The Foundation for a Civil Society was established in 1990 with a mission to foster free and pluralistic societies in countries emerging from a history of political authoritarianism, social oppression, and civil strife. What has become its flagship program, the Young Visual Artists Awards, was created during FCS’s first year, in collaboration with former Czech President Vaclav Havel and a dedicated group of Czech artists. Now in its 23rd year, YVAA has grown from a one-country program to include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia. In each of these countries, FCS has partnered with local arts institutions to conduct open-call award competitions for artists under 35 years old while facilitating the U.S. visits and residencies of over 100 artists, starting at the Headlands Center for the Arts in California and later at theInternational Studio and Curatorial Program in New York.

With a historic level of representation from one single organizational grantee, the Biennale will showcase the work of four artists from the Foundation for a Civil Society’s Young Visual Artist Awards program: Eva Kotakova and Katerina Seda (Czech Republic), Mladen Miljanovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Petra Feriancova (Slovakia).

The artists:

EVA KOTAKOVA
Eva Kotatkova (born 1982 in Prague) studied at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts, Prague Academy of Applied Arts, San Francisco Art Institute and Akademie Bildende Kunst Wien from 2002-2007. In 2007 – at the age of 25 – she became the youngest artist ever to be awarded the Jindrich Chalupecky Award for young artists in the Czech Republic. The basic techniques that Kotatkova uses in her work are drawing – her many drawings are initially created without a set intention, which only later is revealed in the final form and content – and video or photographed performances, which could be characterized by their playful exploration of the artists immediate environment and society.

Kotatkova exhibits extensively internationally and in the Czech Republic and her work is included in numerous private and public collections. (Source)

KATERINA SEDA
Since becoming a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Czech Republic in 1999, Katerina Seda has staged interventions into the life around her she identifies as “normality”. These experiments have taken place in small villages near Brno, her home environment, as well as in the urban setting of her second home Prague. Based on rigorous research into behaviour and communication patterns in both art and non-art communities, Seda has developed some poignant sociology-driven themes and spun around the truisms about production, consumption and meaning of contemporary art. 

Her past projects include The First Rally of Sunday Painters (Lisen near Brno, 2002), Quiet, Please: I’m Painting(Charles Bridge, Prague, 2003) and Bringing up a Child, 2004. For her latest project Convertor (Academy of Fine Arts, Prague, 2005) Seda invited a “grey jury” composed from 8 members of her Sedy family (“sedy/a” in Czech translates as “grey”), none of whom had been educated in art, and asked them to probe, comment on and join in on the discussions about the art work submitted by graduating students.

Seda has exhibited in numerous group exhibitions, including Dum Umeni, Brno (2003) and Prague Biennale 2(2005). She is holder of the Tranzit Award (2004), Essl Award (2005) and is now shortlisted for the prestigious Jindrich Chalupecky Prize awarded annually to Czech contemporary artists. She is currently artist in residence in Bern, Switzerland. (Source)

MLADEN MILJANOVIC
Mladen Miljanovic (b 1981) in Zenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, graduated from the Academy of Art in Banja Luka. In 2007 he receives the ZVONO prize for best Bosnian young artist. He has had solo exhibitions worldwide including State of Body, A+A Gallery, Venice, (2012), Taxi To Berlin, Antje Wachs Gallery, Berlin, (2011), Museum Service, MUMOK, Vienna, (2010), Sarajevo Service, National Gallery of B & H, Sarajevo, (2010), Occupational Therapy, Center in Galerija P 74, Ljubljana (2009), Occupo, Neue Gallerie, Graz, (2007). Group exhibitions include Either/Or” MS Dockville, Hamburg (2012), 14×14″ Donumenta, Kunstforum Gallery, Regensburg (2012), Survey of the Danube region” Oberfalzer Kunstlerhaus, Schwandorf (2012), Not So Distant Memory “, Dalewer Contemporary Art Center, Wilmington (2011), “Beyond The Truth”, Mestna galerija Ljubljana, Ljubljana (2011), It`s Time We Got to Know Each Other, 53. October Salone, Belgrade (2011), “Iron Applause”, Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava (2011), “No Network“ International Biennale of Contemporary Art, Konjic (2011), The End of the World as We Know It “, Kunsthalle – Mullhouse (2010), Condensations of the Social“ Smack Mellon, New York (2009). (Source)

