country’s Environment Minister Tanczos Barna, the ordinance on capping
firewood prices will be amended next week so that it may truly protect those
who use firewood for heating in winter. He explains that the law, formerly
endorsed by the Senate, will be amended in the Chamber of Deputies so that
firewood may become available on the market again. A couple of days ago, the
country’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca admitted the initial capping measures
had failed to yield the desired result. The opposition USR has drawn attention
to the fact that the law has already caused irregularities on the firewood
market.

THEATRE The National Theatre Festival (NTF)
continues in Romania until November 13. Theatre performances during this event
will have in-person attendance, after two years of pandemic with online
performances. The NTF includes over 60 theatre shows that have been mounted by
state and independent theatre troupes from Romania and abroad. The festival,
which this year unfolds under a suggestive motto, ‘Fragile borders. Fluid
histories’ also boasts an on-air section including a series of exquisite radio
shows.

ENERGY Romania is presently covering over 90% of
the neighboring Republic of Moldova’s need for electricity, Romanian Foreign
Minister Bogdan Aurescu has told a TV channel. According to him, the situation has
become severe in the neighboring country, which relies 100% on foreign supplies
of gas and electricity. Aurescu has also mentioned Romania’s support for the
neighboring country consisting in firewood and oil fuel. Romania has also called on the international community to give
grants to the Republic of Moldova so that the country may buy energy on the
free market. After the Russian invasion, Ukraine became unable to export energy
to the Republic of Moldova. At the same time, Russian giant Gazprom announced
in October its intention to diminish gas supplies to the Republic of Moldova due to
the alleged disputes over the payment and the refusal of the Ukrainian pipeline
operator to provide an all-out service for the transport of the Russian gas.
According to Moldovan president Maia Sandu her country is presently seeing the
severest energy crisis in its history.

(bill)

6 November 2022
Radio Romania’s Radio Drama Desk, nominated for a Theater Union award

Three of Radio Romania’s National Radio Drama Desk productions
have received nominations for Romanian Theaters’ Union
Awards, the Best Radio Drama Category. They are A century of Romanian theater
in Chisinau –The revenge of forbidden memory, script by Mariana Onceanu, Radio
Noir. Thrillers (Season1) adapted for the radio by Mihnea Chelaru and The
Case of Tudor Vladimirescu,
written for the radio by Gavriil Pinte.

Gavriil Pinte graduated from the Acting Faculty in
Targu Mures and the Directing Faculty of Bucharest’s School of Film And Drama.
He staged shows in theatres across Romania, in Bucharest,
Satu Mare, Ploieşti, Baia Mare, Tulcea, Miercurea-Ciuc, Giurgiu, Sibiu,
Constanţa, Oradea, Timișoara. Since 1999 Gavriil Pinte has been the artistic
director of Radio Romania’s Radio Drama Desk and in that capacity he directed
several radio drama shows. Gavriil Pinte is the recipient of many awards, among
which the Theater Union Radio Drama Award, in 2002, 2003 and 2011. Gavriil Pinte staged
shows taking up on the life and work of quite a few writers. Among them, A Streetcar
Named Popescu, after poet Cristian Popescu’s life and work (the show was on
in Bucharest and Sibiu, in a rolling streetcar), The Cioran Temptation, based on Emil Cioran’s life and work, A Guide to Retrocessed Childhood, based on the work of Andrei Codrescu, The Journey, taking up on Constantin Abaluta’s work, as well as an adaptation
for the radio of poet Ioan Es. Pop’s work, titled so the last shall be the
last as well.

Gavriil Pinte’s most recent radio drama show is The
Case of Tudor Vladimirescu. It starts off from the personality of Tudor
Vladimirescu, who was born in 1780. Tudor Vladimirescu was ruler
of Wallachia and the leader of the 1821 Revolution, one of the events that
marked the beginning of Romania’s national rebirth process. In 1821, under the
heading The Supplications of the Romanian people, Tudor Vladimirescu made
known the programme of the revolution, which first and foremost stipulated foreign
powers’ refraining from interfering with the country’s internal affairs whatsoever,
as well as the implementation of a series of reforms. It is arguably Romanian Principalities’ first document
with a constitutional status. Sometimes Vladimirescu was idealized, he was
mortified in certain stereotypes. We didn’t mean to create a pathetic show, yet the inkling of a parodical intention was also far from us, and so was any means
of ironizing and have a derogatory take on the great pandour. What we were
interested in was a hero who, before anything else, was a man. But a man who
played a first-rate historical part and went on to become a national hero. The script captures episodes of Vladimirescu’s public
life, intertwined with episodes of his private life, while jointly, they make
what could quite aptly have been himself, a living human being.

