Pre-order now: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320876/the-dancing-face/9780241482674.html

Photo: Laura Lazar 

Convorbiri Românești = Dialogue

Convorbiri Românești este o revistă culturală, în format electronic, editată în Marea Britanie de Profusion International.

Convorbiri conține știri culturale, interviuri, portrete, recenzii, corespondențe, recomandări.

Editată în limba română, cu rezumate în limba engleză.

https://convorbiriromanesti.co.uk/

Photo: Mike Phillips and Constantin Chiriac (Liverpool, 2008) 

CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW (Part 1)
CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW (Part 2)
CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW (Part 3)
CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW (Part 4)

More about Mike Phillips http://www.profusion.org.uk/topic/9-pikephillips.aspx

Ramona Mitrica - Interview with a foreign friend. About the place Romanian creativity occupies in the imagination of the artistic world

I want this interview to tell a story - a story about you MIKE PHILLIPS.
How has your experience of Romania and Romanian arts affected and influenced your views as a critic and an author?

Ramona Mitrica: Well you’re right. It would be interesting to explore this question of how to distinguish between individuals when these individuals actually define themselves by their ownership of a collective culture. But, although I think that’s very relevant to understanding our current direction, I’d like to park that question for a moment and return to the issue of your own cultural background and how it links up with our culture. I’m thinking about the issue of the European City of Culture, which, as you know, will be in Timisoara in a couple of years. You’ll be familiar with the arguments and the benefits, because we were both involved in discussions about this award when Sibiu was competing for it some years ago; and leaving those to one side, it’s probably true to say that being chosen as City of culture in Europe is proof or a vindication, if any were needed, that Romania is a notable historical pillar in the landscape of European culture. At the same time it’s clear that the language creates a substantial barrier. Add to this your sense of belonging to a cultural landscape where virtually all non Anglophone cultural figures are excluded.  Given that background it’s not difficult to accept your participation in the culture dominated by Shakespeare or Dickens, but your claim to a relationship with the cultural world of Mircea Eliade or Lucian Blaga needs a bit more explanation.

Mike Phillips: Well, talking about “a relationship with” your cultural world does not quite communicate what I meant. I think I was trying to say that all cultures actually had something in common. That being so, understanding the culture which influences an artist increases your ability to appreciate the cultural framework which has produced any other artist. In any case we need to consider the issue of how different cultures penetrate each other. Think of the fairly obvious case of jazz pianist Lucian Ban, and his entry into the culture of jazz music. His music exists in the same cultural continuum as that of Thelonious Monk or Bud Powell, while at the same time being recognisably related to the tradition which has produced very different musicians such as Radu Lupu. Or to take a different sort of case, look at the culture fostered by Russian puppet theatre, and you’ll see its imagery reproduced in the theatre of Purcarete as well as the imagery of several contemporary directors. In the arts there is a repeated recycling of cultures and cultural artefacts. So, in my view, there is no question to answer. The idea that cultures can be singular and separate always seems to be a disguise for a separatist political argument.

Ramona Mitrica: Of course I agree with your point, but you know that is not my argument. We started out talking about how you can distinguish between different kinds of culture, and you’ve said a lot about how cultures develop and come together, but you still haven’t answered my question about your own cultural background and how and why it relates to the ones I’m talking about.