PETRA FERIANCOVA
Petra Feriancova uses wide range of contemporary visual languages, from conceptual painting through installations, in situ works and photographs. She finds inspiration in her own emotional reactions, explores processes of perception, memory and ways of their interpratation. Her photographic reflections lead to questions and doubts about the space in which we move and live. They reflect reality in a fictional way. (Source)

иOpen Letter Books & The Elizabeth Kostova Foundation present:

BULGARIAN FICTION NYGHTS

with two new books, their authors and a translator

ANGEL IGOV’S A Short Tale of Shame

ZACHARY KARABASHLIEV’S 18% Gray

ANGELA RODEL, TRANSLATOR

Reading Group

Wednesday, April 24, 7PM

Bulgarian Consulate (121 E 62nd St, New York, NY 10065)

Read more.

———————–

Book Party

Thursday, April 25, 7PM

192 Books

192 Tenth Avenue at 21st Street
New York, NY 10011)

Read more.

READ ABOUT THE AUTHORS

ALLOCADES

FREE ADMISSION TO ALL EVENTS

RSVP is not required, but appreciated.

To get a sense of Tricklock’s work with TFK, their history, and how they feel about their most recent collaboration, TMU spoke with Juli Hendren, Tricklock’s Co-Artistic Director.

Tricklock previously traveled to Central and Eastern Europe, right?

Yes.

Where was that?

Well, we’ve been to Poland several times but the most recent trip was in 2011 to Krakow. We performed our show, Lullabies for My Father and then we did an extensive workshop with TFK. It was pretty exciting. Lullabies for My Father is a verbatim piece—it has a lot of language in it. It’s the first time we had traveled abroad with a piece like that and we weren’t sure how it was going to go over.

Was it supertitled?

No. It wasn’t. We just went for it. [Laughs] It turned out really great. We also did a workshop with TFK. It was amazing. They’re masters at what they do. We were working on a show that had a lot of shadow puppetry so it was great to get really specific training around our show. We could take it and immediately integrate it in our rehearsals.

How did you come across TFK?

It’s kind of a long story! We had a really great mentor of ours years ago, Leonard Shapiro, who ran a theater company in New York City called the Shaliko Company in the 70s and 80s. He connected us with Double Edge Theatre who pushed us to go to Gardzienice, Poland. We went, did some training, and then went out twice more to perform. It was really early in the development of Tricklock and Dagmara Zabska (founder and Artistic Director of TFK) had just graduated university. As young people starting out, we became friends and stayed in touch. Each time we went back, we went to Poland to see friends and we continued the relationship. This is the third time we’ve brought [TFK] out. Albuquerque loves them!

Is it true that their performances at this year’s festival had lines out the door?

Yeah. We’re really lucky. We have such a supportive, excited community here. And this was something totally new. We do shadow play and have some great puppeteers, but to do a full show with just hands? People hadn’t seen anything quite like it.

What do you think Tricklock has learned from TFK or vice versa?

The last show we did [Finger Mouth] was kind of intense, so finding a way to tell that story without being too gruesome was a challenge. Shadow play is such a great way to do it and we learned that from TFK. The sophistication of their work…I don’t think we would’ve been able to get there. It was really magical. We would’ve known what we wanted, but to be able to create elaborate landscapes and creatures that move? We couldn’t have done it without them. We also have a vibrant, young, theater community, so I know they were greatly affected by them.

Do any of the younger theaters work with shadow puppetry?

Blackout Theater. It’s four or five years old and mainly comprised of Tricklock students—which is awesome. I don’t know if it’s solely TFK’s influence, but they did a show about a year ago with puppetry. I think that with artists, especially with traditional training, it’s easy to get stuck in what you know. TFK makes you think outside the box. You’re not limited to words on a page.

It sounds like a success.

