Great tasting, clean cherries. Bucharest. © Tudor PrisacariuDear RCC Members & Friends,
Welcome to the July – August 2008 edition of the RCC Diary.
I trust you are well and that the good old British Summer will continue to remain as kind to us as up to now. And speaking about summer, one can really tell it has come just by keeping an eye on the newspapers and the general news. It’s nice, sunny and warm, and we are getting closer and closer to the Silly Season (which starts officially in August; called by the Dutch the Cucumber-tide, and by the Finns the Rotting Season), when the stories covered in the media become sillier by the day.
As from now, the sightings of UFOs reported widely in the (not only tabloid) press will probably multiply. And, if the world will not end when the Large Hadron Particle Collider under Berne is switched on, creating a black hole, we shall surely find the meaning of life from the crop circles left in a field in Wiltshire.
I think I can predict the newspapers will have a field day talking about surfing puppies or the occasional flock of parrots from Teddington, as well as a host of cute animal stories.
But coming back to Romanian culture, you can see from the Diary below that, although summer is here and the holiday mood is very strong, there are still events happening in London and other places around the UK. You can still catch the Palme d’Or winner ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days’ in selected cinemas, as well as the tragicomic ‘California Dreamin’ (Endless) – see details below. The BBC Proms will bring a programme of Romanian traditional music on 20 July, the “masters of Balkan atmosphere” Paprika Balkanicus will play in a Croydon park and then will go up to Scotland, the violinist Baz Stanescu, a great master of Balkan, Gypsy, and jazz manouche music will perform in Ealing, and the up-and-coming Vlad Hirlav-Maistorovici will be performing in Sandwich with the Becker Ensemble.
By far, one of the most important Romanian-related cultural events is the Glyndebourne Opera debut of the great director Silviu Purcarete, this coming August. Maestro Purcarete directs ‘Love and Other Demons’, a brand new Glyndebourne commission from composer Peter Eotvos. The stage design is signed by Helmut Stürmer, one of Purcarete’s long-time collaborators, and one of the greatest stage designers around. Please see the details below.
As you can see, there are plenty of things to keep you occupied and culturally active and far away from the news. When talking about culture, it appears that summer is the Serious Season, with the big festivals in Edinburgh and smaller ones all over the UK. And talking about Edinburgh, the Film Festival there (18-29 June) has presented Radu Jude’s short film ‘Alexandra’, which we hope will come to a screen near you soon.
Keep sending us info about your events and we shall mention them in the updated version of the Diary. Until then, I wish you all the best and please keep on supporting Romanian culture in the UK.
Best wishes,
Ramona Mitrica
Edited by: Ramona Mitrica & Mihai Risnoveanu
Special thanks: Nicolae Ratiu, Mike Phillips
ROMANIAN DIARY: July – August 2008
2 July 2008 – BALLET: Laura Cristea within the Rambert School’s Evening of Dance
2, 4, 5 July 2008 – THEATRE: Eugene Ionesco’s ‘The Lesson’ and ‘The Bald Prima Donna’
3 July 2008 – CONCERT: The Plush Ensemble with Remus Azoitei (violin)
4 July 2008 – OPERA: Simona Mihai (soprano) in ‘The Coronation of Poppea’
5 July 2008 – CONCERT: Victoria Balan (violin) in Binfield
12 July 2008 – CONCERT: Paprika Balkanicus within Croydon Summer Festival
13, 15, 17, 19 July 2008 – PERFORMANCE: ‘La Boheme’ conducted by Christian Badea
15 July 2008 – CONFERENCE: ‘Evicting the Ghost’
18 July 2008 – CONCERT: Bela Bartok’s ‘Romanian Dances’
20 July 2008 – CONCERT: Folk Music from Romania at the BBC Proms
24 July 2008 – CONCERT: Baz Stanescu (violin) within Ealing Summer Jazz Festival
31 July 2008 – OPERA: Simona Mihai (soprano) in ‘The Coronation of Poppea’ at the BBC Proms
31 July 2008 – CONCERT: Naiades Ensemble with Paula Popa (harp)
31 July – 10 August 2008 – THEATRE: ‘Infanta: User’s Guide’ by Saviana Stanescu at Edinburgh Fringe
10 – 30 August 2008 – OPERA: ‘Love and Other Demons’ directed by Silviu Purcarete
11 August 2008 – CONCERT: Paprika Balkanicus with Bogdan Vacarescu (violin) at Broadstairs Folkfest
21 August 2008 – CONCERT: Vlad Hirlav-Maistorovici (violin) with the Becker Ensemble
30 August 2008 – CONCERT: Paprika Balkanicus with Bogdan Vacarescu (violin) in Edinburgh
Until 20 July 2008 – EXHIBITION: New Bucharest Market
Until 21 July 2008 – FILM: ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days’ by Cristian Mungiu
Until 31 July 2008 – FILM: ‘California Dreamin’ (Endless)’ by Cristian Nemescu
Wednesday 2 July 2008 – BALLET: Laura Cristea within the Rambert School’s Evening of Dance
19.45, Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4TN; Box Office: 0844 412 4300
Tickets: £15 (£12 concessions)
The Rambert School was founded by Marie Rambert in 1920. It is recognised internationally at the highest level for its teaching of dance technique, choreography and research. Here, the school presents a special programme of ballet and contemporary dance.