That is how,
very briefly, director Gavriil Pinte conveyed his
intentions of the radio drama show The Case of Tudor Vladimirescu.

Gavriil
Pinte.

The radio drama show was
preceded by a stage version of the show as initially, the show was staged on an
island bordered by two of river Jiu arms, at the entranceway of the town of Targu
Jiu. The show was performed on stage at night while the soundtrack was provided
by a rock group, Bucium, lead by Andi Dumitrescu. Everything occurred live, I
can call this show is a rock opera. The music of the Bucium group seemed perfect
for the show, since rock is a rebel, revolutionary kind of music, and so was Tudor
Vladimirescu as a historical character. We had many actors on the cast, there
were 60 of them, and after that show we found it suitable to create a radio show
as well. We were of course unable to have a 60-strong cast of artists for the
radio production, but the recordings were made especially for the radio version.
Likewise, the script was conceived of taking into account the specificity and
the demands of a radio production while the recordings were made on the
premises at the Theater in Targu-Jiu. I am happy the show has a radio version
as well, as it is an important show for me, but also for the troupe in Targu Jiu,
and I should like to take this opportunity and thank the artists for their extraordinary
cooperation. Let me just add that the actors’ troupe as part of the Elvira
Godeanu Drama Theater in Targu Jiu is headed by Cosmin Brehuță, a wonderful
man, a totally atypical theater manager for Romanian theater today. The radio
script as well as the stage script do not claim their origin from the stereotypes
that oftentimes make Tudor Vladimirescu’s image, unfortunately, but from the ancient
tragedy, the Shakespearean drama, with a certain surrealist touch as well.

The
show staged by Gavriil Pinte was occasioned by the Tudor Vladimirescu
Bicentennial. It was jointly created with the Elvira Godeanu Drama Theater in Targu Jiu. The cast includes, among other
actors, Mihai Rădulea, Oana Marinescu, Cosmin Brehuță, Eugen Titu,
Mădălina Ciobănuc, Monica Sfetcu, Georgiana Enache, Cornelia Diaconu, Adelina
Puzdrea, Luminița Șorop.

(EN)

18 June 2022
Mihnea Chelaru is nominated for Theatre Union award

Radio Romania’s Radio Theatre received three nominations for the Theatre Union awards for best radio theatre production. The
productions in question are: A century of Romanian theatre in Chişinău – The revenge of forbidden memory,
written by Mariana Onceanu, Radio Noir. Crime stories (Season 1), staged
by Mihnea Chelaru and The Tudor Vladimirescu Case written by Gavriil
Pinte. Today, however, we will be introducing you to director Mihnea Chelaru,
who is well-known for his innovative work in the field of sound art, having won
many prizes at important radio drama international festivals, such as New York
Festivals World’s Best Radio Programs and the 60 Second Radio competition in
Montreal.

We spoke with Mihnea Chelaru about his passion for radio drama, his
recent nomination for the Theatre Union awards and about how he ended up
staging the radio five stories from the Bucharest Noir collection
published by Tritonic and written by Bogdan Hrib, Tony Mott, Dan Radoiu, Daniel
Timariu, Ștefan Decebal Guță. The five episodes were first broadcast in 2021
and were launched simultaneously on Radio Romania’s news and current affairs
channel and at eteatru.ro, under podcast. Mihnea Chelaru not only staged these
shows, but was also responsible for their artistic production and sound design:

Mihnea Chelaru: First and foremost, I am a big fan of film noir
and when I discovered such excellent Romanian works in this genre I really
wanted to make this series. So I contacted Attila Vizauer, the editor-in-chief
of the National Radio Theatre, and the writer and editor Bogdan Hrib and told
them about my idea, which I have to say seemed a bit crazy to me, but which
they liked. That’s how this series was born, and I’d like to continue it. I
gave it the title Crime stories. Season 1 precisely because I’m planning
to continue the project, and hopefully we’ll have Season 2 and 3. The first
season was a success, with traffic to the page doubling after it was launched
online at etreatru.ro, so the public like crime stories. We even attracted new
public, as more people rediscovered radio theatre during the pandemic.