Hugely so. It was exciting touring to the Zuni-Pueblo and Native American Community Academy. It’s handtheater, so there aren’t words and it transcends everything. I know I keep saying it, but it’s really magical. Everyone gets it. My husband was watching TFK watch the Native American performances and he put it best: they ‘ve never seen something like this. Then he said the same thing about the Native American kids watching TFK. They had never seen something like that. It was really incredible.  The grant allowed us to extend to the smaller communities. That’s what’s exciting to me.

 —–

Tricklock Theatre Company is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and hosts the Revolutions International Theatre Festival each year in February. You can read more about TFK’s performance on their website here.

Last fall, in the frigid, snowy forests of the Russian Far East, three wild tiger cubs lost their most important ally: their mother. Our story began on Nov. 29 with a phone call to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) office in Vladivostok from Vladimir Vasiliev, the head of the regional wildlife department,Okhotnazor. He requested our assistance in capturing the four-month-old cubs, which had created a stir near a small village by attempting to make a meal out of a farmer’s dog.

We responded immediately by deploying WCS conservationists (and brothers) Kolya and Sasha Rybin, two of the best tiger trackers in the world. The WCS team met up with rangers from the Russian agency, Inspection Tiger, the local inspector from Okhotnazor, and staff from the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution before heading out to find the cubs.

What ensued offers a frontline look at the challenges conservationists encounter in saving the world’s tigers from going extinct — sometimes one tiger at a time. Today, fewer than 500 Siberian tigers — the largest of the tiger subspecies — survive, including an estimated 330 to 390 adults. Globally, only 3,200 tigers are thought to still exist in the wild, their numbers decimated by poaching, loss of prey, and habitat destruction.

On Nov. 30, the team had its first lead: fresh tracks in a recent snowfall just outside a village. Before long, the team spotted the cubs sitting in the middle of a forest road, curiously staring back at them before drifting into the woods. The team surrounded the area and was able to capture the smallest of the cubs with a combination of forked sticks and a large canvas bag. Weighing only 35 pounds, the cub already had formidable teeth and claws. (Sasha received a good nip to his finger during the capture.)

The cubs most likely lost their mother to poachers. WCS’s Russia Program has conducted the world’s longest ongoing tiger research project, gathering data on the largely hidden lives of Siberian tigers by capturing and radio-collaring more than 60 of the animals over the past 20 years. In that time, we have found that poaching accounts for approximately 75 percent of all adult tiger deaths, as a single tiger’s bones and body parts — prized in the Asian medicinal market — are worth $4,000 to $5,000 to the poacher and much more as the products are processed and sold. Sadly, female tigers with cubs are more susceptible to poaching; rather than fleeing from humans, mother tigers will stand their ground to defend their cubs.

After their mother died, these three cubs likely remained where their mother left them until hunger drove them to abandon their vigil.

Catching the remaining two cubs took several more days. On Dec. 1, the team picked up a fresh set of tracks, which they followed for more than 13 kilometers before daylight expired and the team gave up, empty handed. But the next day, the team captured the second cub after a three-hour chase onto a military base. The animal was immobilized and, before long, was on its way to join its sibling at a tiger rehabilitation center.

I was able to join the team for the capture of the third cub, which continued to elude us for two days. During that time, a heavy snow had disrupted the search, forcing us to look for fresh tracks as temperatures dropped to –20 Celsius (-4 F). On Dec. 5, we finally caught up with the remaining cub, at this point walking with difficulty in deep snow. The dehydrated animal was captured, given an IV solution, and warmed with hot water bottles to get its body temperature back to normal. After recovering from the immobilization, he eagerly ate some bits of wild boar we provided before we made the four-hour trip south to reunite him with his siblings.

As we placed the cages next to each other to reunite the cubs, growls of nervousness and anxiety came from both cages. But when we opened the cage doors, all went silent as they immediately recognized each other and the third cub quietly joined his brother and sister. You could feel the sense of comfort and joy of that reunion in the silence that followed.

