Category: World of Culture

  • Mircea Cărtărescu, awarded at the Cervantes Institute in Bucharest

    Mircea Cărtărescu, awarded at the Cervantes Institute in Bucharest


    The Cervantes Institute in Bucharest has hosted an event of special importance: a ceremony honoring writer Mircea Cărtărescu, the best-known contemporary Romanian author in the Hispanic world. The event was occasioned by the awarding of the FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages, the 2022 edition, at the largest Spanish-language fair – the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) – to the writer Mircea Cărtărescu.



    The event organized by FIL Guadalajara and hosted by the Cervantes Institute in Bucharest was attended by journalists, writers, critics, as well as loyal readers of the Romanian writer. Dulce María Zúñiga, the Director of the FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages Carmen Mușat, the Director of Observator Cultural magazine, and Oana Fotache Dubălaru, literary critic, spoke about Mircea Cărtărescus work, whose Spanish version is signed by translator Marian Ochoa by Eribe and published by Impedimenta Publishing House in Madrid. “A complex writer, with a maximalist style, who fully fits into the tradition of universal literature, putting his readers from all over the world in front of dreamlike and existential questions”, having an “integrative, imaginative and dazzling work, combining fantastic and realistic elements, speculative identity construction, starting from a liminal and peripheral space towards a European landscape”



    This is how the jury of the 2022 FIL Awards motivated choosing Mircea Cărtărescu from among eighty candidates. The FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages ​​is the highest distinction of the Guadalajara International Book Fair and rewards a lifetime of literary creation. Carmen Mușat spoke about her experience as a member of the international jury of the FIL Prize for Literature in Romance Languages ​​and about the relevance of Mircea Cărtărescus literature:



    Track”: The family of Romance languages ​​is very strong and it is not easy to choose when it comes to first-rate writers from France, Italy, Spain, in fact from all the Romance-language countries in Europe and, obviously, from Latin America . So that the fact that Romania was twice chosen for the FIL Prize – through its representatives, Norman Manea, in 2016, and MirceaCărtărescu, in 2022 – I think that says a lot about the value of Romanian literature and about the interest in Romanian literature that it is manifested by people from different corners of the world. Mircea Cărtărescu is rightly considered one of the worlds great prose writers. But to my mind ,Mircea Cărtărescu is also a poet who reshaped Romanian poetry. After his volumes, “Faruri, Vitrine, Fotografii” (1980) and “The Levant” (1990), literature in Romanian could never be the same. Cǎrtǎrescu revolutionized the language and the structure of poetry. And I think only 4 poets in the history of Romanian literature did that before him. So I am glad that the FIL jury chose Mircea Cǎrtǎrescu, because thanks to his special body of works a window is once again opened into Romanian literature, and this benefits all Romanian writers.”



    Upon accepting the FIL Prize in November 2022 in Guadalajara, Mircea Cǎrtǎrescu spoke about poets and poetry: “We cannot imagine today a presence more absent, a destiny more dramatic than that of poets, who decide to devote their entire life to art. (…) I have never been anything but a poet… Poetry has enlightened my entire life. Even my novels are essentially poems. I have always written poetry as a form of freedom, of solidarity, of empathy for all people. I have written against wars and discrimination of all kinds.”



    At the Cervantes Institute, Mircea Cǎrtǎrescu also discussed his fascination with Latin-American literature and this part of the world:


    Mircea Cǎrtǎrescu: “I have been won over by this world, which I think is very familiar to Romanians, because Romanians are very much similar to Latin Americans, without doubt, both in terms of language, and in terms of their history. We have a similar record of dictatorships and unfortunately, the same rift between the rich and the poor. And, more importantly, we have similar, imaginative literatures, which I believe is the strongest connection between us. For us, the advent of Latin American literature in the 1960s was not that big of a surprise, because we also had a tradition of fantasy books, starting with Mihai Eminescu, carried on by Vasile Voiculescu and others, up to some writers in the 60s. So it was no surprise, but rather huge joy and a confirmation of the fact that true prose must have a core of poetry, a touch of the fantastic, an aura of the miraculous. And we found plenty of these in the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Alfredo Bryce Echenique, Juan Rulfo, the great Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes, and many others. We have learned a lot from these authors, and we tried to follow in their footsteps while remaining ourselves, while filtering fantasy and the surrealism of this world through our own history and our own perceptions.”



    Mircea Cǎrtǎrescu has published over 30 books, including “Theodoros,” “Travesty,” “Blinding,” “Solenoid,” “Nostalgia,” “Why We Love Women,” “Love Poems,” “Everything,” “Nothing,” “The Levant.” His works, translated into 25 languages, received prestigious awards in Romania and abroad: the Thomas Mann Prize (Germany, 2018), Prix Formentor (Spain, 2018), Premio Gregor von Rezzori (Italy, 2015), the Austrian State Prize for European Literature (2015), the Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding (2015), Premio Euskadi de Plata (Spain, 2014), the Grand Prix of the Novi Sad International Poetry Festival (Serbia, 2013), Spycher – Literary Prize Leuk (Switzerland, 2013), the Vilenica Prize (Slovenia, 2011).




  • Europa Passage, a new documentary by Andrei Schwartz

    Europa Passage, a new documentary by Andrei Schwartz

    Europa Passage, the latest documentary film directed by Andrei Schwartz, was screened at the One World Romania Documentary Film and Human Rights Festival, the 16th edition. Filmed over a period of six years, the documentary follows several Roma from Romania forced to commute between their homeland and the German city where they are trying to make a living. Andrei Schwartz was born in Bucharest and in 1973 he emigrated to Germany, where he attended the School of Arts in Hamburg. At the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival 1997, he won the Joris Ivens Award for Auf der Kippe / Wasteland, filmed in Cluj, a documentary about the daily life of the Roma, who live near the landfill site. In 2015, Andrei Schwartz made the documentary Himmelverbot/Outside, selected at the One World Romania Festival. The main character of the film, sentenced to life imprisonment for aggravated murder, is pardoned after 21 years in prison.



    We spoke with Andrei Schwartz about his recent documentary, Europa Passage, and his concern to capture on film the stories of the marginalized people: As you may know, I made another film in 1997 about Pata-Rât, the garbage dump of the city of Cluj-Napoca. So, when I saw these Roma who arrived in Hamburg, I thought I was seeing those characters from the documentary made back then. I’m generally interested in looking at society from the edge, because if you have that perspective, you also understand what’s going on in the center. This recent documentary is not only a film about these people commuting between Romania and Hamburg, but also a portrait of Hamburg, obviously about the less beautiful side of the city. As I consider this city, Hamburg, my home, I was also interested in what the lesser-known side of it looks like. Returning to the interest in margins and marginalized people, I was born in Bucharest, near Balta Cocioc, a huge garbage dump, where there was a community of Roma who made a living by sorting garbage. I remember that as a child I used to pass by on the trolleybus on my way to school, but I never had the courage to enter the area to see what was going on there. I am concerned about the marginalized people also because, being Jewish, my relatives, who lived in Hungary, were exterminated in concentration camps, and extermination, unfortunately, is also part of the history of the Roma. When this film about the Roma, Auf der Kippe / Wasteland had its premiere, a film which won an award at the Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival, a kind of Cannes of documentary film, I was told that I had created a story about the human condition and about the life of the Roma. But I believe this is not only a film about the Roma and I am also referring to the recent documentary, Europa Passage, but also about some people who, under extremely difficult circumstances, are trying to preserve some normality. In Europa Passage the characters have an extraordinary sense of humor, which helps them not to give in and cease fighting. And this is great, you know. Țîrloi, one of the main characters in the documentary is always seeing the glass half full. I would like to have this degree of optimism myself.



