Dear RCC Members & Friends,
Welcome to the June edition of the Romanian Info Centre (RIC) e-bulletin. I hope that you will find it useful.
First of all, I hope that you are well and that you enjoy fully the nice weather London has been blessed with lately. I heard that this could be as good as it will get weather-wise, so I hope you will make the most of it.
Secondly, due to some technical problems outside our control that occurred during the sending of the May-June edition of this e-bulletin, I understood that the majority of you may have not received it. This is why we are resending some of the information, along with new things.
I was away from London this beginning of June, working in Romania. June is the season of some of the most exciting cultural events happening back home. The most important are, by any measure, SIBFEST (Sibiu International Theatre Festival) and TIFF (Transylvania International Film Festival), in Sibiu and Cluj-Napoca.
There were surprises aplenty, with international stars and famous Romanian names, for both the theatre and the film festival. I just hope some of you have happened to be around Transylvania for a short break and managed to attend either of these events. SIBFEST had several premieres on show, among which were ‘Faust’ of the great director Silviu Purcarete, and also a new play directed by him – ‘Lulu’. The Sibiu audience also had the chance to be enchanted by and the first full staging of a kabuki show in Romania. TIFF had several firsts as well, presenting the Cannes Palme d’Or short film winner ‘Megatron’ by Marian Crisan and Radu Muntean’s most awaited ‘Boogie’. See below more details about both festivals.
And speaking of film, the Romanian cultural magazine ‘Timpul’ (Time) has published in its May edition, under the signature of writer and essayist Liviu Antonesei, a special pictorial and short analysis of Home & Away, the fifth edition of our Romanian Film Festival in London. We are glad to see that our Festival has echoes, and so far afield from the UK.
Among the usual useful information and announcements, you will find in this e-bulletin a special feature which we dedicate to the memory of Ion Ratiu (who would have been 91 this June) and to highlight an act of public protest against Ceausescu that is not well known, which happened 30 years ago. Details below.
Naturally, we are working hard on other events and special programmes in London, and we promise you several surprises for the months to come. You will be the first to know about them; watch this space!
If you would like your Romanian or Romanian-related cultural events publicised in our newsletters, please send us the details at least two weeks prior to the event. We shall try to include them in the next edition(s) of the Diary, time and editorial space permitting.
Best wishes,
Ramona Mitrica
Edited by: Ramona Mitrica & Mihai Risnoveanu
Special thanks to: Mike Phillips, Nicolae Ratiu
SPECIAL FEATURE: From the Ion Ratiu Archives
ROMANIAN CULTURE IN THE UK
Remember: Paul Neagu (artist), 22 February 1938 – 16 June 2004
California Dreamin’ (Endless) in UK Cinemas Nationwide
Director Silviu Purcarete’s Glyndebourne Opera Debut
Exhibition – Lia Perjovschi: Performances 1987-2007
Remus Azoitei (violin) and Eduard Stan (piano) Concert at Wigmore Hall – SOON!
ROMANIAN COMMUNITY IN THE UK
Romanian / English Language Classes ‘Welcome / Bun venit’
School of Romanian Culture and Tradition for Children
‘Diaspora Romaneasca’ Romanian Newspaper
WWW.ROMANI-ONLINE.CO.UK
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Incotro (Where To?) – Romanian Visual Survey 2008
Romanian Short Film ‘Megatron’ by Marian Crisan awarded the Palme d’Or
Open Call For Artists & Film-makers – Deadline 1 July 2008
TCM Classic Shorts 2008 Competition open for entries – Deadline 1 August 2008
Royal Court Theatre Playwriting Workshop
Exiled Writers INK translation scheme
London Film Schools Workshops
Newton International Fellowships
The ‘George Enescu’ International Competition 2009 for Piano, Violin and Composition
New DVD: ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days’
New CD: Sounds from a Bygone Age vol. 5 – Gabi Lunca and Ensemble Ion Onoriu
Travel to Romania with Voyages Jules Verne
Learn Romanian in Romania!
New Book: ‘Transylvania’ by Bronwen Riley
New Book: ‘Hammer and Tickle’ by Ben Lewis
EVENTS IN ROMANIA
SIBFEST: Sibiu International Theatre Festival, 29 May – 8 June 2008
Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF), 30 May – 8 June (Cluj) and 11 – 15 June (Sibiu)
RATIU FOUNDATION NEWS
Ratiu Scholarships
The Ratiu Foundation & University of Chichester Awards
The Ratiu Foundation & University of Kent Awards
STEPdoc 2008 – a mobility grant of GBP 1,500 for a young Romanian film-maker
SPECIAL FEATURE: From the Ion Ratiu Archives
We have recently discovered, rummaging through the vast archives maintained by Ion Ratiu (6 June 1917-17 January 2000), the great Romanian democracy campaigner, businessman and philanthropist, some extremely interesting materials documenting an act of defiance of Ceausescu and his regime, at a time when the Romanian dictator was still the darling of the West.