Mike Phillips: Well this gets more and more difficult, because I began trying to describe the cultural atmosphere in which I grew up, and the truth is that it was assembled from fragments of different cultural traditions. It required a consistent creative response, which depended on the environment I happened to be in at the time. Imagine this – start with the animist spirits of the countryside - an Old Hag taking her skin off and rolling around in a ball of fire till dawn, a beautiful woman with hooves for feet, the Moongazer straddling the highway with his face shining in the light of the moon. All these characters of my childhood imagination co-existed and clashed with Jesus and Father Christmas.  Having said that I can imagine some idiot coming along and declaring that this is a writer emerging from a quasi African culture dominated by animist fantasies and spiritualist dreams. They’d probably make it a central argument of a doctoral thesis. I could even persuade myself that it was more or less true when I remember the home of my childhood - long afternoons of sunshine and trees, or the metronomic rhythm of waves retreating over the mud flats bordering the sea, or the flocks of parrots obscuring the dawn sky. None of these memories, however, point to a single unbroken tradition or meaning. They certainly don’t constitute a culture within which it was possible to be confined or even nurtured. You can see the problem if you consider it, because my next important cultural experience involved reading the thrillers I found on our Hindu neighbour’s kitchen table, and these were about Los Angeles and New York, using an unfamiliar English, describing foreign civic structures and beliefs – Hammett, Chandler, Mickey Spillane. The point I’m trying to make is that I was not, at this stage in my life, aware of any barriers, apart from time and distance, separating me from any available culture. As a consequence, I don’t believe that I ever thought of myself as limited by any one network of practice.  But growing up in a time which spanned the end of colonialism and the reinterpretation of nationalism I faced a continual challenge. For example, I was once, early in my career, invited to speak to a meeting at the University of Minnesota. For some reason I held forth about European writers like Graham Greene or Gunther Grass, among others, tracing their links and resemblances to African writers like Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka. I’m not sure what I was thinking, but it was an attempt at summarizing the effect on some authors of huge cultural changes. In any case, I told myself, at least I was telling them something different, something about the breadth and variety of the world and its cultures.  This was a mood which only lasted for a few hours. In the bar that night, I was approached by one of the participants in the audience for my lecture. “I listened to you,” the man said. “Then I figured this guy don’t know who he is.” My identity (who he is), I gathered, could be determined by my cultural interests, and, on the surface there was nothing about me, a black Caribbean migrant crime fiction author, which would have legitimized an interest in the broad traditions of European writing. This was the moment at which I realized that my lecture had been deeply inappropriate for the audience. That shouldn’t have been a surprise. As a rule audiences of every kind expected (or demanded) from me some sort of reflection on racism, but on this occasion, my attention slipped, and I had merely been talking about matters which interested me. In the light of this understanding I was once again reminded about the extent to which social and political needs also decided most people’s grasp of cultural meanings.

Ramona Mitrica: I’m not going to argue with that. I got your point which I assume is that the details and highlights which identify the nature of specific cultures are not important in themselves because they are merely signposts pointing to the universal truths which lie behind every cultural manifestation. I am also familiar with the demand that artists offer themselves as representatives of a culture or a group to the point of stereotyping themselves.  But you could argue that this is the consequence of an international consensus in which artists who come from outside the dominant envelope are seen, with the rare of exception of the odd one like Brancusi, are seen as people who don’t matter. In New York or London or even Berlin, you can talk about an English novelist or a French poet in terms of their general approach and grasp of imagery, or philosophy. Talk about a Bulgarian or a Kazakh and you have to trot out a cultural background which will justify your attention. So I’ll agree with you, but I still want an answer about how you got past these cultural barriers, to engage with such differences.

Mike Phillips: I have to say that there is no real answer to that question, except to say that my own exclusion from the mainstream of the culture in which I lived encouraged me to ignore those barriers. When I visited Romania for the first time, I was simply looking forward to coming into contact with a new and different place. Looking back, I was fortunate because I was only interested in identifying who people were and how they related to matters that I already knew. The result was that everything seemed equally strange. Or to put it another way, here was a world which seemed strange because I had never encountered its details before. On the other hand, once I understood those details, they formed patterns which were comfortable and familiar.  For example, that first time I sat in the theatre in Sibiu watching a Chekov drama. I didn’t understand the language. The actors and their physical movements were unfamiliar, but seeing the performance took me back to my schooldays in London. I used to haunt a theatre, the John Vanbrugh, in the London University campus where the RADA students mounted their productions. Years later I realized that I had seen a huge number of the future stars of British theatre while they were still students, Tom Courtney, for instance, in an exhausting version of Goethe’s Faust. Sometimes I was the only person in the audience, but I remember seeing my first Chekov there, among other playwrights popular at the time – Sartre, Giraudoux, Anouilh. The point was that I was encountering an intensely classical tradition which had formed a platform of European culture. But when I thought about it, this was also the cultural construction which, with its Graeco-Roman roots, had penetrated every society in the world. Some days I’d go for lunch in the Astra Park with the festival director, Constantin Chiriac, surrounded by the monuments of Transylvanian society, survivals of village life from all of the different segments of its population, but we talked in much the same way as we would years later when we met in London or Edinburgh or Freiburg.