    The critic Victor Morozov describes the documentary as follows, quote: “Forced to live in ghettos, humiliated by being given only menial jobs and rejected by society, these people are pariahs, representing the dark side of an allegedly success story about the so-called integration into the “big European family. The film gives these people a presence and a name – Țîrloi, Maria and their relatives – taking them, at least temporarily, out of their sad anonymity. As a reminder always useful of the essential purpose of a documentary: to provide company, shelter and power to those in need. unquote



    Director Andrei Schwartz has also referred to the feedback that he got after the premiere of Europa Passage: “It was interesting that the film reached nearly 25 German cities, where I attended the discussions. And eventually I realized the situation I was depicting in Europa Passage is not specific only to Hamburg; the Roma condition is similar in all the western cities and countries. What was impressive was the reaction of the people who saw the film, which was positive. And the attitude we have towards the beggars, an attitude which most of the time can create problems of consciousness, is not a specifically Romanian issue, neither is it a topic that concerns only mysef. From my point of view, those like my characters Țîrloi and Maria, are a symptom of a derailed society and I believe we cannot solve this situation unless we solve the other problems. However, the authorities could take some measures to improve the situation of these people.



    Susanne Schuele is the director of photography of the film Europa Passage, Rune Schweitzer was in charge of editing, and Giacomo Goldbecker, Helge Haack, Marin Cazacu, Stefan Bück and Simon Bastian worked on the soundtrack of this film produced by Stefan Schubert. (LS, DB)

  • “The Sixties” scoops BBC Best European Drama award

    “The Sixties” scoops BBC Best European Drama award


    “The Sixties”, a radio drama produced by the Radio Drama Department of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation and directed by Mihnea Chelaru has scooped the BBC Best European Drama award. Established in 2012, the BBC Audio Drama Awards reward the originality and remarkable value of British audio drama, on air and online. The awards pay a tribute to the actors, writers, producers, sound designers and others who work in the genre. Created in 2019, Best European Drama celebrate the role of public broadcasters in the promotion and development of audio drama and pools together efforts of radio drama producers from all over the world. Selected as part of other international radio drama festivals such as Grand Prix Nova or Prix Europa, “The Sixties” is a story about the failure of a generation, the first generation of young people cut off from the free world in the early days of communism in Romania. Ema Stere, whose novel “Marcels Children” scooped the award of the Union of Writers in Romania and the “Sofia Nădejde Award for Literature written by Women, is also a talent writer of short stories. We spoke to her about the relevance of the BBC award and the story that inspired the radio drama.



    “Its a major award considering the reputation of the BBC. Its also the only prize in the competition awarded to a production created by broadcasters other than the BBC. Created shortly after Brexit, Best European Drama is awarded to a single European production. The Awards Gala, which I attended, included all sorts of sections, rewarding productions in a number of genres: programmes, radio dramas or podcasts. The story of “The Sixties” was featured in the first issue of the Iocan short-story magazine, where it was discovered by Mihnea Chelaru, who wanted to adapt it to radio drama. This is a very personal text for me, into which I poured all my frustrations regarding the fate of my mothers generation. I wrote this text in just three hours. The drama, however, is far longer, also owing to director Mihnea Chelaru, who turned it into a radio gem. The most important thing about collaborations such as this is to enjoy working with people, find common ground with them. In the case of this story, it so happened that both Mihnea and I went through similar experiences, and that certainly made a difference”.



    This is not the first time Ema Stere and Mihnea Chelaru worked together. The two also collaborated on other radio dramas produced by the Radio Drama Department of Radio Romania that received international acclaim. For his part, Mihnea Chelaru is known for his groundbreaking use of sounds, his productions having reaped numerous awards in major international festivals devoted to radio drama. More about the experience of directing “The Sixties” from Mihnea Chelaru himself:



    “The moment I read the short story in Iocan, I realized I wanted to turn Ema Steres work into a radio drama. Yet I felt the topic was alien to me. Emas universe seemed surreal, echoing Fellinis films, which made it the perfect candidate for a radio drama. However, I had no idea how to approach it. A year and a half ago, I went through an experience that made me appreciate the short story even more. Only then did I realize its overtones, so I adapted it and the result was this small gem.



    Ema Stere is a writer I like very much, because she has this ability of noticing details, which could be unimportant for most people. We also cooperated on a project last year, it was a show on a short story by Ema entitled How we should treat our customers, which got a Grand Prix Nova Award at the Short Plays section. If I am captivated by the plot and I like the writers style I can imagine the story even with sound. If I am unable to do that, I cannot adjust the story. Speaking about the soundtrack of The Sixties show I would like to mention that although I am a sound engineer, I left that aside. It was my colleague Madalin Cristescu who has engineered the shows soundtrack and he came up with absolutely fantastic solutions.”


    The shows cast also includes Daniel Badale, Constantin Cojocaru, GAVRIL Patru, Ioan Grosu, Coca Bloss, Rodica Mandache, Virginia Rogin, Petru Lupu, Gheorghe Arcudean, Violeta Berbiuc, Julieana Draghici. Andrei Miricescu is the musical director and Oana Cristea Grigorescu, editor. The show, whose premiere took place in 2022 has been posted on the eTeatru.ro website, which also comprises an ample selection of radio plays produced by Radio Romania.





  • Too Close, winner at the Astra Film Festival goes on the big screen

    Too Close, winner at the Astra Film Festival goes on the big screen

    As of May 16, the documentary film Apropierea/Too close, directed by Botond Püsök, strated being screened in Romanian cinemas. The film has won numerous international awards, including the Award for the best non-fiction film in the Emerging Voices of Documentary category of the 29th edition of the Astra Film Festival in Sibiu. The film, nominated for the 2023 GOPO Awards, tells the story of Andrea, who builds a new life for her two children on her own, after her ex-partner was sentenced to several years in prison for sexual abuse. However, most of the villagers openly support her ex-partner and his influential family and do not believe that the man committed the crime for which he was convicted, blaming Andrea and her daughter for making false accusations against him. When Andrea learns that the man will be released earlier, she is forced to fight against the mentality of the community which she is living in, so as to protect her children and to heal from the traumas of the past.



    In 2016, Botond Püsök participated in the Astra Film Festival and the DocuArt Festival with the documentary Angela, which received the best director award. Angela, the main character of the award-winning documentary in 2016, told the story of a young Roma woman who finally manages to save herself.



    We spoke to Botond Püsök about the topics he has tackled in his films so far, difficult, taboo subjects that are not talked about much: These topics which, most of the time, we choose not to talk about, are the homework, the topics that fascinate me the most. I am drawn to them also because there is this silence around them and this is a reason that prompts me to make the film, I try to understand why certain things cannot be talked about and why wed rather not discuss them. Trying to question these things led me to the reason for the trauma and the healing. It’s a theme that I’ve been dealing with for a few years already, I’ve made a few documentaries that talk about it. The struggle of the characters in my films – a struggle that defines us very strongly and knows no limits and censorship – inspired me a lot. When we experience such big traumas and feel that no one is by our side, that no one can help us, and that our only help remains ourselves, we end up discovering things we didn’t know about. That’s why, through these films that I make, I do not focus on the trauma itself, but more on the psychological healing process that the characters go through. If these themes or stories did not contain much light, then I could not tell them. That hope is probably what inspires me and I hope it inspires the audience as well.



    He has recently presented the documentary Too Close also within the One World Romania Documentary and Human Rights Film Festival. Moreover, the film directed by Botond Püsök brought back to the public attention the phenomenon of sexual abuse and violence against children and launched a nationwide awareness campaign. 3% of the teenagers in Romania admitted that they were victims of rape in 2019, according to a Save the Children study. Botond Püsök believes in the power of documentary and he also believes that it can become a platform for critical thinking and for encouraging civic action.