Exactly 30 years ago, in 1978, Nicolae Ceausescu visited the UK. On this historic occasion, the Romanian president demanded and was accorded full state-honours, mainly in order to facilitate an important UK-Romanian aerospace trade deal. To dramatically highlight the appalling human rights situation in Romania, Ion Ratiu, one of the most outspoken critics of the Communist regime, organised a protest in front of the hotel where Ceausescu held a reception for the Queen. At the time the UK Government had unofficially agreed to “shield” Ceausescu from any unpleasantness arising from demonstrations. Here is a description from The Times, 16 June 1978:
“Protest halted: Police last night stopped a demonstration by Romanians outside Claridge’s, where Mr Ceausescu gave a banquet in honour of the Queen, one of the protesters said (a Staff Reporter writes). Mr Ion Ratiu, a former Romanian diplomat who is now a London businessman and chairman of the Romanian-British Association, was arrested, charged with obstruction and, he claims, detained at Saville Row Police station until the President left the hotel.
The protesters, carrying placards comparing life in Romania to Orwell’s 1984, said they were fenced off with railings and a coach was used to block them from Mr Ceausescu’s view.
Arthur Reed, Air Correspondent, writes: “The deal, under which Britain will pass on its expertise in building BAC 1-11 airliners to Romania and help it to establish a self-contained production line, is the biggest between two countries involving civil aircraft.”
The Times, on 20 September 1978, comes with a follow-up: “Ion Ratiu, aged 61, president of the British-Romanian Society, was granted an absolute discharge at Marlborough Street Magistrates’ Court yesterday for obstructing the police during a peaceful demonstration in London against alleged violations of human rights in Romania”.
It was said later that the Romanian Government paid for the BAC license through a series of barter deals – including substantial deliveries of rotten strawberries!
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ROMANIAN CULTURE IN THE UK
Remember: Paul Neagu (artist), 22 February 1938 – 16 June 2004
Paul Neagu: sculptor, painter, poet, larger-than-life character.
Neagu settled in Britain in 1970 and embarked on a remarkable career as an artist and teacher. Laughing in the face of the Establishment, Neagu even formed a fictitious art group (Generative Art Group) which exhibited regularly. Influenced by Structuralism and philosophy, Neagu’s art worked with the Word for an even deeper impact.
Born in Bucharest in 1938, Paul Neagu grew up in the western Romanian city of Timisoara, and returned to Bucharest to study in the Academy of Fine Arts in 1963. By the late 1960s, following a relaxation of the isolationist views of the Romanian communist state, Romania had a thriving contemporary art scene, on the same level with that in the West, and dialogue was once again possible. Accordingly, Richard Demarco, a young Edinburgh-based artist and curator, organised a show of Paul Neagu’s work in 1969. In 1970, Paul decided to leave Romania and settle in Britain, receiving British citizenship in 1977.
In 1975 he had an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, where his work was brought, for the first time, in front of a much wider audience. In 1975 also, Paul created the first ‘Hyphen’ – a form in which was concentrated an entire philosophy, and an element which was going to be an integral part of his vision until the time of his death. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Paul kept on working on the development of his unique vocabulary.
After the Romanian revolution of 1989, Paul exhibited again in Romania, where, after the unfortunate revival and imposition of Socialist Realism in the 1970s-80s, his work was once again appreciated by the audiences. In 2001, Paul suffered a stroke. His great ability to communicate was greatly diminished, yet, through a long process of recovery, never complete, Paul continued to work and to distil ideas. In 2003 the Tate Gallery acquired a great number of his works and exhibited some of them at Tate Britain. Nevertheless, his health was failing him and on 16 June 2004, Paul Neagu passed away.
By any standards, Paul Neagu was a great artist – indeed, he was a great architect of new frameworks for art. Influenced by philosophy, sometimes to a larger extent than by contemporary art, Paul wrote an entirely new language of forms and meanings, and pioneered a novel type of art/knowledge, paralleled by that of Joseph Beuys or Yves Klein. This vision is by no means easy to understand, demanding from the viewer an open mind paired with empathy and great dedication to art as means of expression.
When thinking of Paul in relation to other great Romanians, Brancusi is the first who comes to mind, and the time may come when Paul’s work will be seen as important as that of his predecessor’s. While developing his oeuvre, Paul also taught, starting in the late 1970s, at the sculpture department of Hornsey College of Art, and then at the Slade School of Art. His legacy can be observed in the works of Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley, Rachel Whiteread, Tony Cragg, Langlands & Bell.