Ramona Mitrica: I understand that. You’ve been friends with a lot of Romanians for years. You’re talking about a high culture which is internationalist and European. But this is only a part of the society and the culture. You’re not talking about the Orthodox religion, or about the customary behaviour of the countryside, or about the politics. You met people like Iohannis when he was just establishing himself as mayor in Sibiu, but you haven’t mentioned the cultural context and so on. Some people would say that in order to grasp the nature of Romanian culture you would need to engage with all those matters.

Mike Phillips: Look, you’re right, but I’m talking about the point where I was just beginning to encounter Romania. Yes, I want to go on to talk about the effect of exactly those things you mentioned.

End of fifth instalment

-----
Dr Mike Phillips OBE FRSL, FRSA

Mike Phillips was educated at the University of London (English), the University of Essex (politics), and at Goldsmiths College London (education). He worked for the BBC as a journalist and broadcaster between 1972 and 1983 before becoming a lecturer in media studies at the University of Westminster. After a spell as Resident writer at the South Bank Centre in London, he was appointed Cross Cultural Curator at the Tate Galleries in Britain, and then worked as Acting Director of Arts (Cultuurmakelaar) in Tilburg in the Netherlands. Later on, he lectured in Milan and worked as a freelance curator in London, Belgium, Venice, the Netherlands and Los Angeles, notably with the Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen.

He was awarded the Arts Foundation Fellowship in 1996 for crime fiction, and the OBE in 2006 for services to broadcasting. He served as a Trustee of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, but he is best known for his crime fiction, including four novels featuring black journalist Sam Dean: Blood Rights (1989), which was adapted for BBC television, The Late Candidate (1990), winner of the Crime Writers’ Association Silver Dagger Award, Point of Darkness (1994) and An Image to Die For (1995). The Dancing Face (1998) is a thriller centred on a priceless Benin mask. A Shadow of Myself (2000) is about a black documentary filmmaker working in Prague and a man who claims to be his brother. The Name You Once Gave Me (2006) was written as part of a government sponsored literacy campaign.

Mike Phillips also co-wrote Windrush: The Irresistible Rise of Multi-Racial Britain (1998) to accompany a BBC television series telling the story of the Caribbean migrant workers who settled in post-war Britain. London Crossings: A Biography of Black Britain (2001) is a series of interlinked essays and stories, a portrait of the city seen from locations as diverse as New York and Nairobi, London and Lodz, Washington and Warsaw. Recently he wrote a series of libretti for the compositions of musician Julian Joseph, culminating in a version of Tristan and Isolde, performed at the Royal Opera House.

Together with Romanian arts administrator and facilitator Ramona Mitrica, Phillips has worked over the last two decades to establish the cultural consultancy Profusion, which created the annual Romanian Film Festival in London. During that period he co-authored, with Stejarel Olaru, a history of the life and times of the notorious serial killer, entitled Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest. In addition, as joint director, editor and translator, he worked on and helped to publish a series of Romanian works, including books by George Arion and Augustin Buzura. In 2019 he was awarded the Trofeul de Excelenta of the Augustin Buzura Cultural Foundation by Academician Professor Dr Jean-Jacques Askenasy, at a ceremony in the Military Circle in Bucharest.

Mike’s book The Dancing Face will be re-published by Penguin in 2021.

Monday 26 October 2020, the Publishers Without Borders group hosted the online seminar “Publishing Romanian Literature” on their Facebook page.
Publishers from Romania and the United Kingdom took part in the event: Denisa Comănescu (Humanitas Fiction, Bucharest), Alexandra Rusu (Nemira, Bucharest), Ramona Mitrică (Profusion Books, London), Susan Curtis (Istros Books, London), Cheryl Robson (Aurora Metro Books, London), together with Magda Stroe (Romanian Cultural Institute, London).