Mihnea Chelaru is the first to introduce on-location
recording into Romanian radio theatre. This was back in 2008, when he recorded The
Barber of Seville directed by Toma Enache. More shows followed: Argentina,
directed by Ilinca Stihi, The Metamorphosis, directed by Ion Andrei
Puican, Over the Rainbow, directed by Mihnea Chelaru and Ion Andrei
Puican, and My Poor Father, directed by Attila Vizauer, all of which
were recorded using the same technique and won prizes at international
festivals.

Mihnea Chelaru: Young people are accustomed to
receiving information fast, the development of the media contributed to this. As
I’ve noticed in the international festivals in which I’ve taken part, the plays
of up to 40 minutes were the most popular. Even radio people have difficulties
focusing on plays that are longer than this, regardless of how well a play is
produced. Being a film director myself, I tried to bring the radio drama sound closer
to film sound, while keeping the elements that help radio drama. And because my
father worked for Radio Romania too, as a music director with the National
Radio Theatre Department, I’ve listened to radio drama since childhood. And even
then I hated hearing a voice that sounded like it was recorded in a room, and
hearing birds chirping in the background, I couldn’t connect those elements. This
is why I tried to bring the actor in the original location, to have it all
sound as if recorded in the same place.

During the pandemic, the public seems to have rediscovered
radio theatre. Mihnea Chelaru says there is growing interest in this genre:

Mihnea Chelaru: In many countries, such as Russia,
Norway and Canada, the radio drama departments of public broadcasters were closed
down. But over the past few years this genre has seen an upward trend, the
public is once again interested in radio theatre and some of the departments
that had been closed down were reopened and started producing shows again. In
the US as well, radio theatre was a thing of the past even 10 years ago, but
recently a lot of private producers emerged, who make radio plays, so the genre
seems to be reborn. This year we have the Grand Prix Nova International Radio
Drama Festival, which Radio Romania has been organising for nearly a decade. And
the public will be able to meet a group of passionate people who love radio
theatre.

Cosmin Şofron, Daniela Ioniţă Marcu, Nicoleta Lefter,
Ion Arcudeanu, Marius Călugăriţa, Cristi Dionise, Bogdan Isopescu, Sabina
Lepădătescu and Alin Potop are among the cast of Radio Noir. Crime stories
(Season 1). (C.M., A.M.P.)

16 April 2022
June 3, 2019

POPE FRANCIS “May Virgin Mary extend her maternal protection to all the citizens of Romania, who throughout history have always placed their trust in her intercession. It is to the Mother of God that I entrust you all, and I pray for her to guide you on the path of faith, Pope Francis posted in Romanian on his Twitter account on Sunday night, after his visit to Romania. The 3-day apostolic and state visit was held under the motto “Lets walk together! Hundreds of thousands attended the public events held on this occasion in Bucharest, Sumuleu Ciuc, Iasi and Blaj.

NATO The opening ceremony of Saber Guardian 2019 multinational exercise took place in Romania today. The exercise is designed to highlight the cohesion, unity and solidarity of the allied and partner states in the defence against any threat, particularly by ensuring quick mobilisation and deployment anywhere in Europe. The joint training sessions in Romania include vehicle road marches, several live fire exercises, air defence artillery training and medical training, all culminating in a river crossing. As many as 7,600 Romanian troops are taking part.

EU Bucharest is hosting, on Monday and Tuesday, an informal meeting of the EU agriculture ministers, as part of the events held under the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU. The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan is also attending the meeting. Research in agriculture and bioeconomy will be one of the main topics of discussion. In the context of negotiations on the multi-annual budget of the Union, Romania, as holder of the rotating presidency of the EU Council, believes the strategic planning of the common agricultural policy has the potential to consolidate the implementation of bioeconomy and to build synergies with agricultural policy and rural development instruments. While in Bucharest today, Phil Hogan is also scheduled to have a meeting with PM Viorica Dancila.