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California Dreamin’ (Endless) in UK Cinemas Nationwide
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ (Endless)
Directed by Cristian Nemescu
Romania / 2007 / Fiction / colour /155′ / Romanian and English dialogues, with English subtitles
With: Armand Assante, Razvan Vasilescu, Jamie Elman; Maria Dinulescu, Ion Sapdaru, Alex Margineanu, Andi Vasluianu
Produced by MediaPro Pictures. Released through Artificial Eye on 30 May 2008.
Synopsis:
A stubborn station master confronts a NATO mission.
In 1999, a NATO train transporting military equipment is stopped in the middle of nowhere by the overzealous and overtly anti-American chief of a train station in Romania. The transport, supervised by American soldiers, is crossing Romania without official documents, based only on the verbal approval of the Romanian government. Set against the backdrop of the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the film explores the impact that the arrival of the American soldiers has on the tiny village community: historical experience, corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency and romantic interest concur in a mayhem battle of wills with tragic consequences for the village but not for the Americans. At the end of five intense days, the train resumes its journey leaving behind broken hearts, shattered dreams and a civil war.
A cinematic tour de force, as well as a poignant and hilarious comment on parochialism, intercultural clashes, and Romania’s long-term fascination with America.
“California Dreamin’ is an epic satire, with both modern-day Romania and US foreign policy firmly in its sights”. (Nick Roddick, London Film Festival)
Awards: ‘Un Certain Regard’ Award, Cannes 2007; Satyajit Ray Prize, 51st Times London Film Festival 2007
Cristian Nemescu (1979 – 2006)
When he died at 27 in a car crash which also claimed the life of his sound designer (Andrei Toncu), Nemescu was the most promising voice of New Romanian Cinema, with a distinctive directorial voice and a proven taste for life on the margins. Having recently graduated from film school and with a number of international awards for his short films already gained, Nemescu was interested in sexuality and cinematic language. He aimed to mix fantasy with social realism, and dreamt of walking out of the habitual realist aesthetic of Romanian cinema. All his short films had a sexual intrigue: exploring sexuality was a way to break free from the harsh skin of the real, and to reach out to alternative human and cinematic realms. Instead of a social cinema Nemescu wanted love stories. His cinema was not minimalist, but excessive and flamboyant – a characteristic which also emerges from his feature film, incorporating a newly-discovered interest in social and political comment. The car crash happened late at night when Nemescu was returning home after working on the post-production of California Dreamin’ – his debut feature was also his last film.
Playing at:
The Curzon Soho
99 Shaftesbury Avenue London W1D 5DY; Box Office: 0871 7033 988
The Renoir Cinema
The Brunswick, London, WC1N 1AW; Box Office: 0871 7033 991
and Arts Picturehouse Cambridge, Cornerhouse Manchester, Filmhouse Edinburgh, IFI, Dublin.
For full list of dates and cinemas, go to www.artificial-eye.com/californiadreamin/where.php
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Director Silviu Purcarete’s Glyndebourne Opera Debut: ‘Love and Other Demons’ by Peter Eotvos – World Premiere
2008 promises to be another ambitious year for Glyndebourne with a new work commissioned jointly by Glyndebourne and the BBC.
The Festival will feature a major new work commissioned jointly by Glyndebourne and the BBC from the Hungarian composer Peter Eotvos entitled ‘Love and Other Demons’. This is the first time an opera by Peter Eotvos has been premiered in the UK and also the first time maestro Silviu Purcarete directs for Glyndebourne.
‘Love and Other Demons’
Glyndebourne Opera, Glyndebourne, Lewes, East Sussex BN8 5UU; Box Office: 01273 813813, www.glyndebourne.com
Performances on 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 24, 27, 30 August 2008, at 19.20.
Conductor: Vladimir Jurowski; Director: Silviu Purcarete; Designer: Helmut Stürmer
Composer: Peter Eotvos; Libretto: Kornel Hamvai.
Performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and The Glyndebourne Chorus. Cast includes: Marisol Montalvo as Sierva Maria; Robert Brubaker as Don Ygnacio; Nathan Gunn as Father Delaura. Sung in English with supertitles.
Highlighting its commitment to new opera, Glyndebourne’s 12th new work is an opera composed by the Hungarian Peter Eotvos and is commissioned jointly by Glyndebourne and the BBC. ‘Love and Other Demons’ is based on the novel of the same name by celebrated author Gabriel García Márquez – a tragic love story set in 18th-century Spanish Columbia, the catholic miracle drama is set against a backdrop of slavery and decaying colonialism.
Silviu Purcarete has worked in Romanian and European theatre for more than twenty years, most notably for the National Theatre of Craiova and Theatre Bulandra in Bucharest. His productions have won many awards and great critical acclaim both in Romania and abroad. In 1996 Purcarete became Director of the Centre Dramatique National de Limoges for whom his productions have included ‘Oresteia’, ‘Three Sisters’ and ‘Don Juan’. Opera credits include ‘La Boheme’ (Essen), ‘Parsifal’ (Scottish Opera coproduction with WNO), Donizetti’s ‘Roberto Devereux’ (Wiener Staatsoper) and Rameau’s ‘Castor et Pollux’ (Opera Bonn).