The event was moderated by journalist Rosie Goldsmith and publicist Emma House, and was part of Romania Rocks!, the first Romanian-British Literature Festival organised by the Romanian Cultural Institute (RCI) in London, in partnership with the European Literature Network.

The discussions touched on the importance and necessity of translations from the Romanian literature, as well as talking about books which have been already published, about future projects, and about the financing which is available (the RCI’s TPS-Translation and Publication Support Programme, and Publishing Romania). The discussion also mentioned book distribution, bookshop networks, online sales, as well as book fairs in Romania, and literature festivals, either physical or virtual.

The discussions further mentioned poetry translation (Ana Blandiana, Nina Cassian, Magda Cârneci), and literature written by women, as well as the translation of theatre plays (Alina Nelega, Andreea Vălean, Matei Vișniec, Mihail Sebastian). Also mentioned was Romania Noir and translations of crime literature (George Arion, Stelian Țurlea, Oana Stoica-Mujea, Bogdan Hrib, Bogdan Teodorescu).

Besides the publishing houses represented by the participants in the discussions, other publishing houses which published Romanian literature in English were mentioned: Bloodaxe, Plymouth University Press, Dalkey Archive Press.

Emma House, founding member of Publishers Without Borders, underlined the importance of the increase in the number of translations, in a context in which translations account only for approximately 4.5% of the books published each year in the UK.

Rosie Goldsmith, director of European Literature Network, presented The Romanian Riveter, a cultural magazine she has recently published. It contains translations of Romanian literature – prose and poetry, book presentations, articles, and recommendations for new reads. The magazine is distributed free of charge, both electronically and in a printed version.

Here is the list of Romanian books translated into English, and published by the British publishers invited in the “Publishing Romanian Literature” seminar. Enjoy!

Profusion Books:
‘Report on the State of Loneliness’ by Augustin Buzura
‘Attack in the Library’ by George Arion
‘The Innocent and Collateral Victims of a Bloody War with Russia’ by Liviu Antonesei
‘Greuceanu – Novel with a Policeman’ by Stelian Țurlea
‘Kill the General’ by Bogdan Hrib
‘Anatomical Clues’ by Oana Stoica-Mujea
‘Rimaru – Butcher of Bucharest’ by Mike Phillips and Stejărel Olaru

Istros Books:
‘Diary of a Short-Sighted Adolescent’ by Mircea Eliade
‘Gaudeamus’ by Mircea Eliade
‘The Trap’ by Ludovic Bruckstein
‘With an Unopened Umbrella’ by Ludovic Bruckstein
‘Life Begins on Friday’ by Ioana Pârvulescu
‘Definitions’ by Octavian Paler
‘Sun Alley’ by Cecilia Ștefănescu

Aurora Metro Books:
‘The Star with no Name’ by Mihail Sebastian
‘The Town with Acacia Trees’ by Mihail Sebastian
‘Women’ by Mihail Sebastian
‘When I want to whistle, I whistle…’ by Andreea Vălean (in Balkan Plots anthology)
‘The Body of a Woman as a battlefield in the Bosnian War’ by Matei Vișniec (in Balkan Plots anthology)
‘Nascendo’ by Alina Nelega (in Eastern Promise anthology)

The Romanian version of this article by Ramona Mitrică (Profusion Books) is available here https://convorbiriromanesti.co.uk/blog/2020/10/31/seminar-dedicat-publicarii-literaturii-romane/

Foto: Mike Phillips and Cristian Mungiu (Soho London, 2003)

CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW (Part 1)
CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW (Part 2)
CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW (Part 3)

More about Mike Phillips http://www.profusion.org.uk/topic/9-pikephillips.aspx

Ramona Mitrica - Interview with a foreign friend. About the place Romanian creativity occupies in the imagination of the artistic world

I want this interview to tell a story - a story about you MIKE PHILLIPS.
How has your experience of Romania and Romanian arts affected and influenced your views as a critic and an author?