    Botond Püsök: This is why I make documentaries and I focused more on this genre, although I primarily studied fiction film. I believe that the documentary, although it has a smaller audience than the fiction film, can have a much stronger emotional impact. And if at the end of the screening the audience has the opportunity to talk and exchange opinions with the director and the film’s protagonists, the impact is even stronger. It’s incredible, it creates such an intense connection, and that’s another reason that drives me to continue making this kind of observational documentary. The statistics regarding sexual abuse and violence against children are very worrying, if we talk about the EU, Romania is at the top of the countries with the most such cases. That is why I think it is all the more important to address these topics. It is also our duty to take these stories forward, to be informed, not to pretend that these things are not happening and consider that it could not happen to us or those close to us. I think there are small steps that can be taken, there are solutions that can help us. If we speak up, if we break this culture of silence that surrounds this issue of abuse, especially abuse against minors, then we might be able to change something, I think.



    The film Too Close is produced by Irina Malcea through Luna Film (Romania), in co-production with Spot Productions (Hungary) and in association with RTL Hungary. (LS)

  • “To the North”, a Romanian psychological thriller, inspired by real events

    “To the North”, a Romanian psychological thriller, inspired by real events

    To the North, the debut feature film of director Mihai Mincan, which received the Bisato d’Oro Film Critics Award at the 79th edition of the Venice International Film Festival in the Venice Orizzonti section , dedicated to films that launch new aesthetic and expressive trends in cinema, has been recently released in Romania. The film also won the Audience Award at the Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest festival, which reached its 13th edition last year. Seen as a psychological thriller, To the North, represents one of the most ambitious productions of Romanian cinema in recent years. The project is a co-production of five countries: Romania (deFilm), France (Remora Film), Greece (Studio Bauhaus), Bulgaria (Screening Emotions) and the Czech Republic (Background Films). The action is set in the year 1996 and takes place on a cargo carrier crossing the Atlantic Ocean, on its way to America. On that ship, Joel, a faithful Filipino sailor discovers a Romanian passenger who boarded illegally. Knowing that the young man is at risk of being thrown overboard if discovered by the captain or officers, Joel tries to save him. The film’s script, written by Mihai Mincan in 2016, is inspired by a real event that happened in the 1990s, when some Romanians tried to reach America hidden in a cargo carrier.



    Mihai Mincan: Although I wrote the script 20 years later, that incident told me a lot about the world I was living in, about that moment. It seemed that even though 20 years had passed between the events, the world had actually changed very, very little. I was less interested in the topic of migration. Instead, I was interested in notions like Fear, the Unknown, especially the Unknown, which can take on the appearance of another human. I was also interested in understanding the situation in which the respective characters find themselves, having to put their lives in the hands of an unknown person. Those were the notions, the catalyzing questions for me, the ones I had in mind when I started writing the script. Because, starting from that real fact of 1996, it seemed to me that, in fact, I am talking quite a lot about 2016, a year with many terror attacks. In 2016 there were terror attacks in Brussels, then there was an attack in Nice. A lot of people died that year because of terror attacks caused primarily by religious differences. At that moment I felt that the world around me was almost on the verge of collapse.



    A bold and unflinching depiction of the situations that can occur in international waters. A story about moral choices, kindness and compromise, courage and fear. A story that gets you thinking even after the end credits, the publication Intoscreens wrote about the film.



    Mihai Mincan: This moral relativity that we practice in relation to other people is difficult, and the cultural differences among the characters in the film make it even more difficult. These differences between the characters, their very different social and cultural backgrounds interested me a lot when I started writing the script. Each of us brings into a relationship something different, but at the same time there is always the chance that these differences meet halfway, in concepts like poverty, for example. For the characters in the film, poverty was a common concept, but it was also perceived and understood differently, depending on each culture. I was also very attracted to these differences in language, that prevented people from communicating at a time when communication was vital. I think that if the characters could really talk to each other, speak more clearly about their needs, the situation could have been different. I am not a moral relativist, but I do not agree with the idea that Good and Evil are very vague, that they differ greatly from person to person. However, in the film, the situation makes everything very complicated, the stakes of each character being extremely high.



    A very talented team worked on the production: director of photography George Chiper, sound designer Nicolas Becker, sound Mixer Cyril Holtz, music Marius Leftărache, Alesandro Cortini, Nicolas Becker, editing Dragos Apetri. The cast of the film is international, consisting of actors from the Philippines, Taiwan, France, Bulgaria. The main roles are played by the young German-Romanian actor Niko Becker and by Soliman Cruz, a well-known Filipino actor. The dialogues are in six languages: English, Tagalog, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian and Mandarin. (EE)


  • Winners of the 2023 Gopo Awards Gala

    Winners of the 2023 Gopo Awards Gala

    The grand winner of the 17th edition of the Gopo Awards Gala, held on the stage of the I. L. Caragiale National Theatre in Bucharest was the film ‘Oameni de treabă – ‘Men of deeds, directed by Paul Negoescu. ‘Men of deeds won the trophy for Best Film, following the voting process in which more than 650 professionals from the Romanian film market participated, and 5 other Gopo statuettes: best director – Paul Negoescu, best actor – Iulian Postelnicu, best supporting actor – Vasile Muraru, best script – Radu Romaniuc and Oana Tudor, and the best film editing – Eugen Kelemen. One of the most valuable actors in Romania, Mircea Andreescu, was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award.



    Theater critic Marina Constantinescu handed the award to actor Mircea Andreescu and presented his impressive work on the National Theater stage: He graduated as head of an exceptional class, having Valeria Seciu, Mariana Mihuț, Rodica Mandache, and Ovidiu Moldovan as colleagues. I have rarely known such a character like this artist, who has such reverence for the great directors and school, theater and film trainers. His stories about Liviu Ciulei, Lucian Pintilie, Vlad Mugur, David Esrig, Radu Penciulescu, about the Lucia Sturdza-Bulandra Theater from his student days, as well as about his artistic journey, which he took very seriously, are fabulous. I admired him and studied him at leisure in the films he made with Dan Pizza, Mircea Daneliuc, Dan Chișu, and Nicolae Mărgineanu. Also, in Corneliu Porumboiu’s film, in a role that brought him back to everyone’s attention. This consummate actor, a kind of Jean Gabin of Romania, rather grumpy, but very, very playful and generous, is held in great reverence by the actors and directors guild, thanks to his art and skill, his courage and the youth with which he set out on all the paths of his characters.



    Mircea Andreescu is one of the main figures associated with the New Wave of Romanian Cinema thanks to the character Emanoil Pișcoci in the satirical comedy A fost sau n-a fost? Was it or was it not? (directed by Corneliu Porumboiu, 2006). His performance was noted by both the public and the critics, Mircea Andreescu winning the Special Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution together with Ion Sapdaru and Teodor Corban at the Cottbus Film Festival in 2006.



    In his speech at the Gopo Awards Gala, the actor also referred to this film, which received the Caméra d’Or Award at the Cannes International Film Festival and multiple other prizes at the first edition of the Gopo Awards Gala, in 2007: I had a hard life. This profession is hard, but also full of rewards. And I think that not many of us, in the cinema world, have had the film in which they featured screened in front of 2,500 spectators. This was one of the screenings of the movie ‘A fost sau n-a fost?-‘Was it or was it not? at the Sarajevo Film Festival. “



    The Award for Most Promising Young Actress went to Ioana Chițu for the role of Irina in the film Crai Nou – Blue Moon directed by Alina Grigore: I’m not a fan of competitions, that’s why I’m going to consider this award as a team award, for the entire Blue Moon film team. And I would like to thank Alina Grigore, Gabriela Suciu, Adrian Pădurețu, Ilinca Neacșu, my colleague, who is very promising. The film Blue Moon approaches a very tough topic, gender violence. And I would like to emphasize what my colleague, director Teona Galgotiu, also said, that we should not remain indifferent when witnessing violence of any kind, emotional, physical or systemic.