His work has been seen extensively in the UK and includes ‘The Decameron’, ‘Phaedra’ and Aeschylus’ ‘Danaides’ (Glasgow), ‘Oresteia’ (Lyric Hammersmith), ‘Ubu Rex’ (Edinburgh International Festival) and ‘The Tempest’ (Nottingham Playhouse). In 2005 Purcarete directed ‘Scapino’ or ‘The Trickster’ at Chichester Festival Theatre. In 2006, ‘The Twelfth Night’, a National Theatre of Craiova production, was presented during the Bath Shakespeare Festival, and in 2007, Purcarete directed Eugene Ionesco’s ‘Macbett’ for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Composer Peter Eotvos is one of the best known interpreters of 20th century music and is amongst the most widely commissioned opera composers in Europe. His operas, which include ‘The Three Sisters’, ‘The Balcon’ and ‘Angels in America’, are amongst the most frequently performed in the contemporary repertoire. This Glyndebourne Commission will be the first major production of any of his operas in the UK.
Details on www.glyndebourne.com
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Exhibition – Lia Perjovschi: Performances 1987-2007
22 May – 29 June 2008. Project Space: Wilkinson Gallery, 50-58 Vyner Street, London E2 9DQ; Tel. 020 8980 2662
Visiting hours: Wednesday-Saturday: 11.00-18.00, Sunday 12.00-18.00
Wilkinson Gallery is pleased to present a solo show of documented performances by Romanian artist Lia Perjovschi. An active artist for over 20 years both independently and in collaboration with her partner Dan Perjovschi, she has built up a vast body of work that reflects both her personal development and the momentous history of her country.
The exhibition curatorally distinguishes between works made before and after Ceausescu’s toppling in the revolution of December 1989 and charts Perjovschi’s sometime angry, sometime melancholic, sometime humorous responses to Romania’s ever changing, perhaps progressing, social and economic development through performance.
This exhibition marks Lia Perjovschi’s first exhibition with Wilkinson and only her second in London. Her work has previously been included exhibitions at Tate Modern and the ICA and will be at the Biennale of Sydney 2008 and Modern Art Oxford in 2009. Collaborating with Dan Perjovschi she shared a major retrospective at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University (2007). The artist currently lives and works in Bucharest.
Details on www.wilkinsongallery.com
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Remus Azoitei (violin) and Eduard Stan (piano) Concert at Wigmore Hall – SOON!
Romanian violin virtuoso Remus Azoitei and pianist Eduard Stan will give an extraordinary concert at Wigmore Hall, on 15 September 2008. Please set the date aside in your calendar.
The special concert was created around the idea of presenting works by George Enescu together with works by Johannes Brahms, aiming to display the multiple connecting points between the two masters. This “Brahms-Enescu” project is a world premiere in itself, the two composers’ works having not yet been presented in this combination before.
Watch this space for more details!
Booking opens on 1 July 2008. Call the Wigmore Hall Box Office on Tel. 020 7935 2141 or book on-line at www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
Organised by The Ratiu Foundation / The Romanian Cultural Centre in London
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ROMANIAN COMMUNITY IN THE UK
Romanian / English Language Classes ‘Welcome / Bun venit’
The Romanian Cultural Centre, 8th floor, 54-62 Regent Street, London W1B 5RE; Tel. 020 7439 4052, ext 108; e-mail: mail@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk
After the successful run of the six months pilot project, the ‘Welcome / Bun venit’ language classes of the Romanian Cultural Centre (RCC) in London is now entering the assessment phase.
Together with our consultants, we shall decide upon the route this programme will take in the future. Thank you all very much for expressing your interest in learning Romanian. Our thanks also go to the Romanians who wished to learn and improve their English. We are glad to have had such a good response from you and we promise to take into consideration the feedback you have provided.
We shall announce the next session of registration for the Romanian / English classes soon. In the meantime, join us for any or all of the Romanian events in the UK, and support us by becoming members of the Romanian Cultural Centre in London (see details at the end of this e-mail).
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School of Romanian Culture and Tradition for Children
A school of Romanian culture and tradition is organised in London for the benefit of Romanian children living in Britain, through an initiative of the Educational Coordination Centre of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of Western and Central Europe.
The object of the school is to offer to children between 6 and 16 years of age the opportunity to learn about the spiritual and cultural values of the Romanian people.
The programme is run with the aid of experienced teachers and includes various objects of study, such as Romanian language and literature, religion, Romania’s history and geography.
This is not a school in itself, as in a school with a daily schedule. It is rather a series of extracurricular activities aiming to acquaint the children with Romania’s cultural values.