Ramona Mitrica – I’ve been very good so far, and I’ve let you describe your encounter with our cultures in your own way, but now I have to interrupt you and try to clear up the general direction of some of the things you’ve said. To begin with, I notice that you’ve been talking about the similarities between artists and cultures irrespective of where they come from or think they belong, but the linkages are not very clear to me. As a matter of fact, in the last part, part 3, you have made a distinction between two different traditions. One is the classical European, as exemplified by Shakespeare, Goldoni, Tolstoy and so on, the other is exemplified by the style of modernist writers like George Arion. What I want to know is how you connect all of these traditions, and how they fit into your thesis about the relationship of various cultures all over the world. We are speaking here specifically about the Romanian culture, which we see as being shaped by specific ways of living, and by specific historical circumstances, going back to the roots of European culture, with the Roman Emperor Trajan, for example. What is or how do you describe the relationship between this, and, for example, a collection of English speaking postcolonial cultures?

Mike Phillips – I guessed you’d let me talk myself into a box, but let me try and explain. Part of the problem is concerned with our contemporary usage of the word culture, along with the way that we think of people’s social behaviour. Most of this development is due to the influence of an academic language of ideas, dominated by Francophone philosophers, like Baudrillard and Foucault, and their use of words has penetrated relentlessly into the language we employ to talk about ourselves. So we talk now about everything which influences our behaviour as “culture”.

As you would expect, this has revealed resemblances and relationships between all kinds of cultures, not to mention the human tendency to take over and exploit every behaviour which happens to be convenient or useful. This is one of the reasons I began with talking about my own cultural background, which was full of cultural experiences that were similar or identical to experiences from areas of which I’d never heard.

For example, one of my childhood memories is about my grandmother’s brother, Uncle Joey, who was an oilfield worker in Trinidad. He visited us in Guyana every year and we all looked forward to seeing him. The highlight of his visits came in the evenings, when he sat on the stairs, in the dark, with us, the children of the house, to tell stories. For a long time I was convinced that my uncle’s stories were special and specific – tales of witches and evil spirits, mysterious beggars and talking animals, desperate mothers and fathers sacrificed - intrinsic building blocks of “our” culture. But much later on, I found myself reading or listening to various versions of the same stories, which had the same narrative links between internal and spiritual worlds, and which were imbued with similar attempts to explain the mysteries of human existence. In the circumstances, it seemed to me, we all began our lives with very similar cultural foundations.

Ramona Mitrică – That’s obviously true. But when you’ve said that, all you’ve said is a recognition of what we share as human beings. You’re right about the fact that stories like the ones you describe can be found in every part of the world. When you talk about them it sounds very familiar. They’re fundamental elements of everyone’s folk art. But if one recognizes these activities as the foundation of a culture, and if one follows up the modern language of public discourse by calling every human activity ”culture”, how can one distinguish between different kinds of human beings?

Mike Phillips – That is what makes it so difficult. I’ve been talking about a group of memories and trying to link them up with the impressions which defined my grasp of Romanian culture, but the problem is that I’m not sure at any point how to distinguish it from any other network of cultural phenomena.

Let me take any day wandering in Bucharest or Sibiu or Iasi. Or, indeed, any one of my conversations with you (Ramona) and Liviu (Antonesei), George (Arion), et cetera, et cetera.

We all belonged, as we spoke, to an open internationalist culture in which the major figures were European or came with European credentials. Our references were literary. Our discussions were based on analysing or understanding the past of European culture. The problem was that, wherever we happened to be, this method of communication was part of a different world, a species of language, which refined, then excluded the speech and the habits of every day, ordinary people. Therefore we could engage with Shakespeare or Pushkin or Dickens wherever we came from, whether it’s Nairobi or Chicago or Cluj, without reference to local origins or behaviour.

So let’s put this definition of culture, that is, the practice of “international” writers, intellectuals and poets to one side for a moment, because I suspect that language itself creates bridges which are more to do with recording history than reporting culture.

On the other hand, when we talk about “cultures” in the contemporary moment, we are also talking about the massive social changes which have been introduced in the last century, by industrialization, by universal education, and by the dominance of one or the other system of politics.

One of the characteristics which has most clearly marked these changes, is a gradual shift from literary to visual communication, from the habitual use of words to the mundane reproduction of pictures and images.