    A special moment at the Gopo Awards Gala was the celebration of the renowned filmmaker Ion Popescu Gopo, who gave the name to this event and whose 100th birthday anniversary was marked. The violinist Alexander Bălănescu performed a musical moment inspired by Gopo’s animations, and the actress Medeea Marinescu, who played one of the main roles in the film Maria Mirabela, evoked the personality of the artist.



    Medeea Marinescu: Ion Popescu Gopo was one of the most important directors and animators in the history of Romanian cinema, and his works are internationally recognized for their originality and innovation. From Scurta Istorie – A short history and S-a furat o bomba – A bomb was stolen to De-aș fi Harap Alb – If I were Harap Alb or Maria Mirabela, Gopo created films that are still living in the collective memory and that have inspired entire generations of artists. Now, for me, a child then, Gopo was a great playmate, because he was extraordinarily gentle, he was generous, he was kind, and a child feels these things, a child feels sincerity. Gopo was a visionary, a master of animation and a great director who inspired and influenced generations of artists in the film industry. His innovative works and creativity have been recognized worldwide, and his work has been awarded the most important international distinctions, including the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.



    Actress Ioana Crăciunescu received the Lifetime Achievement Award, while the Special Award was given to film editors Melania Oproiu, Nita Chivulescu and Mircea Ciocâltei for their exceptional work. (LS)

  • Writer Matei Vișniec

    Writer Matei Vișniec

    Romanias most successful contemporary playwright, Matei Vișniec, was awarded Doctor Honoris Causa at a festivity to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of Bucharests National University for Theater and Film. Previously, in 2018, he had been awarded the title of Officer of Arts and Letters in France. On receiving the honorary degree, Vișniec spoke about the prospects of independent artists and the need for a national strategy to help the independent artistic sector. He also paid tribute to theater critic George Banu, who passed away this year. Last but not least, Vișniec spoke about his relationship with the two countries where he has lived and worked, Romania and France.



    A poet, playwright, novelist and journalist, Matei Vişniec was born on 29th January 1956 in Rădăuţi, in northern Romania. His first published work was poetry, which appeared in Luceafărul magazine in 1972. He went on to produce seven books of poetry, seven novels, a book of short stories and more than 50 plays. He has been living in France in 1987, where he works as a journalist for Radio France Internationale. After the fall of communism in Romania in 1989, Vişniec started travelling frequently between France and Romania, living between two cultures and two languages, between East and West. His plays have been translated into more than 30 languages and have been staged in more than 30 different countries. Hes even made it into the Dictionnaire des étrangers qui ont fait la France, a biographical dictionary of foreigners who made France. Heres what he had to say about this recognition:



    “This dictionary is very interesting in that it shows the extent to which France can be seen as an area of cultural openness and as a great cultural power. It contains around 14,000 names, from the time of the French Revolution until today, so from 1793 until the present day. Its about the foreigners who came to France and made their contribution to its culture. Naturally, the Romanians played an extremely important role in this respect. They started arriving in France towards the end of the 19th century and made a name for themselves in various fields. Id like to recall one of these people, a name all but forgotten today. He was an actor who came from Iași, went to theater school and then became a great star of silent films and the review theater. His stage name was Edourd de Max. Another Romanian mentioned in the dictionary is the late theatre critic George Banu. He is considered a French theatrologist of Romanian origin because he wrote almost all of his work in French, although he did translate and publish it in Romanian, as well. The dictionary shows how significant the Romanian contribution was and Im happy to be included in this volume, having written around 30 plays in French, some of which were published by big publishing houses such as Actes Sud. My plays were staged hundreds of times by French independent theater companies and in the last 30 years, at least one production based on my plays has been selected for the Theater Festival in Avignon. At the same time, I have tried to create bridges, connections, between France and Romania, to give some of the things I see in France as a model for Romanians to get inspired from. For me, France was an opportunity. France gave me wings, and thats very important, but I never lost my roots. For it is in Romania that I grew as a young person, my artistic sensibility is that of a Romanian and East European writer, and as for poetry, I can only experience it profoundly in the Romanian language.




    In 2016, Suceava opened a theater that bears the name of the great playwright. Here is Matei Visniec:


    “I think it is the most recently created theater in Romania, using the local budget. Before this theater was created, seven years ago, there was a theater festival I created together with very enthusiastic people in Suceava. I created this festival 11 years ago, together with poet Carmen Veronica Steiciuc, who, unfortunately, is no longer with us, and also with the Rotary Club, and the Bucovina Association, with great quality people, very enthusiastic. With this festival, we managed to attract the local audience to the venue. They came for free, but very important shows, from all over the country, it was a large audience. This festival proved that Suceava needed a professional art theater, with actors who felt the pulse of the city and the local need for culture, actors who became local celebrities. Fortunately, now this theater exists. It is extraordinary that the ten actors who live and work in Suceava, at the Matei Visniec Municipal Theater, have put on at least four plays this year. At this moment, as I said, the theater has initiated several major projects.



    In late March, the Caragiale National Theater in Bucharest is hosting a new show written by Matei Visniec called The Word Progress Uttered by Mother Sounds Terribly Phony. It is directed by Botond Nagy, one of the directors that has put on several plays based on Matei Visniec’s work at the theater that bears his name. One of them, The Return Home, a show about war and the absurdity of useless loss of life, produced by the Matei Visniec Theater in Suceava, was shortlisted for the National Theater Festival in 2022.

  • Uncanny Order Project

    Uncanny Order Project

    Uncanny Order, the latest research and production project run by the Qolony Association has a leitmotif: the strange order that is spontaneously installed and which we call synchronicity. The Qolony Association, the Colony for arts and science is a cultural association that works as a catalyst for a community of different professionals and disciplines, from contemporary artists, scientific researchers specialists in various technologies, united by the passion for interdisciplinary practices and the creativity they generate. The projects run by the association are aimed at stressing the importance of collaborative practices for boosting creativity and personal development, and for the current welfare of society. The Association’s cultural PR Anca Spiridon told us more about this project.



    Our initiative starts from the chaos theory. Chaos is often described as being random, but it is however subject to some mathematical rules that derive from equations. And synchronicity is exactly the nature’s organic tendency to organize itself, to put itself in order, despite the apparent chaos that we perceive. And when we speak of this synchronicity in nature, we can think of the cells in our hearts, of the flocks of birds that fly synchronously, in a direction known only to them, or social collective behaviors. And the idea of the Uncanny Order is to create a series of interactive installations that use as a source of inspiration, functioning principles, these sets of data associated with the mathematical models of the chaos theory, which create synchronicity. The interior design of the matter, the formation of the clouds and waves, but also visible representations such as computerized graphics, generative image or generative sound. The installation will be open for the public between the 16 and the 30 of June at the MV SciArt Center in Timisoara, and in July it will be hosted by the Mobious Gallery in Bucharest.



    Who is participating in this project? Who are the artists and researchers involved in the implementation of UncannyOrder. Anca Spiridon has the details:


    The three artists participating in the UncannyOrder project are Floriana Cândea, Claudia Chiriță and Cătălin Crețu. Floriana Cândea is an artist interested in using and experimenting new media, even live biological tissues and cultures, as artistic support, but also alternative photographic techniques, altered macro photographs, visual classification schemes and of course scientific tools that can be converted into artistic practices, chemical processes, biocompatible materials and so on. Claudia Chirita is a lecturer and researcher in mathematical logic and artificial intelligence at the Mathematics and Informatics Faculty of Bucharest University. Also, for 15 years, she’s been a graphic artist and illustrator, and the themes she likes to approach are security and confidentiality, digital surveillance and ad hoc collaboration, in order to examine the relation with the socialist heritage or to retell stories of regular lives in antiquity. Catalin Cretu has a double specialization. He is an electromechanical engineer, but he is also a musician, covering a wide range of works belonging to different genres, from chamber and choral music, to symphonic opuses, electronic music, installations, interactive multimedia works and he is also a scientific researcher with the Electroacoustic Music and Multimedia Center. He is a professor at the National Music University in Bucharest and also the executive manager of the InnerSound New Arts Festival. The project also entails research and IT work, so part of it, besides the artists I have mentioned before, are also the programmer Cristian Balas and researchers Marian Zamfirescu and Ionut Andrei Relu. They are with us because the chaos theory has multiple applications that the larger audience is not that familiarized with. But these applications are the foundation of technology, the technologies that we interact with on a regular basis. It’s the interface between people and computers or the digital environment, and in this way is much easier for us to show the public how synchronicity can be demonstrated with the help of technology.