This programme also offers the participants the opportunity to meet. It also allows them to discover together, in an interactive and exciting fashion, representative facts about our country.
All interested should contact the organisers on mobile 07832 296 226 (Delia Sambeteanu) and 07896 319 793 (Alina Pop) or by e-mail at cceanglia@googlemail.com
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‘Diaspora Romaneasca’, Romanian newspaper
’Diaspora Romaneasca’, a weekly Romanian newspaper, was established in 2002, making it the first Romanian ethnic newspaper in the UK. ‘Diaspora Romaneasca’ is a newspaper for Romanians living in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Available in selected shops and by means of subscription. It is currently distributed in Britain and abroad. Contact details: e-mail: editor@diasporaro.com
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WWW.ROMANI-ONLINE.CO.UK
Romani-Online.co.uk was re-launched with a brand new design, new sections, and improved user facilities. Click on the links below to visit the website and convince yourselves.
– Do you have something for sale?
– Do you want to buy something?
– Are you looking for a room or a flat to rent?
– Do you want to advertise your services?
It’s simple! Click on www.Romani-Online.co.uk, register with the site, and then publish your announcement directly! No need to wait until somebody will publish it for you. And everything is FREE and really easy to set-up!
– Do you want to know what’s been happening in Romania lately?
– Do you want to learn the latest news of interest for Romanians living in the UK?
– Would you like to go to Romanian parties or concerts?
It’s simple! Click on www.Romani-Online.co.uk, and you’ll find out! Don’t forget to enter the Forum and the Live Chat!
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Incotro (Where To?) – Romanian Visual Survey 2008
‘Incotro’ is an independent project which aims to bring together the best visual artworks made in 2007 and 2008 by Romanian authors, irrespective of the country they live in.
‘Incotro’ wants to be a benchmark, a launching ramp, a source of dialogue and an interface between the Romanian and international visual art worlds.
There are no restrictions as to the medium in which the works are done. ‘Incotro’ receives photographs, illustration work, posters, web sites, visual ID, graffiti, installation, video works, paintings, etc.
The selected works will be included on a web site and a PDF magazine which are going to be launched in the last quarter of 2008.
The deadline for sending the works is 1 September 2008.
For the full rules and more information, visit www.incotro.org (Romanian only)
‘Incotro’ is an initiative of Tudor Prisacariu, realised with the support of The Ratiu Foundation.
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Romanian Short Film ‘Megatron’ by Marian Crisan awarded the Palme d’Or
Awarded by the President of the Cinéfondation and Short Film Jury Hou Hsiao Hsien and actress Kerry Washington, the Palme d’Or for the Best Short Film went to ‘Megatron’ by Marian Crisan. [Mr Crisan] exclaimed, “I’m overwhelmed; I don’t know what to say. It’s a big surprise for me. I thank the Jury and I thank everyone in Cannes. Hello to my daughter and wife back in Romania. Bye.”
(excerpt from Cannes Festival Press Release)
‘Megatron’ tells – in 15 minutes – the story of Maxim (played by Maxim Adrian Strinu), a boy of 8 living with his mother (Gabriela Crisu) in a village near Bucharest. For his birthday, Maxim’s mother will take him to the Capital city, to McDonalds. But what the boy wants most is to meet his father who lives in Bucharest.
Director Cristi Puiu, owner of Mandragora Films (producer of the film) said: “Marian’s film is moving, and is in accord with the minimalist tendencies [in cinema]. ‘Megatron’ is rightfully a part of the New Wave of Romanian cinema”.
To read an interview with Marian Crisan (Romanian only) in ‘Cotidianul’ newspaper, please click here
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Open Call For Artists & Film-makers – Deadline 1 July 2008
imagine art after is a multi-stage project for internet, gallery & television curated by Breda Beban that brings together artists and film-makers who made a home in the UK with those who stayed in their country of origin.
For its second edition, imagine art after is looking for artists and film-makers from the following places, who either live there, or in the UK:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Former USSR, Gambia, Ghana, India, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Romania, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Uganda, Vietnam, Zimbabwe.
For more information and an application pack, go to www.imagineartafter.net, or e-mail info@imagineartafter.net
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TCM Classic Shorts 2008 Competition open for entries – Deadline 1 August 2008
The TCM Classic Shorts competition: Finding the film-makers of the future.
For the second year, the competition is open for international film-makers. The films entered in the competition must not be older that 1 September 2007.
The First prize is £5,000; Second prize: £3,000; Third prize: £2,000.
Be part of one of the most prestigious and long standing short film competitions in Europe. The judging panel is made up by some of the most prominent names in the film and media industry and the international media coverage of the competition, now in its ninth year, is held in conjunction with The Times BFI London Film Festival.