Contemporary dance is represented first by Robert Cohan’s seminal ‘Forest’, a work choreographed by Cohan for his legendary London Contemporary Dance Theatre in 1977.
Also featured is ‘Haida Quest’, a work by the school’s director, Ross McKim, which features live music by Barry Ganberg, and ‘Eternal Light’ by Mark Baldwin.
As with all Rambert School programmes, there will be further contemporary and ballet works created by students. Ballet will also be represented by selections from ‘La Sylphide’ staged by Paul Melis and Hilary Clark.
While studying in London, Laura Cristea is supported by the Ratiu Foundation .
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2, 4, 5 July 2008 – THEATRE: Eugene Ionesco’s ‘The Lesson’ and ‘The Bald Prima Donna’
19.45, Crescent Theatre, Sheepcote Street, Birmingham B16 8AE; Box Office: 0121 643 5858
This Ionesco double-bill is part of the Crescent Theatre’s FourPlay programme.
• The Lesson
A professor awaits a fresh pupil’s arrival, brushing off the maid’s warnings of the dark things that may come of yet another lesson… But as the pupil’s limitations become evident, the professor’s frustration grows, and the day’s lesson takes its foreshadowed, perilous turn. This potent “comic drama” has the power to frighten and delight as only Absurdist plays can.
Details on www.ionescos-lesson.blogspot.com
• The Bald Prima Donna
The Smiths are a traditional family from London, who have invited another family, the Martins, over for a visit. Their married guests, Mr and Mrs Martin, are certain that they have met somewhere before. They are joined later by the Smiths’ maid, Mary, who reveals that she is Sherlock Holmes, and the local fire chief, who is also a friend and confuses everyone by bobby-knocking at the door. Who is responsible for this misunderstanding?
Details on www.ionesco-thebaldprimadonna.blogspot.com
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Thursday 3 July 2008 – CONCERT: The Plush Ensemble with Remus Azoitei (violin)
19.00-21.00, ICR/Romanian Cultural Institute London, 1 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PH
Admission is free but places are limited. Early booking is well recommended. Please reserve your seats at Tel. 020 7752 0134
This is the final concert of the Enescu Society.
The Plush Ensemble is a flexible collective of fifteen international musicians who formed at Plush in 2001. The Ensemble is committed to performing new programmes at the highest level, contrasting chamber music works with the most interesting music of the avant-garde. Previous programmes include Beethoven and Schubert quartets paired with modern works by Ligeti, Birtwistle and Kurtag. Expect to be challenged by the group’s infectious energy and original interpretations.
The Plush Ensemble on stage at the Romanian Cultural Institute for the Enescu Society concert are: Remus Azoitei, Simon Blendis, Corinne Chapelle, Ruth Rogers – violins; Sue Knight, Tobias Breider – violas; Adrian Brendel, Pierre Doumenge – celli; Tim Horton – piano.
Programme:
Franz Schubert – “Notturno” for Piano Trio in E flat major D 897, op. 148
Antonin Dvorak – Piano Quartet nr. 2 in E flat major, op. 87
George Enescu – String Octet in C Major, op. 7
The Enescu Society Concert Season runs from October to July, on the first Thursday of each month. The concert stage of the Institute aims to host outstanding musicians performing George Enescu’s music alongside an international repertoire.
The Enescu Society is a project of the Romanian Cultural Institute London under the Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Margarita of Romania.
Details on www.icr-london.co.uk
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4 July 2008 – OPERA: Simona Mihai (soprano) in ‘The Coronation of Poppea’
16.55, Glyndebourne Opera, Glyndebourne, Lewes, East Sussex BN8 5UU; Box Office: 01273 813813, www.glyndebourne.com
‘The Coronation of Poppea’ by Monteverdi (sung in Italian with English supertitles; one interval)
‘The Coronation of Poppea’ (L’incoronazione di Poppea) is Claudio Monteverdi’s (1567-1643) last opera. It was premiered at Teatro di Giovanni e Paolo in Venice in 1642 and was given its first professional production at Glyndebourne in 1962.