    Anca Spiridon also told us how the project started and what these interactive installations aimed to do.


    It all started with the chaos theory, this science of nonlinear dynamic systems which, we people, normally understand as a deterministic theory with a logic based on paradox and recursion. Chaos, as I was saying earlier, describes complex structures and principles from the natural world and, although it is described as being random, chaos does have and is subject to extraordinarily strict mathematical rules. So, we interpret chaos as being very ordered, very organized, and with the installations that we make as part of this project we want to show the larger audience not just this structure, but to give them the opportunity to interact with this structure. In brief, the UncannyOrder installations are aimed at exploring some mathematical models of the dynamic systems that these natural, biological and physical phenomena are based on. These artistic installations are interactive and they will guide the public towards a set of interactions with objects that recreate instances of synchronicity. It can be music and how it is formed, or the rhythm of the heart, or generative images; the idea is that the public will be able to interact with the installations presented in this exhibition and will be able to affect these structures that organize chaos, the order that structures it.



    In the end of our talk, Anca Spiridon also said:


    There have been very polarizing talks about this idea of man vs the machine, so the idea that our installations are meant to convey to the UncannyOrder public is that we are talking about the man by the side of the machine, together with the artificial intelligence, so not an antithesis man vs the machine. (MI)

  • Art Encounters

    Art Encounters


    The western Romanian city of Timisoara in May this year saw the 5th edition being opened, of the Art Encounters Biennale. Themed My Rhyno is not a Myth, the Biennale was mounted as part of the cultural programme known as Timisoara 2023: the European Capital of Culture. The current edition is dedicated to the crossroads between art science and fiction, exploring their potential to retrieve reality as a network of complex processes, The Biennale is held in 15 unusual spaces in Timisoara, activating 23 dedicated areas through events, performance, projections and conferences. Attending the Art Encounters Biennale are more than 60 artists of 20 countries.



    At the inauguration of the Biennale, Eugen Cojocariu sat down and spoke to the president of the “Art Encounters” Foundation, Ovidiu Sandor, an entrepreneur from Timisoara and one of the best-known collectors of contemporary art.



    “Were speaking about the 5th edition of the “Art Encounters” Biennale, a project initiated by the “Art Encounters” Foundation as early as 2015, a project which seeks to support, first and foremost, Romanias contemporary art stage, specifically, through the support mostly offered to some of the young artists so they can create works for the Biennale proper, but mainly through the creation of this framework where Romanian contemporary art, Eastern Europes contemporary art initiate a direct dialogue with international art. A set of events which, apart from the all too familiar exhibitions, includes conferences and performances as well, quite an eventful mediation program and suchlike. Romania, also regarding contemporary art, just like in many other areas of culture, boasts several very talented and creative artists, yet these artists need as many organized contexts as possible, so they can exhibit, where they can be visible, where they can have a dialogue with international artists, where they can initiate a dialogue with curators, collectors, with contemporary art institutions, at home and abroad. And thats what we have been trying to do, create such a platform for contemporary art dialogue.”



    Ovidiu Șandor gave us details on the curatorial team, and about the artists selection procedure:



    “Just like in the previous editions, we have invited a curator, for this years edition we had Adrian Notz of Switzerland, who in turn suggested that we invite a team of young women curators, who, in fact, were, between inverted commas, his students at the curatorial school we also organized two years ago. Just like in all the other editions of the Biennale, it is a process by means of which we encourage the curator or the curators to explore the region, Romania and the surrounding countries, in visits where we try to get them meet young artists, historian artists, so they can better understand what happens from the standpoint of contemporary art in this region, so much so that their selection should also reflect the effervescence and diversity of the artistic positions in the region. It is a process that, now that is has seen its 5th edition, it somehow comes along naturally and has bene developing better and better. It is a process requiring a lot of time, it requires a lot of effort. It is a large team, that which stands behind a biennale, from, yes, curators to artists, to the people who are into the production side, people who deal with the installations of the exhibitions, the whole team of mediators, people who provide the communication side, people who sort out the entire financial and legal side and suchlike. We believe that, also the development of these people and the experience all of us have acquired in each edition, that is also something important. Romania needs more cultural managers, it needs a cultural manager with as much experience as possible, as culture cannot be produced, it needs to be shown, it needs media coverage, it needs to be promoted. We in turn have also been trying to have our own contribution to that kind of thing. “



    But what is the concept of the “Art Encounters” Biennale 2023? What is the message conveyed to the lay public? Speaking about that, here is Ovidiu Sandor once again.



    ” Art, science, fiction, that seems to me a very updated theme. In effect, art and science come up with two different systems of viewing the world, of viewing the problems of the world, of viewing our potential future. And we think that, perhaps, this divide between art and science a divide that emerged a couple of hundreds of years ago, that, perhaps, is nevertheless artificial and in fact the way artists view the world, the way scientists view the world, these are complementary ways of making sense of the issues that concern us. I think were all aware of the fact that technology plays an increasingly important part in our lives, with the good and the bad points that go with technology. It is something artists highlighted. I think Artificial Intelligence today is on everybodys lips and it also a preoccupation. So I think it is a Biennale which is bound to be interesting, not only for the regular contemporary art public but also for a much wider audience.



    Diana Marincu is the artistic director of “Art Encounters. ” Here she is, giving us more details on the participating artists and about how art ties in with science at the “Art Encounters” Biennale 2023:



    “It is, in fact, a puzzle, between artists, between various institutions and it is crucial that this constellation of partners joins us with each edition, it becomes larger and there is a growing interest for contemporary art in Timisoara. There also is an extremely varied selection this year. We have artists with works created in various modes of expression, from installation, painting, sculpture, photography, video. It is, indeed, a complex Biennale. Guest curator Adrian Notz thought of some sort of combination between art and technology, also between art and science, in a bid to offer this message to the public as, in fact, these domains always offer models of mutual understanding, or knowledge, of transcribing reality, and that is never something separate. Art has always been connected to other domains in daily life as well. It is a Biennale where we can see many artists experimenting with state-of-the-art technologies and with the most original concepts, yet we also have historian artists who come up with a perspective which, in hindsight, can be revisited…I think it is crucial that we snap out of the confines of our field and try to connect with those whose knowledge is different from the visual knowledge but which is equally interesting. “




  • MoBU Art Fair

    MoBU Art Fair

    In late May, in Bucharest, an aeronautical hangar at Romaero was home to the first edition of the “International Art Fair Bucharest – MoBU”. More than 30 art galleries and around 200 visual artists participated. The fair hosted lots of events, presentations, workshops, performances and screenings. We talked about the fair with its director, Demetra Arapu:



    “There are more than 200 artists, 30 galleries, artist-run spaces that add over this figure of 30 stands, some of them by independent artists. We also have a corner called “Take off”, an exhibition that we organized especially for this first edition. “Take off” because we are in an aircraft hangar. The idea came up some time ago and weve worked hard for a year. There are many things to do, and the space is very large, so, as you can imagine, its been hard work. We wanted from the beginning to use an industrial hall, to have height, natural light and freedom of movement, to be able to accommodate a lot of contemporary art, because thats what its all about. We set out from the very beginning to also include a program of conferences and workshops, so we needed a big space for all this. And Romaero was the perfect place. Its a space where concerts and parties have been organized before, that is, its attractive and you can populate it in many ways.