The six finalists will be screened as part of The Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival at the awards ceremony and on film channel TCM. Your work could be promoted on movie channel TCM across Europe, the Middle East and Africa as part of a special on-air TCM Classic Shorts season in November.
Past winners have gone on to win BAFTAs, make feature films and TV programmes, and screen their work at other festivals such as Cannes with the encouragement and assistance of TCM.
Details on www.tcmclassicshorts.com
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Royal Court Theatre Playwriting Workshop
Unheard Voices Recently Arrived: Your Chance to write for the British Stage.
The Royal Court is a leading force in world theatre, committed to producing plays which tell stories and reflect experiences from every corner of society. We’re looking for writers and theatre practitioners who have come to the UK within the last five years and have a passion for writing and something to day.
Whether you’ve come here for refuge, asylum, for work or family, if you have previous been a writer of any discipline or worked in theatre, we want to hear from you. From autumn 2008, you can take part in a weekly playwriting group led a by a professional playwright and have your chance to write for the British stage.
You must be 18 or over and have a basic knowledge of English but you can write your play in the language of your choice.
Places are FREE. To apply, please send us some information about your writing or theatre experience plus one page of dramatic writing in the language you write in.
Deadline: Tuesday 1 July 2008.
Send to: Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, London SW1W 8AS.
For more information, contact Lucy: 07804 966 923, lucydunkerley@royalcourttheatre.com
www.royalcourttheatre.com
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Exiled Writers INK translation scheme
“Are you a writer forced to live in exile? Are you finding it hard to get translated and published in the UK?
Exiled Writers INK is running a scheme to match writers in exile with expert translators in the UK. You will work together intensively over a year, leading to publications, readings and new opportunities. If you are interested please send a CV in English and 10 poems or 2 short stories in your own language to NatTeitler@aol.com or post to Exiled Writers Ink Translation scheme, 94 Beaufort Street, London SW3 6BU.
Work will not be returned. Deadline is 28 June 2008.”
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London Film Schools Workshops
The London Film School has launched LFS Workshops, a range of new short and part-time professional development courses, with the emphasis on a totally hands-on, intensive learning experience. All courses are developed by leading practitioners and offer an opportunity to study at a high professional level, right in the centre of London.
Upcoming workshops include courses in Directing, Production Design, Screenwriting, Producing, Film Composing, and Film Music.
For full details, please go to www.lfs.org.uk/courses/short/introduction.php
All courses are eligible for Skillset bursaries which are available to freelancers and employees in the Film & TV industries. Please visit www.skillset.org/film/funding/bursaries/ for more info. For any queries regarding these courses e-mail Saskia van Roomen on s.vanroomen@lfs.org.uk
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Newton International Fellowships
The Newton International Fellowships will be the pre-eminent award for postdoctoral researchers wishing to undertake research in the UK. The Fellowships was launched on 4 June 2008 and is run by the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society to cover the broad range of natural and social sciences, engineering and the humanities.
Newton International Fellowships aim to attract the world’s best post-doctoral researchers to Britain for a period of one to two years. Funding for follow-on activities will continue for up to ten years after the Newton International Fellows have returned overseas, with the aim of maintaining links with the UK. In addition, Newton Fellows will have the opportunity to join a national alumni scheme for international fellows run by RCUK.
More details will be available from the Newton International Fellowships website at www.newtonfellowships.org
Newton International Fellowships, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG, Tel. +44 (0)20 7451 2598; info@newtonfellowships.org
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The ‘George Enescu’ International Competition 2009 for Piano, Violin and Composition
The 2009 George Enescu International Competition for Piano, Violin and Composition, 19th edition, is open to participants of all nationalities, born after 1 August 1976. No exception to this age limit is accepted.
The application deadline is 1st of July, 2009 (mail date). The application form should be sent to:
ARTEXIM – Calea Victoriei 155, bl. D1, Sc. 8, et. 2, sect. 1, 010073 Bucharest – ROMANIA; e-mail: competition@festivalenescu.ro
Please mention on the envelope “for the George Enescu International Competition”.
The Competition is part of the George Enescu International Festival that takes place in Bucharest between 30 August and 26 September 2009. For a full description of the application process please visit www.festivalenescu.ro/eng/concurs.html
All detailed information on the Festival available at www.festivalenescu.ro
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New DVD: ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days’
• ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days’
Feature film /Romania/2007/113 min/Romanian with English subtitles
Directed by Cristian Mungiu. Starring Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov
‘Screen realism rarely achieves such a vivid texture of a country and a time as this excruciatingly tense drama, the Palme d’Or winner at Cannes this year, about two young women living in an all-female dorm in 1980s Romania. The story takes place over one long night. Vague Gabita is pregnant and wants an illegal termination, but she has been dilatory about arrangements with the criminal abortionist. When her staunch friend and room mate Otilia tries to straighten things out she is made to pay her own price to make sure it happens. An extraordinary odyssey of desperation and terror ensues, against a grim environment of quasi-Soviet officiousness. […] Director Cristian Mungiu’s superb arthouse nail-biter is convincing in every way, especially in the piercing performance of Anamaria Marinca as Otilia.’ (Nick James)
‘4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days’ is released in UK cinemas and on DVD through Artificial Eye (www.artificial-eye.co.uk).