FESTIVAL The 7th edition of Grand Prix Nova International Radio Drama Festival, organised by Radio Romania, begins in Bucharest today. Devoted to innovation in radio, the event brings together professionals from several countries. In this years edition, 41 radio drama productions are competing for the Grand Prize in the 3 sections: drama, shorts and binaural. The latter offers a new type of experience, namely 3D audio. The participating works provide an overview of the global cultural trends and styles in the field of radio work.

VISIT The US President Donald Trump is on a state visit to Britain as of today. The agenda includes meetings with members of the Royal Family and a private lunch with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. The visit marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, and takes place in the context of the Brexit crisis and of PM Theresa Mays forthcoming resignation. On Tuesday the US President will have meetings with the outgoing PM Theresa May and with business leaders, and on Wednesday he will attend a ceremony in Portsmouth to mark June 6, 1944 when 160,000 British, American, French and other Allied troops landed in Nazi-occupied Normandy in WW2. Donald Trump will then travel to Ireland and France.

TENNIS Number 3 in the world and defending Roland Garros champion Simona Halep is playing today in the French Opens 8th-finals against Iga Swiatek of Poland (104 WTA). If she wins, Simona will be playing the quarter-finals against the winner of the match pitting Amanda Anisimova of the USA (51 WTA) against Aliona Bolsova (137 WTA) of the Republic of Moldova. Also today, in the mens doubles, the Romanian Horia Tecău and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer are taking on Guido Pella/Diego Sebastian Schwartzman of Argentina, in the quarter-finals.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

3 June 2019
Grand Prix Nova, 6e édition

Organisée du 4 au 9 juin sous les auspices de Radio Roumanie, la 6e édition du Festival International de Théâtre radiophonique Grand Prix Nova, l’unique festival de productions sonores, cherche à récompenser l’innovation dans le paysage audio. C’est ce qu’a tenu à préciser le PDG de la Radiodiffusion roumaine, M. Georgica Severin, lors d’une conférence de presse organisée en ouverture du festival.

Georgica Severin : « Nous assistons à un moment tout à fait spécial pour Radio Roumanie puisque cette sixième édition a lieu dans le contexte du 90e anniversaire de la Radio publique. Nous sommes aussi bien la voix du passé que celle du présent. Le Festival Grand Prix Nova se veut la manifestation la plus récente de notre intérêt envers l’actualité, l’innovation et la créativité sonore. »

57 productions radiophoniques de 23 pays sont en lice pour le grand prix. Attila Vizauer, rédacteur en chef de la Rédaction de Théâtre radiophonique, sur les pays participants: « Nous avons des productions de Malaisie, d’Australie, de Géorgie, d’Iran, pas mal d’Europe, des Etats-Unis, du Canada inscrites dans les trois sections du festival: Radio drame qui s’ouvre aux productions d’une durée de 60 minutes tout au plus, Short Forms pour les spectacles de dix minutes au maximum et la catégorie des productions en binaural qui permet de percevoir les sons à 360 degrés ».

Les productions radiophoniques en lice pour le grand prix se retrouvent sur la plate-forme en ligne www.eteatru.ro. Un jury formé de 5 personnalités internationales, présidé par Soila Valkama – réalisatrice, dramaturge et comédienne finlandaise – désignera les gagnants de cette édition. Pour la première fois dans l’histoire du festival, la Roumanie participe avec plusieurs productions indépendantes dont « Plato Time » de Maria Balabas, musicologue et journaliste. Inscrite dans la catégorie « Short forms », la création repose sur la République de Platon, comme l’affirme l’auteure même.

Maria Balabas: « Cela reflète ma façon à moi de me rapporter aux idées de Platon sur le rôle de l’acteur, sur la façon dont le comédien peut influencer le public, sur la relation qu’il construit avec le spectateur. Il y a énormément d’idées à découvrir dans l’œuvre de Platon et, chose intéressante, grâce à la technologie moderne, ces idées peuvent se voir transposer en sonorités des plus inédites. »

Placée sous le haut patronage de Sa Majesté Margarita, dépositaire de la Couronne de Roumanie, cette édition du Festival Grand Prix Nova accueille également une série de rencontres avec les professionnels de la radio et les ateliers Radio Drama de l’Union européenne de radio-télévision. (Trad. Ioana Stancescu)

6 June 2018