This has created a very different relationship to “culture”, which you can see merely by looking at the collection of images presented on the screen in front of you. So if you want to, you can share the experiences of a shepherd in the Carpathians or a policeman in a Danube port, at the flick of a switch. Do you want to know what it’s like to walk down a street in Washington? Get yourself the right software and you can do it. Do you want to soar above the mountains or share the intimate moments of family life in a Transylvanian village? Get yourself a drone. In this sense we’re all migrants now, free to explore the cultures of the world. If we can afford it.

One night on the way back from Sibiu I sat in the back of a taxi, occasionally trembling with terror as the driver negotiated the long climb down the mountain, spinning round the endless curves, speeding past huge lorries packed with machinery, and trying not to look at the massive falls which lined the sides of the road. In contrast, he was cheerful and chatty, talking about the different countries in which he’d worked – Italy, Spain, Germany, and bombarding me with the usual questions – who are you? What do you do? Why are you here?

“Is it true,” he said at point, swerving round a loaded truck, “that the English put milk in their tea?”

We were halfway to Bucharest before I finished answering that question. From this distance our ensuing discussion, about mamaliga, and chiftele, and sarmale, sounds banal, but, apart from taking my mind off the dizzying road and its dangers, the conversation reminded me of how much I had in common with this stranger, along with dozens of friends halfway round the world. Thinking back on the trip, however, I am reminded about the old joke about the Romanian New Wave, which said you could tell a production of the New Wave because it would feature two people sat in a car, talking interminably.

Well, here we are. I started my reply trying to illustrate the connection between my own existence as an artist and the way that it links me to cultures which seemed, at first, very distant.

But I’ve also been thinking, while I spoke, about how to describe what I saw of the Romanian culture. To begin with the habits and behaviour I was observing under the label of culture, were all in a state of flux. The recent dictatorship had presided over a complex system of patronage and censorship which had established a kind of stability on the world of arts and literature. On the other hand, it had also created an atmosphere of stasis. At the end of the century, a foreigner, like myself, could be forgiven for feeling that nothing much had happened since the days of Marin Preda, whose first volume of the novel Marometii exemplified most of the nativist elements that Romanians cherished as a corrective against the Communist influenced wave of social realism. But it was this moment, the last decade of the century, when the country’s cultural tableaux seemed to shake and go through a kaleidoscopic splintering. I imagine that this was partly to do with the vanishing of the restrictions of censorship, along with the rediscovery and retelling of recent history. As powerful as any of these changes however, was the impact of technology, which is where the cinema comes in.

You (RM) introduced me to Cristian Mungiu at what must have been the beginning of his career in films. We met in a café in Soho, and he reminded me strongly of one of my students from the postgraduate course I had been teaching at the University of Westminster. He was slight, pale and friendly, and he was interested in much the same issues as any of the other young people who were my friends in London. It was some time before his importance as a cultural figure struck me.

I make the point because it seems to me now that some of the cultural changes pioneered by the cinema were about the changing style and concerns of a new generation. This was a group which had begun to reject the limitations of old certainties in a manner similar to their counterparts in the rest of Europe, and they looked at the past with different eyes, examining their history with a fresh and nuanced appraisal. This was not simply a matter of taking political sides or delivering commentaries about past regimes. Unlike Preda’s villagers whose anxieties were about the future of a common identity, Mungiu’s heroines, along with Mr Lazarescu and the heroine of Sunt o Baba Communista, seemed to me to share a new and individualistic anxiety about the possibilities of the future. The joke about characters conversing in cars, isolated from everything around them, wasn’t just about production costs. It was actually a trope which highlighted the solitude and alienation of our contemporary lives.

There was yet another element which served as a boundary around the space in which these culture wars were taking place. This was related to my early impressions about the existence of a spiritual hinterland where rural customs, the Orthodox religion, and a deep reverence for nature, all came together to form a foundation for Romanian identity. This element also served as a platform from which the past could interrogate a future for which it would be, itself, responsible.