You can read more about the film (including Director’s notes and blog, in Romanian and English) at www.4months3weeksand2days.com
You can order the film from Movie Mail, Zavvi, HMV, Play.com. Prices start at £11.98.
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New CD: Sounds from a Bygone Age vol. 5 – Gabi Lunca and Ensemble Ion Onoriu
• Sounds from a Bygone Age vol. 5: Gabi Lunca and Ensemble Ion Onoriu
Audio CD (28 April 2008), Asphalt Tango CD-ATR 1508
“Alongside Romica Puceanu, Gabi Lunca was the most valued performer of Romanian ‘muzica lautareasca’. Yet unlike her sensuous and hard-drinking rival, Gabi Lunca’s life, partly because of the four children she had with the accordion player Ion Onoriu, was spent in familiar seclusion and without excess. Not only for this reason, but also because of her carefully selected stage clothes and her great professionalism, she was also referred to as the ‘Tziganca de matase’, the silken Gypsy woman. Gabi Lunca played with Aurel and Victor Gore’s taraf until her marriage to Ion Onoriu. Later she worked with the trumpeter Costel Vasilescu, the cymbalom god Toni Iordache and other big names from the Bucharest Lautari scene in the state-owned Electrecord studio.” – Grit Friedrich
Available from Amazon.co.uk, HMV.com (CD) and from Play.com (as download). Prices start at £7.25.
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Travel to Romania with Voyages Jules Verne
Revealing the artistic and cultural inheritance of Romania: includes a visit to Peles Castle in Sinaia and Dracula Castle in Bran, plus much more…
The 8-nights trip will take the intrepid traveller from the capital city of Bucharest on to the Carpathian Mountains to Transylvania and then to the famous painted monasteries of Bucovina. For details, prices and travel periods, please visit the following link
www.vjv.co.uk/destinations/europe/romania/treasures-transylvania/index.html
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Learn Romanian in Romania!
The Romanian Cultural Institute in Bucharest organises courses in Romanian language, culture and civilisation in the 12th century citadel of Brasov. A multicultural environment, Brasov (Corona, Kronstadt, Brasso) was renowned as a big medieval trade centre, but also as a cultural and academic fortress. Brasov is the place where the first sparkle of an anticommunist uprising appeared in 1987.
The courses in Romanian language are based on a flexible curriculum, adapted to the students’ needs, combining basic vocabulary and grammar lessons, group and individual activities that aim to develop fluency in communication and to consolidate grammar structures. The language course support includes textbooks, literary and historical texts, folklore, newspaper articles, audio-visual means.
Official opening of the programme: 13 July 2008. Closing ceremony: 2 August 2008.
Location: The courses take place in the city of Brasov.
For details, please visit www.icr.ro/cursuri_brasov
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New Book: ‘Transylvania’ by Bronwen Riley
• ‘Transylvania’ by Bronwen Riley.
Photographs by Dan Dinescu
Frances Lincoln Publishers, 2008; ISBN: 9780711227811
Hardback, 192 pages, 250 colour photographs. RRP: £30.00
Many people think Transylvania is a fictitious land, like Ruritania or Narnia. It is the birthplace of Dracula. It is the place where dragons live in Harry Potter and the country to which the Pied Piper spirited the children of Hamelin. Indeed, although Transylvania is a real place, truth here is often stranger than fiction. Streams run with silver, the mountains are full of gold, dinosaur nests are found in river beds and haystacks in trees. It is a country of striking cultural contrasts: of Orthodox monasteries, Gothic churches and Communist follies. While the ‘King of the Gypsies’ lives in a grandiose modern palace, the future King of England has bought a modest peasant’s house in a remote village. Transylvania only recently awakened from the deep sleep of Communism and, though life is now changing fast, traditions remain here that elsewhere died out long ago. ‘Transylvania’ captures this vanishing world in words and pictures.
‘Transylvania’ can be purchased online from Amazon.co.uk
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New Book: ‘Hammer and Tickle’ by Ben Lewis
• ‘Hammer and Tickle. A History Of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes’ by Ben Lewis
Weidenfeld & Nicolson Publishers, 29 May 2008. ISBN-10: 0297853546, ISBN-13: 978-0297853541
Hardcover, 368 pages. RRP: £14.99
Q: Why, despite all the shortages, was the toilet paper in East Germany always 2-ply?
A: Because they had to send a copy of everything they did to Moscow.