The plot, by librettist Busenello, is suggested in the prologue with the apparent triumph of Love over Virtue and Fortune. Love, reflected through Nerone’s blind infatuation for the amoral and relentlessly ambitious Poppea, is powerfully illustrated in one of the most beautiful love duets ever written at the conclusion of this masterpiece.
The internationally acclaimed director Robert Carsen will direct this new production for the 2008 Festival. Baroque specialist, Emmanuelle Haïm, will conduct the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Danielle de Niese, following her critical success as Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, will return as Poppea, with Alice Coote in her Glyndebourne debut, as Nerone.
Performing as The Goddess of Virtue: Romanian soprano Simona Mihai.
While studying in London, Simona Mihai was supported by the Ratiu Foundation .
Details on www.glyndebourne.com
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Saturday 5 July 2008 – CONCERT: Victoria Balan (violin) in Binfield
19.30, Newbold College, Binfield, Bracknell RG42 4AN
Young Romanian violinist Victoria Balan performs a special recital, accompanied on piano by Naufal Mukumi.
The programme presents works by J. S. Bach, Jules Massenet, Claude Debussy, Sergei Rachmaninov, W. A. Mozart, Pablo Sarasate, Johan Svendsen, and Cesar Franck.
A collection will be taken during the evening.
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Saturday 12 July 2008 – CONCERT: Paprika Balkanicus within Croydon Summer Festival
13.00, Lloyd Park, Croydon CR1; Tel. 020 8760 5672
Free entry
Join the fun in the park at this event headlined by the Stereo MCs , with an excellent world music lining that includes the ‘Balkan Storm’ Paprika Balkanicus.
Details on www.croydonfestival.com
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13, 15, 17, 19 July 2008 – PERFORMANCE: ‘La Boheme’ conducted by Christian Badea
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD; Box Office: 020 7304 4000
Performance times: 13 July at 15.00, 15 and 17 July 19.30 PM, 19 July at 12.00.
A lost key, an extinguished candle and an accidental touch in the dark. So begins one of the great, tragic romances of all opera as the cold hands of the fragile seamstress Mimi warm the heart of the poet Rodolfo in lyrical seduction. Puccini’s gloriously tuneful work follows their story through a year from that first meeting through jealous separation to a poignant death-bed reconciliation. With Cristina Gallardo-Domas as Mimi, Roberto Aronica playing Rodolfo for The Royal Opera for the first time and Christian Badea conducting, and we have the potent combination of great music and intense passion in live performance.
Details on www.royaloperahouse.org.uk
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Tuesday 15 July 2008 – CONFERENCE: ‘Evicting the Ghost’
19.00-21.00, ICR/Romanian Cultural Institute London, 1 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PH
Admission is free but places are limited. Please reserve your seats at Tel. 020 7752 0134
This debate brings together three distinct perspectives on totalitarian space and its often problematic post-totalitarian uses. It proceeds from a look at strategies employed by contemporary artists in order to repossess the space colonized by ideology; then it engages the contorted metaphysics at the foundation of the House of the People in Bucharest, second largest edifice in the world, fusing the functions of mausoleum and citadel; and finally it discusses the makeshift architecture improvised on the streets by those dispossessed of their homes, as a result of changing ideas of ownership in contemporary Romania.
The debate will be chaired by Daniel Serafimovski, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Architecture and Spatial Design, Metropolitan University London.
Programme: ‘Occupying the Totalitarian Imagination’ by Malcolm Quinn, ‘Architecture and Politics at the Foundation of Foundation’ by Jonathan Lahey Dronsfield, and ‘Evicting the Ghost’ by Alex Axinte and Cristi Borcan (studiobasar).
The event is part of the New Bucharest Market project presented by the Romanian Cultural Institute, with the support of the Embassy of Romania, at the London Festival of Architecture 2008.
Details on www.icr-london.co.uk
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Friday 18 July 2008 – CONCERT: Bela Bartok’s ‘Romanian Dances’
19.30, Paxton House, Berwick upon Tweed, Scottish Borders TD15 1SZ; Box Office: 01289 386291
Tickets: £16 (£8 concessions)
This concert is performed by Cedric Tiberghien (piano), as part of the Music at Paxton Summer Festival of Chamber Music.
Also in the programme: Franz Liszt: “Annees de Pelerinage” Book 1; Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dances. Cedric Tiberghien is one of the most exciting artists to emerge from France in recent years. Highlights among future engagements include debut concertos at the BBC Proms as well as with many famous orchestras around the world.