Over the next seven to eight months, the tiger cubs will remain at the Inspection Tiger rehabilitation facility. The design of the facility was informed by WCS’s Bronx Zoo General Curator, Pat Thomas, who helped to ensure that tigers brought here would have limited and safe interactions with staff and be better prepared for release back into the wild.

The staff members who will care for the growing cubs face a daunting challenge: picking up where the mother tiger left off in preparing the cubs for independent life in the wild. Isolation from humans will be a central part of this process. The fence of the holding pen is covered with material to form a visual barrier, and a food cache will be provided in boxes on the fence perimeter and opened remotely. This will hopefully prevent the cubs from associating the approach of humans with food.

Teaching the tigers to hunt is another critical piece of a successful reintroduction. In the spring, the staff will introduce small prey such as rabbits to the enclosure, allowing the tigers to work their way up to larger prey such as sika deer and wild boar. After this training period, the tigers will be released in the fall with GPS collars, enabling our consortium to follow the movements of the three cats.

The tigers are doing well now, and their rescue demonstrates that strong partnerships are often the driving force behind successful conservation efforts in this remote landscape. Most likely, the tiger cubs will go their separate ways in finding their own territories, where they will live and hunt. We know that young sub-adult tigers (rehabilitated or not) face two primary dangers. The first is failing to find enough food. The second is staying out of trouble with humans, which is why tigers must maintain a wariness of our species. To reduce the risk of the cubs encountering people, we will release them in a remote section of tiger habitat, far from human settlements.

We are doing all we can to give these cubs a second chance at living out their lives in the wilds of the Russian Far East. Hopefully it will be enough.

Dale Miquelle is director of Wildlife Conservation Society’s Russia Country Program and the Tiger Coordinator for the society’s Tiger Program.

To view the online article, see here.

As part of the protest, parts of collections from all over the world will be cordoned off—but still visible to the public—from March 1 to March 3, 2013. Each artifact will be photographed and sent in to CULTURESHUTDOWN’s website and will be displayed on March 4, 2013, as part of a virtual exhibition. The aim of the protest, says Aksamija, is “to demonstrate solidarity with threatened Bosnian cultural institutions by symbolically ‘erasing’ one precious artwork or artifact, rendering it inaccessible for the Day of Museum Solidarity.”

The Day of Museum Solidarity has been endorsed by CIMAM, the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art, as part of its Contemporary Art Museums Watch Program. The program publishes reports on critical situations surrounding museums and collections worldwide that are affected by political and economic crises.

From their website:

Creative Time Reports is a dynamic multimedia website featuring artists around the world actively engaging in and commenting on the most pressing issues of our time. Asserting that culture and the free exchange of ideas are at the core of a vibrant democracy, Creative Time Reports aims to publish dispatches that speak truth to power and upend traditional takes on critical issues. We believe that artists are uniquely capable of inspiring and encouraging a more engaged and informed public, whether they are addressing elections or climate change, censorship or immigration, protest movements or politically motivated violence.

In an era of unprecedented interconnectedness, Creative Time Reports provides artists with a space to voice analysis and commentary on issues too often overlooked by mainstream media. We believe in the importance of highlighting cultural producers’ distinctive viewpoints on world events and urgent issues of social justice to ensure a livelier, more nuanced and more imaginative public debate.

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You can find the December 2012 Editor’s Letter here, where you can sign up to receive regular updates and information regarding upcoming calls for submissions.

announce the 2012 edition of

MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema

November 29-December 5, 2012

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Romanian Film Initiative are pleased to announce the continuation and reinvention of the yearly festival dedicated to Romanian cinema in New York City. MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema continues the celebrated Romanian film series in New York and will take place at the Film Society of Lincoln Center from November 29 to December 5, 2012. The festival will offer a panorama of the best in Romania’s newest contemporary filmmaking, including features, documentaries and shorts, along with retrospectives of Romanian filmmakers, special programs, panels, and a series of conversations on the political and policy shifts currently affecting arts and culture in Central and Eastern Europe.