Communist jokes are the strangest, funniest, most enchanting and meaningful legacy of the 80 years of political experimentation in Russia and Eastern Europe, known as Communism. The valiant and sardonic citizens of the former Communist countries – surrounded by an invisible network of secret police, threatened with arrest, imprisonment and forced labour, confronted by an economic system that left shops empty, and bombarded with ludicrous state propaganda – turned joke-telling into an art form. They used jokes as a coded way of speaking the truth. ‘Hammer and Tickle’ takes us on a unique journey through the Communist era (1917-1989), and tells its real history through subversive jokes and joke-tellers, many of whom ended up in the gulags. It is also illustrated with a combination of rare and previously unpublished archive material, political cartoons, caricatures, photographs and state-sponsored propaganda. Humorous, culturally poignant and historically revealing, this is the story of a political system that was (almost) laughed out of existence.
‘Hammer and Tickle’ can be purchased online from Amazon.co.uk
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* * * * * * * * * * *
EVENTS IN ROMANIA
SIBFEST: Sibiu International Theatre Festival, 29 May – 8 June 2008
The 15th edition of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival – the most important performing arts event in Romania – took place from 29 May to 8 June 2008. This anniversary edition was conceived under the heading “ENERGIES” and it includes over 350 events produced by companies from more than seventy countries.
“In 2007, the Festival’s heading was NEXT, at a time when Sibiu was a European Capital of Culture. We wanted to show that for us 2007 was not the apex of theatre in Sibiu, but merely the beginning of a new road. Due to the experience gathered in fifteen years of activity, the Sibiu International Theatre Festival is headed ENERGIES, demonstrating that it is a direct continuation of the 2007 events and also a promoter of the multiculturalism with which Sibiu identifies so well”, said Mr Constantin Chiriac, director of ‘Radu Stanca’ National Theatre of Sibiu and director of the Festival.
The shows on offer included the most representative productions of the great Romanian theatres, as well as important international productions and street performances during all the eleven festival days. The 2008 edition of the Festival came in ten sections, catering for all tastes: Extraordinary Shows, Theatre in the Citadel and Unconventional spaces, Street performances, Experimental theatre, Dance-theatre, World Music shows, The Meetings of the Theatre Schools and Academies, Theatre readings and Radio Theatre, Specialised workshops, and an “Off” section.
Within this year’s edition, the Sibiu audience was treated to an absolute premiere: a splendid Kabuki theatre show. The play was ‘Natsumatsuri Naniwa Kagami’ (Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka), with the extraordinary participation of Nakamura Kenzaburo XVIII, one of the most famous Kabuki stars. “We wanted for a long time to bring this Kabuki show within the International Theatre Festival and I am glad we succeeded to do it for the 2008 anniversary edition”, said Mr Chiriac.
The Festival also presented the French theatre troupe extraordinaire ‘Plasticiens Volants’. These performers are renowned worldwide for their daring and original street performances where gigantesque characters come to life with the aid of helium gas. The inflatable characters handled by the talented French artists paraded through the streets of Sibiu in a show filled with visual and audio effects. The Festival also presented the mega-show ‘Faust’, and two premieres of the ‘Radu Stanca’ National Theatre Sibiu, ‘Lulu’ directed by Silviu Purcarete, ‘No Smoking Today’ directed by Gavril Pinte, as well as other exceptional shows. For the fifteenth edition, the Festival expected to welcome in Sibiu more than 60,000 people.
Details and full programme on www.sibfest.ro
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Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF), 30 May – 8 June (Cluj) and 11 – 15 June (Sibiu)
Transylvania International Film Festival is the only international feature film festival in Romania, organised by Romanian Film Promotion. Founded in 2001, Romanian Film Promotion aims to promote young film-makers, organise a feature film festival, help distribution and promotion of the European cinema, organise seminars and conferences about film production and distribution.
The 7th edition of TIFF took place in the city of Cluj-Napoca, between 30 May and 8 June, and continues in Sibiu, between 11 and 15 June 2008.
The Festival presented a plethora of films, among which the long-awaited third feature film of director Radu Muntean – ‘Boogie’, with Ana-Maria Marinca, the star of the 2007 Palme d’Or winner ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days’. The 2008 film competitions presents twelve feature films coming from Mexico, Hungary, Kazakhstan, USA, Estonia, Germany, France, Greece, Spain and Denmark.
Besides the usual screenings and workshops, from 5 to 7 June (TIFF) presented the Romanian Days, an event that brought together producers, directors, representatives of the National Centre of Cinematography in Bucharest, local and international press, festival directors, students, and foreign guests of the Festival.
The great TIFF Award went to Mexican director Yulene Olaizula for her documentary film ‘Intimidades de Shakespeare y Victor Hugo’.
Details and full programme on www.tiff.ro
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