Details on www.musicatpaxton.co.uk
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Sunday 20 July 2008 – CONCERT: Folk Music from Romania at the BBC Proms: Prom 4
15.30, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP; Box Office: 020 7589 8212
Free entry.
Prom 4 presents a programme of folk music and dances, both in their traditional arrangements and as arranged by composers such as Vaughn Williams and Bartok. The folk music from Transylvania, the Eastern Carpathian Mountains and Moldova is played by the Folkestra, a unique youth ensemble hosted by the Sage Gateshead.
Details on www.bbc.co.uk/proms
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Thursday 24 July 2008 – CONCERT: Baz Stanescu (violin) within Ealing Summer Jazz Festival
The Crypt Stage, Walpole Park, Mattock Lane, Ealing W5 (near Ealing Broadway Tube station)
Romanian violin virtuoso Baz Stanescu comes with his quartet ‘Hai la Drum’ – they are four versatile musicians who met playing gypsy swing music in the late 1990s. Expect traditional Romanian gypsy forms, improvisations and unusual arrangements of gypsy jazz tunes from Baz Stanescu (violin), Jonny Hepbir (guitar), Pete Watson (accordion), and Dan Sheppard (bass).
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Thursday 31 July 2008 – OPERA: Simona Mihai (soprano) in ‘The Coronation of Poppea’ at the BBC Proms: Prom 18
19.00, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP; Box Office: 020 7589 8212
Tickets £7-£44 (price band B) or Prom for £5 (30 minutes before the doors open).
Broadcast Live on BBC Radio 3. Available as audio on demand for the following week.
‘The Coronation of Poppea’ by Monteverdi (semi-staged; sung in Italian; one interval) A specially devised semi-staging, based on Glyndebourne’s new production, comes to the Proms under the dynamic direction of Emmanuelle Haïm.
Details on www.bbc.co.uk/proms
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Thursday 31 July 2008 – CONCERT: Naiades Ensemble with Paula Popa (harp)
20.00, St Mary’s Church, Monmouth, Gwent NP25 (Wales)
The Naiades Ensemble was formed in 2006. Besides Paula Popa on harp, it comprises Helen Manente (flute) and Nadya Larsen (viola). Its members have all recently graduated Masters Degrees in Advance Performance from the Royal College of Music. A professional and dynamic group, Naiades Ensembles members share a keen interest and passion about repertoire written for this rarely heard combination.
While studying in London, Paula Popa was supported by The Ratiu Foundation .
This concert is part of the Monmouth Festival.
Details on www.monmouthfestival.co.uk
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31 July – 10 August 2008 – THEATRE: ‘Infanta: User’s Guide’ by Saviana Stanescu at Edinburgh Fringe
19. 05, Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 38 West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8 9DD
Free entry. Daily performances.
Performed by Erika Blaxland-de Lange. Directed by Vasile Nedelcu
“You think I’m mentally retarded or too clever: it’s the same thing!” In her constant oscillation between love and hate one woman redefines the delicate margin between madness and sanity…
Saviana Stanescu is a New York-based playwright and poet. She has published books of poetry and drama including: Diary of a Clone and GOOGLE ME! (poems), Waxing West (2007 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Play) and Final Countdown (a play, Antoine Vitez Center Award, Paris). Her poetry has appeared in Talisman, Poetry London, Metamorphoses, Exquisite Corps, Pen Club magazine, The Temple, Watchword, Absinthe, The Saint Ann’s Review, etc. She toured UK with poetry readings (Bath Literature Festival, Cambridge, Dylan Thomas Centre – Swansea, Salisbury, London, etc). Saviana is currently a NYSCA writer-in-residence with Women’s Project and East Coast Artists. She teaches at NYU, Drama Department.
Details on www.edfringe.com
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10 – 30 August 2008 – OPERA: ‘Love and Other Demons’ directed by Silviu Purcarete
Glyndebourne Opera, Glyndebourne, Lewes, East Sussex BN8 5UU; Box Office: 01273 813813
Performances on 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 24, 27, 30 August 2008 at 16.35 (Sundays) and 17.50 (all other dates).
Tickets: £10 – £165. Tickets available at £30 for people aged 30 or under (limited availability).
Standby seats at £15. Standby tickets are only made available 72 hours before each performance.
• ‘Love and Other Demons’
Performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and The Glyndebourne Chorus. Conductor: Vladimir Jurowski; Designer: Helmut Stürmer. Libretto: Kornel Hamvai.