This year, despite the festival’s growing success and recognition, its very survival has been jeopardized by the recent political changes in Romania, which have impacted the primary mission, status and budget of the Romanian Cultural Institute. In response to this unexpected adversity, the team that founded the festival seven years ago under the auspices of the Romanian Cultural Institute, Corina Suteu and Oana Radu, have resigned their posts as Director and Deputy Director, respectively, of the Institute, to establish the Romanian Film Initiative (RFI) together with Mihai Chirilov, the long-time artistic director of the festival. The RFI, in cooperation with the Film Society of Lincoln Center, strives to keep the playful, experimental spirit of the yearly event alive, and to continue to help Romanian films make waves in New York City and beyond. The RFI currently enjoys the support of leading Romanian artists, including film directors Cristian Mungiu, Radu Muntean, Lucian Pintilie, Corneliu Porumboiu, Cristi Puiu, Andrei Ujica and visual artist Dan Perjovschi, and the continued partnership of Transilvania International Film Festival.

“The Film Society of Lincoln Center is proud to continue its support of the exciting new generation of films and filmmakers from Romania by supporting the MAKING WAVES festival, especially in light of the recent governmental changes in Romania that have greatly endangered the future of state support for art and culture,” says Scott Foundas, Associate Program Director for the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

MAKING WAVES offers an overview of the best new Romanian filmmaking each year and introduces American audiences to landmark films rarely seen in the U.S. The festival has run in New York since 2006 when it was launched by the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, in collaboration with other partners. Notably, in 2011, the festival moved to the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

“Romanian Cinema deserves to be exposed on a sustainable basis to American audiences and in the most professional way possible. It is with great passion and commitment that the Romanian Film Initiative strives to reach beyond a crisis situation by creating a new platform and allowing the immensely gifted film community in Romania to remain in the world spotlight,” says Corina Şuteu, initiator and president of the festival and co-founder of the Romanian Film Initiative.

MAKING WAVES will present a week-long overview of the best and most recent films from Romania’s contemporary cinema, including the Opening Night selection OF SNAILS AND MEN by Tudor Giurgiu and Cristian Mungiu’s Cannes-awarded BEYOND THE HILLS as the Closing Night film. The lineup also includes the New York Premieres of Radu Jude’s EVERYBODY IN OUR FAMILY, Adrian Sitaru’s BEST INTENTIONS, and the North American Premiere of Radu Gabrea’s THREE DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS (LAST DAYS OF THE LIFE OF ELENA AND NICOLAE CEAUSESCU).

The festival will also host a long-due U.S. presentation of director Alexandru Tatos, one of the leading Romanian filmmakers of the 70’s and ’80s, whose film SEQUENCES gathered a small but dedicated following due to the film’s inclusion in the MoMA collection. New York audiences will have a chance to see three of his best films: RED APPLES (1976), ANASTASIA GENTLY PASSES (1979) and SEQUENCES (1982), on new prints produced with the support of the Romanian National Film Center. The star of ANASTASIA GENTLY PASSES, Anda Onesa, and Director of Photography, Florin Mihăilescu, long collaborator of Alexandru Tatos, will attend to introduce select screenings and to participate in post-screening Q&As.

MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema is supported by the Trust for Mutual Understanding, as well as the Blue Heron Foundation and other generous donors and sponsors, including visual artist Adrian Ghenie, and producer-director Bobby Paunescu. To complement funding for the festival, the Romanian Film Initiative has also launched a Kickstarter campaign to garner the grass roots support directly from the festival’s dedicated audience, and the many fans of Romanian cinema world wide.