“… this ours no longer had any trace of meaning in real life. The country’s men? But who among the persons present truly cared for the country?” (Augustin Buzura. Report on the State of Loneliness. Profusion, 2009. p. 498)

Buzura links Romania’s military and political history together with the customary folk practices of its countryside, along with the mystical traditions which emerge from its relationship with the natural world. In this way, he avoids the banality of the “island of Latinity” claim, and carries out an exploration of Romanian identity which argues its authenticity, while staging an intervention into the contemporary cultural wars.

This is the point at which a kind of answer to your question about identity begins to emerge - “how can one distinguish between different kinds of human beings?”

End of fourth instalment

-----
Dr Mike Phillips OBE FRSL, FRSA

Mike Phillips was educated at the University of London (English), the University of Essex (politics), and at Goldsmiths College London (education). He worked for the BBC as a journalist and broadcaster between 1972 and 1983 before becoming a lecturer in media studies at the University of Westminster. After a spell as Resident writer at the South Bank Centre in London, he was appointed Cross Cultural Curator at the Tate Galleries in Britain, and then worked as Acting Director of Arts (Cultuurmakelaar) in Tilburg in the Netherlands. Later on, he lectured in Milan and worked as a freelance curator in London, Belgium, Venice, the Netherlands and Los Angeles, notably with the Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen.

He was awarded the Arts Foundation Fellowship in 1996 for crime fiction, and the OBE in 2006 for services to broadcasting. He served as a Trustee of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, but he is best known for his crime fiction, including four novels featuring black journalist Sam Dean: Blood Rights (1989), which was adapted for BBC television, The Late Candidate (1990), winner of the Crime Writers’ Association Silver Dagger Award, Point of Darkness (1994) and An Image to Die For (1995). The Dancing Face (1998) is a thriller centred on a priceless Benin mask. A Shadow of Myself (2000) is about a black documentary filmmaker working in Prague and a man who claims to be his brother. The Name You Once Gave Me (2006) was written as part of a government sponsored literacy campaign.

Mike Phillips also co-wrote Windrush: The Irresistible Rise of Multi-Racial Britain (1998) to accompany a BBC television series telling the story of the Caribbean migrant workers who settled in post-war Britain. London Crossings: A Biography of Black Britain (2001) is a series of interlinked essays and stories, a portrait of the city seen from locations as diverse as New York and Nairobi, London and Lodz, Washington and Warsaw. Recently he wrote a series of libretti for the compositions of musician Julian Joseph, culminating in a version of Tristan and Isolde, performed at the Royal Opera House.

Together with Romanian arts administrator and facilitator Ramona Mitrica, Phillips has worked over the last two decades to establish the cultural consultancy Profusion, which created the annual Romanian Film Festival in London. During that period he co-authored, with Stejarel Olaru, a history of the life and times of the notorious serial killer, entitled Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest. In addition, as joint director, editor and translator, he worked on and helped to publish a series of Romanian works, including books by George Arion and Augustin Buzura. In 2019 he was awarded the Trofeul de Excelenta of the Augustin Buzura Cultural Foundation by Academician Professor Dr Jean-Jacques Askenasy, at a ceremony in the Military Circle in Bucharest.

Mike’s thriller The Dancing Face will be re-published by Penguin in 2021.

The Dancing Face 
by Mike Phillips to be published by Penguin

‘This book is brutal, deep, cunning and unbearably beautiful’ Independent

"Phillips offers an insight into Black Britain while raising issues of international interest in a fast moving thriller." Phillip Knightley, Mail on Sunday

The Dancing Face

A sensational, original thriller that examines the powerful link between identity, sacrifice and possession, and questions our compulsive need to chase after ambitions that leave devastation in their wake.

University lecturer Gus knows that stealing the priceless Benin mask, The Dancing Face, from a museum at the heart of the British establishment will gain an avalanche of attention. Which is exactly what he wants.

But such a risky theft will also inevitably capture the attention of characters with more money, more power, and fewer morals.

Naively entangling his loved ones in his increasingly dangerous pursuit of righteous reparation, is Gus prepared for what it will cost him?