Cast includes: Marisol Montalvo as Sierva Maria; Robert Brubaker as Don Ygnacio; Nathan Gunn as Father Delaura. Sung in English with supertitles.
‘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.
Synopsis: A young girl, the daughter of the Marquis, is attacked by a rabid dog and finds herself imprisoned in the convent where the Bishop’s exorcist comes to drive out her demons. Yet soon it is he who is possessed, consumed by the most terrible demon of all – LOVE.
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).
Silviu Purcarete’s 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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Monday 11 August 2008 – CONCERT: Paprika Balkanicus with Bogdan Vacarescu (violin) at Broadstairs Folk Week
19.30, The Sailing Club & Pavilion on the Sands, Broadstairs, Kent CT10 1JX
Tickets: £7
From 14.30 there will be a workshop at the Sailing Club: ‘A Journey through Gypsy and Traditional Balkan Music’.
Seaside, breeze, cold beer, explosive Romanian and Balkan tunes… Yes, you got it right! Balkan atmosphere descends on Kent.
Details on www.myspace.com/paprikabalkanicus
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Thursday 21 August 2008 – CONCERT: Vlad Hirlav-Maistorovici (violin) with the Becker Ensemble
20.00, St. Mary’s Church, Sandwich, Kent CT13; Tel. 01304 239356
Tickets: £15
The Becker will be bringing a full symphony orchestra to St Mary’s church to play on the evening of Thursday 21st August 2008.
The programme of music will include Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor and the Symphony No 7 in A by Beethoven. The orchestra will be conducted by John Perkins and the solo violinist will be the internationally renowned Romanian violinist Vlad Hirlav-Maistorovici, a former student of the Yehudi Menuhin School, and a student of the Royal College of Music in London. While studying in London, Vlad is supported by the Ratiu Foundation .
Details on www.beckerensemble.com
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Saturday 30 August 2008 – CONCERT: Paprika Balkanicus with Bogdan Vacarescu (violin) in Edinburgh
20.00, Ocean Terminal in Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6JJ
There is a small fee to access the Mela site. No ticket necessary for the performance.
The Balkan storm goes to Scotland bringing a whirlwind of good time. Paprika Balkanicus performs in the Scottish Mela in Edinburgh as part of the Gypsy Arts Festival.
Details on www.gypsyartsfestival.co.uk
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Until 20 July 2008 – EXHIBITION: New Bucharest Market
ICR/Romanian Cultural Institute London, 1 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PH. Tel. 020 7752 0134
Entrance by appointment only. Monday – Friday 10.00 – 18.00.
Curated by Mihnea Mircan. Romanian artists and architects come to London to take part in the London Festival of Architecture 2008, a celebration and exploration of the city’s buildings, streets and spaces across five major Hubs of activity. Each Hub will see major public events, exhibitions, talks, installations, tours, walks and cycle rides.
Called New Bucharest Market, the Romanian project will introduce LFA visitors to the project Transcentral Urban Bucharest (TUB), a collaboration between 14 architecture studios in Bucharest, which seeks to redefine the identity of the city by fostering social, cultural and environmental initiatives.
The exhibition organised by the Romanian Cultural Institute in 1 Belgrave Square includes a film by acclaimed director Cristi Puiu, author of the award-winning Death of Mr. Lazarescu. The exhibition also includes works by some of the best young Romanian artists, who respond to the TUB concerns:
Mona Vatamanu and Florin Tudor, Vlad Nanca, Daniel Gontz, Ciprian Muresan.
The event is organised by the Romanian Cultural Institute London, with the support of the Embassy of Romania.
Details on www.icr-london.co.uk
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Until 21 July 2008 – FILM: ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days’ by Cristian Mungiu
Various cinemas nationwide
For a full list of dates and cinemas’ contacts, please go to www.artificial-eye.com/4months/where.php
• ‘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 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
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Until 31 July 2008 – FILM: ‘California Dreamin’ (Endless)’ by Cristian Nemescu
Various cinemas nationwide
For a full list of dates and cinemas’ contacts, please go to www.artificial-eye.com/californiadreamin/where.php
• California Dreamin’ (Endless)
Feature film/Romania/2007/Fiction/colour/155’/Romanian and English dialogues, with English subtitles
Directed by Cristian Nemescu. With: Armand Assante, Razvan Vasilescu, Jamie Elman; Maria Dinulescu, Ion Sapdaru, Alex Margineanu, Andi Vasluianu
Produced by MediaPro Pictures. Distributed by Artificial Eye
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.
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Va multumesc pentru stire.
Programul cultural este bogat, chiar stralucitor si sper sa aiba parte de un public numeros.