Individual ticket prices: $13 GP/ $9 Student & Senior/ $8 Member
Three Film Package: $30 GP/ $24 Student & Senior/ $21 Member

More info:
FILM TIMES–MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema
New York Times
Capital

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FILMS, DESCRIPTIONS & SCHEDULE

OPENING NIGHT!
OF SNAILS AND MEN/DESPRE OAMENI SI MELCI
Tudor Giurgiu, 2012, Romania; 100m
A group of desperate workers come up with a crazy idea in order to save their factory from bankruptcy. This Full Monty-like bittersweet comedy is based on a real story from the 90s, at the exact time when the King of Pop visited Romania.
In person: director Tudor Giurgiu and actors Monica Bîrlădeanu and Andi Vasluianu.
**THURS. NOV 29; FRI. NOV 30

CLOSING NIGHT!
BEYOND THE HILLS/DUPĂ DEALURI
Cristian Mungiu, 2012, Romania, DCP; 150m
Inspired by a real case of exorcism, Cristian Mungiu’s new film is an all too believable portrait of dogma at odds with personal liberty in a society still emerging from the shadow of Communism. A NYFF selection, multiple prizewinner in Cannes, and Romania’s official 2012 Oscar submission. A Sundance Selects release.
*In person: Cristina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan
**WED. DEC 5

New York Premiere!
BEST INTENTIONS/DIN DRAGOSTE CU CELE MAI BUNE INTENTII
Adrian Sitaru, 2011, Hungary/Romania; 105m
In this expertly choreographed film, the life of a young man (Bogdan Dumitrache, winner of Best Actor at the 2011 Locarno Film Festival) is turned upside down when his mother suffers a stroke and gets hospitalized. But everybody’s best intentions are far from reassuring.
*FRI. NOV 30; WED. DEC 5

CRULIC: THE PATH TO BEYOND
Anca Damian, 2011, Romania; 73m
A dead man recalls the story of a Kafkaesque miscarriage of justice that sent him to jail for a crime he didn’t commit, in this strange and strikingly animated documentary based on a real tragedy.
*SUN. DEC 2

Free screening! North American Premiere!
A DREAM’S MERCHANT/UN GÂND, UN VIS, DOYLE… ŞI-UN PIX
Bogdan Ilie-Micu, 2012, Romania; 172m
Constructed almost entirely from still photos masterfully synchronized with audio commentaries, this challenging doc tells the story of an adventurous one-man motorcycle expedition that spans over 21, 000 kilometers and 14 countries.
*MON. DEC 3

Free screening! North American Premiere!
8TH OF MARCH/8 MARTIE
Alexandru Belc, 2012, Romania; 73m
Chaplin’s Modern Times is reinvented in post-communist Romania, focusing on one working day in the lives of several women, in a haunting and troubling account that makes you do anything but laugh.
*SAT. DEC 1

New York Premiere!
EVERYBODY IN OUR FAMILY/TOATA LUMEA DIN FAMILIA NOASTRA
Radu Jude, 2012, Romania/Netherlands; 107m
What starts as a slice of life becomes a dark tragicomedy about family dynamics when a small incident between two divorced parents takes on gigantic and almost cartoonish proportions.
In person: producer Ada Solomon.
*FRI. NOV 30; SAT. DEC 1

North American Premiere!
A FILM FOR FRIENDS/FILM PENTRU PRIETENI
Radu Jude, 2011, Romania; 58m
A disillusioned man is filming his farewell letter before committing suicide. Fasten your seatbelts, it’s gonna be a bumpy and twisted ride.
*SAT. DEC 1

North American Premiere!
SOMEWHERE IN PALILULA/UNDEVA LA PALILULA
Silviu Purcarete, 2012, Romania; 145m
Possibly the most unusual offering of this year’s feature selection, this flamboyant cross between Fellini and Peter Greenaway is the debut film of one of the most famous Romanian stage directors.
In person: producer Tudor Giurgiu
*SAT. DEC 1

Special 40th anniversary screening!
New 35MM Print!
STONE WEDDING/NUNTA DE PIATRA
Mircea Veroiu and Dan Pita, 1972, Romania; 90m
Celebrating 40 years since its release, this cult classic is comprised of two separate stories of different mode, set in the same small town, both with a wedding reference as a central point and the timeless quality of old and tragic folktales.
*TUES. DEC 4

North American Premiere!
TEODORA SINNER/PACATOASA TEODORA
Anca Hirte, 2011, Romania/France; 86m
Everyday routine and the most ardent of prayers coexist to draw a vibrant portrayal of life in a convent, seen through the beautiful eyes of a woman preparing for her upcoming marriage with God.
*SUN. DEC 2; WED. DEC 5