    Director Demetra Arapu also told us how the public received this new art fair, how it was organized and if collectors were interested:



    “It was received the way I wanted, I got involved and we got involved personally. This is the result we wanted and we have had positive reactions both from the public and from the gallerists with whom we have become friends and with whom I consider that we have created a solid structure and a wonderful collaboration. There were no incidents, no animosities. In principle, things went well, things from the point of view of personal collaboration and between the galleries and between all those involved in organizing such an event. We had important conferences and guests, such as the French writer Pascal Bruckner. As regards the existence of collectors market or a solid platform, theres a lot to talk about here. My opinion is that there is purchasing power, there is an appetite for contemporary art. Now, in terms of numbers, I dont know what to say. There are people who want to buy, for personal reasons, for a gift or for an investment. I got all kinds of questions. The important thing is to start somewhere. The idea is that this is an opportunity to see contemporary art in many ways, in many environments, the artists were here, most of them, you met them at the stands and talked to them. Its exceptional, its also a networking platform. Weve seen, sure, collectors we all know, but were not going to make a list right now, here at our place, and that makes me happy.”



    One of the most attractive events of the fair was represented by the retrospective exhibition of the famous nonagenarian Swiss artist and writer, born in Romania, Daniel Spoerri. The artist is the inventor of the “Eat Art” movement and was one of the initiators of “Nouveau Réalisme”, an artistic movement through which objects from everyday reality are transposed into art. Demetra Arapu gave us some details about the famous artists participation in MoBU:



    “The collaboration with Daniel Spoerri, in this case with his lifelong gallerist named Thomas Levy, owner of the Galerie Levy in Hamburg, has worked organically, as it usually works. We took the right and trodden path. We just called, invited him, as he is a Romanian-born artist who is not very well-known here. We brought 120 works from the most important series he created, such as the “Sevilla” “Black Series”. He was flattered. For the opening, he also sent us a greeting and encouragement video in which he expresses his joy and honor to be part of this.”



    Art critic and historian Pavel Şușară also told us about the Daniel Spoerri retrospective:



    “He was born in Galați. He left when he was a child. He was 10 years old when he left Romania. He was born into a Jewish family and his family emigrated. He initiated one of the most important movements and attitudes related to a harsh reality, an immediate reality, somehow stopping the common moments, the everyday moments in the life of man and in the life of the collective. In snapshots that somehow became long-term witnesses to human nature, but in its ordinary, not exceptional moments. And his ability to capture this reality through cutouts, to establish another reality, through collages of objects and by changing the connection between elements, by changing the syntax, also creates a new artistic morphology, creates absolutely surprising images and absolutely surprising objects.” (MI)

  • Romanian Productions at TIFF

    Romanian Productions at TIFF

    9 features and 16 short films competed at the Transylvania International Film Festival TIFF.22. The selection included some of the best Romanian films of 2022, as well as productions that were premiered on the sidelines of the festival in Cluj-Napoca. Among them are the black comedy Men of Deeds directed by Paul Negoescu, the grand winner at the Gopo Awards Gala this year, as well as the psychological thriller To the North directed by Mihai Mincan, which was premiered in Venice this year. To the North is one of the most promising products of Romanian cinematography in the last five years. It is a co-production of Romania (deFilm), France (Remora Film), Greece (Studio Bauhaus), Bulgaria (Screening Emotions) and the Czech Republic (Background Films). The story is set in 1996, taking place on a cargo ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean on its way to America. Joel, a Filipino sailor part of the crew, discovers an illegal Romanian passenger. Knowing the captain or navigating crew would throw him overboard if they discovered him, Joel tries to save him. “Mincans screenplay is a daring and unflinching representation of the things that can happen in international waters. Its a story about moral choices, kindness and compromise, courage and fear”, intoscreens.com writes about the film. Director Mihai Mincan told us more.




    “This moral balancing act that we more often than not do with our peers is rather difficult, and the cultural differences of the film characters make it even harder. These differences between the characters, their social and cultural baggage, are what motivated me when I started working on the script. Each of us takes away something different from a relationship, but at the same time these differences can meet half-way, in phenomena such as poverty. For movie characters, poverty is a common concept, although it is itself perceived differently, depending on each characters culture. I was very attracted by this idea and these language discrepancies, which prevent people from communicating in key moments. If characters could have really talked to each other, using the proper syntax, and voiced their needs, perhaps things would have been different. Im not big on moral relativity, nor do I agree with the idea that good and evil are relative concepts, that they differ from one person to another and one people to another. In this film, the circumstances complicate things a lot, and each character is bound by a strong personal stake”.




    The list of Romanian productions presented at TIFF this year also included Boss, a noir production directed by Bogdan Mirică, the winner of the TIFF.15 trophy for his feature Dogs, as well as the national premiere of Tiger, the debut film of Andrei Tănase, this year selected at Rotterdam. At the crossroads between documentary and fiction, Vlad Petris latest feature, Between Revolutions, distinguished with the FIPRESCI Award in the Focus section at Berlin, was produced using archive material. The film mirrors the lives and destinies of two women, Maria and Zahra, the former from Romania, the latter from Iran, friends and colleagues at the Medical School in Bucharest in the 1970s. “To me, it is a film about a recent past, which strongly resonates with the immediate reality. It is a film telling a subjective story, about women, about two countries and societies separated by thousands of kilometers, each experimenting with new political systems, where people are crushed by the states political oppression. It is a relevant film right now, which can be linked to the protests of recent months in Iran, where women are fighting for their rights and want a fair society, just as they tried to achieve in 1979”, filmmaker Vlad Petri says.




    “Admittedly, I am passionate about Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Ive been to Iran and other countries in the region, and so the film was made from a number of perspectives. My talks with my mother also played a key role. She studied Medicine and told me about students from the Middle East who would come to study in Romania. I was born in 1979, the year of the Islamic Revolution. There are thus several layers to this story, and I found numerous similarities and differences between the Islamic Revolution and the anti-communist revolution in 1989 in Romania. This was a very appealing territory to explore, and to talk about hope, optimism, the need for a radical change, because both revolutions led to radical changes, and I still believe these are the most important landmarks of the last century”.




    Film editor Dana Bunescu returns to film directing alongside anthropologist Cătălina Tesar, revealing marriage traditions in Roma families in the film The Chalice. Of Sons and Daughters. In turn, journalists Adina Popescu and Iulian Ghervase produced their third documentary, The Vultures of Țaga, which tells the story of a football team that constantly loses. Both films were premiered in 2022 at the Astra Festival. One of the most anticipated productions of the year is the world premiere of Nasty (directed by Tudor Giurgiu), a documentary about the life of Romanian tennis player Ilie Năstase. The film was screened in the Union Square in the presence of Ilie Năstase himself. Alexandru Solomon returns to TIFF with Arsenie. The Afterlife, the premiere of the much-anticipated film about monk Arsenie Boca and his legendary legacy. (VP)



  • First Kings of Europe

    First Kings of Europe

    An unprecedented and long-awaited international exhibition, titled First Kings of Europe had its opening at the end of March in the United States of America, at the famous Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, an exhibition in which Romania plays an important role:. This unprecedented cultural project, initiated 6 years ago by the American museum, presents outstanding pieces from the heritage of 26 museums from 11 countries in Southeast Europe, including Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Hungary and Romania. We spoke with museographer Corina Borș, coordinator of the exhibition on behalf of Romania, through the National History Museum of Romania, about this project, about its birth and the proposal of this vast exhibition. Corina Borș:



    It is practically the second international exhibition in which the National History Museum of Romania has participated, in the United States and Canada. The prestigious Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago had the initiative. Despite its title, which is only intended to be attractive to the public and to mark a very special idea, the exhibition has a prehistoric archaeological theme, starting to present to this public a history dating back more than 7,000 years. The First Kings of Europe project was initiated by representatives of the Field Museum more than 6 years ago, all starting with the visit to Bucharest of the American researcher and archaeologist William Parkinson and his partner in the research efforts and then the creation of the exhibition, Attila Gyucha. The theme of the exhibition is an archaeological one, focused on the prehistoric period, starting from the Neolithic to the end of the second Iron Age. It’s an exhibition that invites the public to explore the rise to power of the first dynasts, as they are called today, kings and queens of ancient Europe. An invitation to discover how egalitarian farming communities first developed the concepts of power, social inequality and hierarchy. It is a journey back in time, far back to almost 5,000 BC, a journey marked by a whole series of prehistoric artefacts of prime importance from the collections of 26 museums in 11 South-East European countries. These prehistoric artefacts, represented by tools, weapons, sculptures, ornaments, a whole series of other elements made of ceramics, metal, bone or stone, are an invitation to discover prehistoric life in these ancient societies of the Balkan region. The exhibition is an invitation to adventure, on a series of exchange routes that shaped the world as we know it today. Likewise, the artifacts mark landmarks related to the ceremonies of those distant times, from the reconstruction of a Neolithic altar to a funerary scene. Last but not least, there are particularly precious objects, such as weapons, but also power insignia that turned the warriors into, let’s call them, dynasts.



    Museographer Corina Borș explained the structure of the exhibition:


    The exhibition is structured around four major themes, and is organized chronologically, from the Neolithic to the first Iron Age. The first section, dedicated to the Neolithic period, explores how the lands on which these prehistoric civilizations developed before the appearance of the first kings would have looked. The period of the Copper Age or Eneolithic is the one in which, practically, we can talk about the appearance of the first precious metal objects, among the oldest in the world, discovered on the current territory of Romania and Bulgaria. The third section, dedicated to the Bronze Age, is centered on the emergence of new routes of power and, properly speaking, the emergence of the first dynasties, in the sense in which we could speak of royalty. Finally, the one in the last part of the exhibition, the one on the Iron Age, practically the first millennium before Christ, is the one dedicated to the birth of the idea of ​​royalty.





    But what is Romania’s contribution to this project? Corina Borș explained:


    From Romania, 6 museums participate in this important exhibition, the coordinator of the project being the National History Museum of Romania. It is a partnership with the National History Museum of Transylvania in Cluj, the National Museum Complex in Piatra-Neamț, the Gumelnița Civilization Museum in Oltenița, the Oltenia Museum in Craiova and the Buzău County Museum. From the collections of the 6 mentioned museums, a selection of 90 pre- and proto-historical artifacts, dating from the Neolithic period, the Bronze Age and up to the second Iron Age, are participating.





    Corina Borș also told us how the public across the ocean received the exhibition:


    At the moment, it is difficult to answer this question, because we are only at the beginning of the presentation of the exhibition in the second location. In an exhibition run of over two and a half years, three destinations were considered, namely New York, Chicago and Gatineau in Canada. We believe that the exhibition will be a real success, being a completely new theme for the American public. But, it is fair to wait for their reactions and opinions. (MI)


  • ”Brukenthal Exclusive” at Art Safari

    ”Brukenthal Exclusive” at Art Safari

    In the old center of the capital Bucharest, the Dacia-Romania Palace venued the 11th edition of the renowned Art Safari exhibition. The event offered the public, beyond the exhibitions opened in February 2023, several special events. Among them, the temporary exhibition Brukenthal Exclusive, where the public had the opportunity to admire some of the most valuable paintings in Romania, brought for a short period to Bucharest, from the Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu (central Romania). Baron Samuel von Brukenthal (1721-1803) was a Saxon judge and the Habsburg governor of the Great principality of Transylvania. He was also a passionate art collector, as well as the founder of the museum that has been bearing his name since 1790.



    Five world masterpieces from the Brukenthal Museum were displayed in Bucharest, namely the famous Portrait of a man with a blue chaperon by de Jan van Eyck (1390-1441), a Flemish painter of the late Middle Ages, considered a true innovator and having a decisive role in the history of European painting. According to legend, he was the artist who perfected oil painting. The other masterpieces are Portrait of a man reading and Portrait of a woman at prayer by Hans Memling (1435-1494); Ecce Homo by Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, 1488-1576), the famous Italian painter of the Venetian school and the small portrait Head of a Child by the painter Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), an artist belonging of the late Renaissance.



    The director of Art Safari, Ioana Ciocan, told us more about how this special exhibition: Alexandru Chituță was the curator of this exhibition, and he thought of an exhibition of masterpieces. This means that, out of the total of 1,200 paintings that belonged to Baron von Brukenthal, 50 are true world masterpieces, and of these 50, the ones exhibited in Bucharest are the most important. The works of these great artists can only be found at Brukenthal. These are Veronese, Titian, Van Eyck and Hans Memling. When I heard the proposal of the Brukenthal Museum, I was extremely honored and very surprised. The most valuable work in Romania, Portrait of a man with a blue chaperon by Van Eyck, was displayed inside the Dacia-Romania Palace, on Lipscani Street, in the center of Bucharest.



    The insurance value of the works borrowed from the Brukenthal Museum was 75 million euros, an extremely large amount for Romania. How, then, were the works insured? Ioana Ciocan: “We were able to insure the masterpieces with the help of international brokers. The works are insured in Great Britain because the amount to be paid and the speed with which this project was done made it impossible to insure them on Romanian territory. We would have liked to have a Romanian insurer, though. With the secure transport, secured by gendarmes and CPI Security was a bit easier, because we were able to make the transport with Orbit Fine Art, which already has experience in transporting cultural goods of universal value, the Heritage category. So things were a little easier there.



    The director of Art Safari made us a confession related to the recent designation of the Art Safari as a Strategic Project for Romania, by the Ministry of Culture. At the same time, Ioana Ciocan told us more about some of the projects that Art Safari is preparing: First of all, we are very honored by Minister Lucian Romașcanu’s decision to declare Art Safari a strategic project. We are, in fact, aware of all the responsibility that this honorary title carries and are already preparing exciting exhibitions for 2024 as well. The 2023 exhibition included, in addition to these Brukenthal masterpieces, an exhibition from the National Portrait Gallery and one from the prestigious Victoria and Albert Royal Museum. A Nicolae Grigorescu exhibition is next, between May 4 and 14. We have an exhibition of ‘Angels and Demons’, curated by ‘Victoria and Albert’, and specially made for Art Safari.



    There is also the Artachino retrospective, curated by Elena Olariu, staged in partnership with the Bucharest Municipal Museum and the National Museum of Art. Of course, along with these two museums, there are our long-term partner museums – Constanța, Iasi, Cluj, Timișoara, Oradea, Satu-Mare . I don’t have time to list them all, although I would like to. They are also with us at every great retrospective that Elena Olariu stages. And, of course, the National Portrait Gallery has created an exhibition entitled ‘Love Stories’, especially for Art Safari, which included masterpieces by Van Dyck, but also by Angelika Kauffman or Man Ray. (EE)



  • Ana Ularu featuring in the Romanian TV series “Spy/Master”, premiered in Berlin

    Ana Ularu featuring in the Romanian TV series “Spy/Master”, premiered in Berlin

    Spy/Master,
    an HBO Max Original production, is the first Romanian TV series to be nominated
    at the Berlin International Film Festival. Filmed in Bucharest and Budapest and
    co-produced by Warner TV Serie (Germany), the TV show was premiered in the
    Berlinale Series. This is the first time in the history of the festival when a
    new award is dedicated to remarkable series from all over the world. The script
    for Spy/Master was written by Adina Sădeanu
    and Kristen Peters. The series was directed by
    Christopher Smith and produced by Ioanina Pavel. Set to be premiered in May on
    HBO and HBO Max, the series tells the story of a double secret agent who is the
    right hand of dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu.
    The cast includes Ana Ularu and Alec Secăreanu. Ana Ularu told us more about
    this series.


    This
    is in fact a TV mini-series. There will be a total of six episodes, and only
    the first two episodes were screened in Berlin, which means that only two
    episodes were included in the competition. The public response was quite good,
    at least this is what I could tell from the reactions to the premiere, and I’m
    really happy. On the other hand, I must confess that I was also extremely
    impressed, although I knew this was something very special we were working on.
    Like any premiere, you see things differently. There’s this strong energy you
    feel when you see the end result on the big screen in a packed hall, and you
    can actually hear people’s reactions. It’s a wonderful feeling which I think
    all actors expect. I want to add that this TV series also features Elvira
    Deatcu – an actress I personally adore. She and Claudiu Bleonț are fabulous in the roles of
    dictatorial couple Elena and Nicolae Ceaușescu. I
    play the part of a counter-espionage agent named Carmen Popescu. She is tasked
    with thwarting the plans of Victor Godeanu, played by Alec Secăreanu, the male lead. So my
    character is trying to prevent and annihilate any attempt by Godeanu to defect.
    My character is both intelligence and determined, and she also has a sense of
    humor. I think I’m destined to play highly determined characters. I was very
    happy to be part of the crew that shot this mini-series. I loved the script the
    moment I read it. I read it in one go while I was in Portugal, and the end of
    each episode was a cliffhanger, which made me eager to see what the next
    episode would bring.


    Another
    TV series featuring Ana Ularu is The Power, where she performs alongside Toni
    Collette. The Power was premiered on Amazon Prime at the end of March. A
    number of other Romanians are also cast in this TV show, including Bogdan
    Albulescu. The book that inspired the TV series was written by Naomi Alderman.
    It was translated in Romanian by Miruna Voiculescu and brought out by Storia
    Books. Actress Ana Ularu has the details:


    The
    script for ‘The Power’ is based on a very clever assumption. I’d say it is a
    history of evolutionism. The basic idea is that nature helps organisms adapt to
    the society and world they live in. According to the script, teenage girls
    evolve and develop a new organ gifted by mother nature. This new organ gives
    them the power to electrocute at will. This new power women acquire somehow
    shifts the balance of power from many points of view. And these changes are all
    the more important if we refer to oppressive and unjust societies, societies
    deprived of democracy. This is another action-packed TV series which takes
    place all over the world. Part of the story occurs in America, another part in
    Nigeria. The protagonists also end up in England and other places. I can say
    this is one of the best films I have ever played in. And also speaking about
    ‘Spy/Master’, I was also very happy to have been able to be part of two TV
    shows which I adore, and I am very happy to be able to share them with the
    public. As for my stage partners in ‘The Power’, Toni Collette and Bogdan
    Albulescu, I didn’t get to work with them a lot, as we are part of different
    narratives. I won’t be giving any spoilers, because I want the film to surprise
    the audience. What I can say is that I was very happy to meet Toni Collette and
    star with her in this production. I hope the two us will have the opportunity
    to work together in a different film.


    Ana
    Ularu is one of the most acclaimed Romanian actresses right now. She has
    featured in theatre and film productions alongside celebrities such as Keanu
    Reeves (Siberia), Tom Hanks (Inferno), Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence
    (Serena). She recently played important roles in the TV series Emerald
    City, Alex Rider or Tribes of Europe. (VP)

  • Easter traditions observed by Romania’s Catholic community

    Easter traditions observed by Romania’s Catholic community

    Catholics worldwide observe Easter on April 9,
    2023. The consecrated days for Christianity’s greatest feast, for those of Orthodox
    and Catholic persuasion, do not always coincide. In 2023, the two persuasions’ observation
    of Easter falls one week apart. How can we explain that?


    After the Great Schism of the Cristian Church, in
    1054, more often than not, the Easter is observed one week apart. The weeklong
    lag is explained through the fact that, beginning 1582, The Orthodox Church
    uses the Julian Calendar, while the Catholics divide the year according to the
    Gregorian calendar. Therefore, the catholic Easter date is calculated according
    to the ecclesiastical fool Moon, in keeping with the ecclesiastical tables, as
    against the astronomic event of the Spring Equinox.

    The director of the Constantin Brăiloiu Ethnography and Folklore Institute
    in Bucharest, Sabina Ispas, will be giving us the details:


    Talks were held, focusing on
    resumption, while afterwards the ecumenic councils decided the calculation of
    the Easter date. It is a floating date since it is calculated according to the
    phases of the Moon. Thus, the old calculation system is preserved, of the old
    feast of the Judaic Easter, a timeframe when, historically speaking, the events
    occurred, or so it seems. That is why Palm Sunday, but also Easter
    have a volatile date. They do have a limit, as a rule. What we’re interested in
    is the maximum limit it as to the day it may fall on, this year being in early May.


    In certain regions across Romania, mostly in Ardeal
    and Banat, the Roman-Catholic Easter is observed by the Hungarian and German
    communities according to a century-old tradition. Apart from the all too familiar
    dishes, red-painted eggs, mutton, pound cake and red wine, the Roman-Catholics
    in Transylvania observe specific traditions.

    An ethnologist with the North University
    in Baia Mare, Delia Suiogan will now be speaking about the significance of the
    festive dinner on the Resurrection Day.


    We have the candlelight, the Light we
    receive at midnight, on the night of Saturday to Sunday. We have the lamb as
    supreme sacrifice, which embodies Jesus. This ritual gesture in fact signifies
    the rebirth of man and his right to resurrection. Likewise, Jesus Christ’s
    tomb. Through its symbolic capacity of signifying the primeval food and seed,
    the egg reminds of man’s right to start a new cycle all over again, to participate
    in recosmicization.


    The Catholic Christians in Transylvania observe the
    tradition of adorning fir-trees at the gates of the unwed girls, sprinkling them
    with water and perfume, just like on the pre-Christian times. In Mures County,
    the groups of those sprinkling the girls roam the villages, yet Easter gains
    its austere touch during the religious feast proper:


    Delia Suiogan:

    In Catholic Easter, sprinkling is enacted, a ritual the Orthodox
    in Transylvania have borrowed. And, since the cultural layers always have their
    own impact on the progress of any civilization, a beautiful encounter occurred,
    to that end. All Catholic Christians
    in the traditional communities observe this custom that entered via Germanic
    connection. On the first and second day of Easter they sprinkle one another. In
    the beginning, they sprinkled each other with water, as a sign of purification.
    This sprinkling hails from the pre-Christian times, obviously, originating in a
    ritual imposed by Ostera, the goddess of fertility and rebirth. On those feast
    days, all had to sprinkle each other with water, mutually, as a purification
    ritual, but also as a fertility one. Today, Catholic Christians sprinkle each
    other with perfume, as an extension of fertility towards spiritual rebirth, the
    fragrance of the perfume having that effect of redressing, of annihilating the
    evil, the rottenness, as well as an effect of instating a state of order,
    through the rebalancing of the cosmic states.


    It was also the Roman-Catholics who
    introduced, in the tradition, the chocolate figurines representing Easter symbols.
    The chocolate bunny or the chocolate egg are equally allegories of fertility,
    being offered to children on Easter day. Also, the Easter sweets have been
    borrowed in the orthodox space. Today, the window frames of all cafeterias are
    replete with chocolate bunnies, with chocolate eggs the bunny brings children. Again, via Germanic connection, we submit to
    the cult of the same goddess, Ostera. Legend has it that the goddess, as she
    was roaming the plains, ran into a bird with broken wings. A divine voice tells
    Ostera that, should she succeed to turn the bird into an animal that doesn’t need
    to fly, then the bird will survive, so the goddess turns the bird into a rabbit
    that can nonetheless lay eggs. So once a year, the bird turned she-rabbit gives
    the goddess the painted eggs, as a sign of rebirth in a different way. The colored
    eggs are, therefore, a reward of kindness.