North American Premiere!
THREE DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS (THE LAST DAYS IN THE LIFE OF ELENA AND NICOLAE CEAUȘESCU)/TREI ZILE PANA LA CRACIUN (ULTIMELE ZILE DIN VIATA ELENEI SI A LUI NICOLAE CEAUSESCU)
Radu Gabrea, 2012, Romania; 90m
An unusual companion to Andrei Ujică’s The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceaușescu, Gabrea’s docudrama is an intriguing mix of true fiction and false reality, perfectly in tune with the ambiguities of the Romanian Revolution.
In person: director Radu Gabrea
*SUN. DEC 2; MON. DEC 3

Free screening!
TURN OFF THE LIGHTS
Ivana Mladenovic, Romania, 2012; 77m
One of the deepest insight into the Romanian crime landscape to date, this doc produced by Cătălin Mitulescu (Loverboy) follows the destinies of three men from the day they are released from prison through the beginnings of their new lives.
*SUN. DEC 2

Free screening!
NEW ROMANIAN SHORTS. VARIOUS; 101M
The best of the newest short films include, among others, the hilarious 3-minute animation The Scream (Edvard Munch’s famous canvas meets Pink Floyd!), the slick, Moebius strip-like Infinite Minutes and this year’s Cannes Critics Week selection A Family Dinner. Complete list below.
*FRI. NOV 30; SAT. DEC 1
• Another Christmas (Un alt Crăciun), 2012, d. Tudor Giurgiu
• Blu, 2011, d. Nicolae Constantin Tănase
• Daddy Rulz (Tatăl meu e cel mai tare), 2012, d. Radu Potcoavă
• Family Dinner (Cină în familie), 2012, d. Ştefan Constantinescu
• Hello Kitty, 2012, d. Millo Simulov
• Infinite Minutes (Minute Infinite), 2011, d. Cecilia Felméri
• The Scream (Ţipătul), 2011, d. Sebastian Cosor

ALEXANDRU TATOS RETROSPECTIVE
NEW 35MM PRINT !
ANASTASIA GENTLY PASSES/DUIOS ANASTASIA TRECEA
Alexandru Tatos, 1979, Romania; 100m
In a border village during WW2, Anastasia (Anda Onesa, winner of Best Actress at the 1980 Karlovy Vary Film Festival) refuses to obey orders and buries a partisan, in this unsettling and modern retelling of Antigone’s myth.
In person: Anda Onesa.
*TUES. DEC 4

NEW 35MM PRINT!
RED APPLES
Alexandru Tatos, 1976, Romania; 105m
Following the tribulations of a newly-appointed urologist, Tatos’ debut film is an acid pamphlet against destruction of young talent as well as a stand against the pervasive corruption that plagues even the noblest of professions.
In person: cinematographer Florin Mihăilescu
*MON. DEC 3

SEQUENCES/SECVENTE
Alexandru Tatos, 1986, Romania; 100m
Full of provocative political metaphors, Tatos’ masterpiece is a powerful meditation on the role of the arts in a rigidly controlled society, told in three parts, each of which involves a film crew.
*SAT. DEC 1

The Elizabeth Kostova Foundation cordially invites you to the third reunion Literary Talk & Reading: Bulgaria Inside Out with the Sozopol Fiction Seminars faculty members
Elizabeth Kostova (US), Rana Dasgupta (UK/India) and Vladislav Todorov (BG/US).

Thursday 18th October, 7.00 pm
@General Consulate of the Republic of Bulgaria
121 East 62nd St., New York, NY 10065
Please, join us for:
One American, one British and one Bulgarian writer, reading from and discussing their Bulgarian works;
Invigorating talk, moderated by Michael Reynolds, the editor in chief of Europa Editions;
Q&A with the authors, followed by wine reception.
Elizabeth Kostova is the founder of the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation, and the author of the bestselling novels “The Historian” (Little, Brown, 2005) and “The Swan Thieves” (Little, Brown, 2010);
Rana Dasgupta is the author of the novels “Tokyo Cancelled” (HarperCollins, 2005) and “Solo” (HarperCollins, 2010);
Vladislav Todorov is the author of the novel “Zift” (Paul Dry Books, 2010) and “Zincograph” (Fama, 2010; “The Color of the Chameleon” movie, based on the novel, was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2012).
The Foundation, for which 2012 marks its fifth anniversary, will be presented by Stefan Tafrov (EKF’s Board Member and Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to the UN).

Free admission | In English
Seats are limited, please, RSVP to: mdeleva@ekf.bg by October 16th.
The reception is kindly provided by Daniela Pondeva, founder of the Bulgarian Cultural Salon in New York.

For more information: http://www.facebook.com/events/270746446362444/?ref=nf

The Likhachev Foundation will accept applications from professionals in the field of culture and history or arts from the USA who are currently working on creative projects related to Russian culture or history. Command of the Russian language is very helpful but not required. Students are not eligible.

Creative project could be a museum exhibition project, a theater performance, a film, photo exhibition, preparation of fiction or research books, etc. related to Russian culture or history. Creative project should be conceived in the USA for a broad American audience. Residence in Russia should serve as an important stage in the realization of the applicant’s cultural project.

The Likhachev Foundation will prepare individual programs for the fellows according to their projects’ specifics, to help them achieve maximum results during their fellowships. These programs will include meetings with Russian colleagues, possibilities to work at St. Petersburg museums, libraries, archives and other organizations.

Ten two-week fellowships will be organized from May 13 till May 26, 2013 in St. Petersburg (Russia).

Deadline for submitted applications is February 1, 2013.

Applicants will be notified of the review panel decision by March 1, 2013.

Application should include:

• CV (including information on Russian language skills, previous creative projects related to Russia and previous visits to Russia).
• Description of creative project (up to 3 pages) such as museum or exhibition project, theater performance, film, preparation of fiction or research book and other types of cultural projects related to Russian culture or history. It should contain, in particular, a paragraph on how a residency in St. Petersburg will benefit the applicant’s creative project and which cultural organizations in St. Petersburg the applicant would like to work with.

Please, email your application in Russian or English to the competition coordinator Mrs. Elena Vitenberg at vitenberg@lfond.spb.ru and elenavitenberg@gmail.com with subject line «application for the fellowship».

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The D. S. Likhachev International Charitable Foundation

The name of the Academician D. S. Likhachev (1906-1999) is symbolic for the 20 century Russian culture. A Russian intellectual, survivor of the Soviet Gulag, a great scientist and thinker, a popular figure, he managed to preserve under the totalitarian regime his integrity, honor and fealty to Russia. In the 90s he has become a moral gold standard for many Russians. During his late years D. S. Likhachev conceived the idea of a humanitarian charitable foundation. The idea has been implemented after his death.

The D. S. Likhachev International Charitable Foundation had been founded in St. Petersburg at the end of 2001. The mission for the Foundation was stated by D. S. Likhachev himself as promotion of the Russian culture, education, humanities as well as affirmation of democratic and humanistic values in the society. The foundation supports both regional and international programs, awards grants, promotes seminars and conferences, publishes books, etc.

B. Yeltsin Presidential Center

The Fund of the First Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin was founded in November 2000, as a charity whose main aim is to give the youth of Russia the opportunity to reach their creative potential. The Fund has also taken it upon itself to analyze the various changes that Russia and the world in general went through during the end of the 20th century: to carry out studies on the historical and political foundations of the reforms that took place in Russia. The Fund is working to nurture peaceful and friendly relations between the world’s nations, offering help in the battle against social and religious conflict.

Committee on External Relations of Saint Petersburg

The executive authority – The City Administration is the superior executive body of St. Petersburg headed by the Governor of the city and other executive departments – the city committees and the administrative-territorial departments. The St. Petersburg Administration is formed of the Governor, the Government, The Governor’s Chancellery, the city committees and the administrative-territorial departments of the Administration subordinate to him. The Committee on External Relations is responsible for state policy of Saint Petersburg in external relations.