Imprint: Penguin, Publication date: 04/02/2021, ISBN: 9780241482674, Length: 256 pages, RRP: £8.99

Pre-order from:
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320876/the-dancing-face/9780241482674.html

Mike Phillips on Facebook  •  @PenguinUKBooks #TheDancingFace
#DrMikePhillipsOBE #author #crimefiction

The Romanian version was published in CULTURA Magazine / nr. 615 / September 2020
https://revistacultura.ro/2020/despre-locul-pe-care-il-ocupa-creativitatea-romaneasca-in-imaginatia-lumii-artistice-iii/ 

CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW (Part 1)
CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW (Part 2)
More about Mike Phillips http://www.profusion.org.uk/topic/9-pikephillips.aspx

Ramona Mitrica: I want this interview to tell a story - a story about you MIKE PHILLIPS.

 Mike Phillips: “We are an island of Latinity in a sea of Slavs.” The first time I heard this I was walking around the Military Museum in Bucharest, guided by a government official. We seemed to be the only visitors in the place, and the pictures and tableaux gave it a creepy, almost ghostly feel. This was more than twenty years ago, so my memory of the event is more of a dominant impression, but leaving the building felt like emerging from a dark tunnel into the light. On the other hand, this nationalistic version of identity had begun to intensify my curiosity about the place and its people. Don’t get me wrong. When I heard this for the first time, my reaction was amusement, followed by a species of sympathy. I had just walked past several tableaux representing one battlefield or another, a blood-soaked and agonizing history of wars and defensive slaughter. In the circumstances, some sort of nationalistic passion seemed to be the necessary source and the inevitable consequence.

At the same time, I had spent most of my life listening to crazy and distorted versions of history, designed to excite and exploit minor ethnic distinctions. My own history, the history of my family and friends was littered with a myriad of injustices, oppressions and cruelty. I understood too well the self defensive impulse behind the statement. But, in order to participate in the culture of my own world I had been obliged to put all that behind me. There was more to it than simply rejecting the ideology of nationalism.

The truth was that I didn’t think of myself as the product of a single unbroken line. In my ancestry and in my immediate family there were Africans, Europeans, Indians, and Chinese. My great grandmother’s father fled over the border from slavery in Brazil. My great grandmother’s mother arrived from Barbados in the household of a creole family. My grandmother’s sister moved to New York in 1923, and lived there until her death. If we belonged somewhere it was anywhere in the world that we chose, and my ideal world was one in which you were able to make those choices, irrespective of how and where you were born. In comparison I had little or no sympathy at all for a belief system where the traditional residence of someone’s ancestors in a specific place could serve as a guarantor of identity.

Yet, there was something disturbingly complacent about the Romanians’ assumption that everything they saw somehow belonged to them. It was a fine distinction. I thought of myself as “belonging” to London. Its streets and buildings were effortlessly familiar, assured by endless memories, but I never thought of them as “belonging” to me or mine. I suppose it’s all about the broad concept of “ownership”. In my cultural tradition the idea of “owning” things was morally corrupt, a notion which we fought, almost by instinct. Beyond that, the idea of “owning” a culture didn’t make sense, if only because “our” culture was assembled from wave after wave of varying, sometimes contradictory beliefs, all of which we had learnt to assimilate into our identity. By contrast, calling oneself an “island of Latinity in an ocean of Slavs” seemed less like a description of identity and more like an invitation to battle.

Variations of this thought were running through my mind during my first days in Bucharest, but I was also experiencing more and different impressions which stood in contrast to my first. For instance, another impression which sticks in the memory was my participation in a major book fair which took place at the National Theatre in the centre of Bucharest. A crowded, happy event, where I was greeted by a man, carrying a trumpet and wearing a headdress which looked like a cockerel. Bună ziua. Halfway through the day I stood at a window looking out onto a boulevard (Bulevardul Magheru) which was lined with bookstalls, and crowded with people, who were looking at the books, and even (to my surprise) buying them. My surprise was due to the fact that I had attended events like this in countries all over the world without ever seeing such enthusiasm. It was, I guessed, something to do with the country’s emergence from its recent dictatorship. Everyone I talked to seemed curious and interested. Who are you? Where do you come from? What made you come here?

We were going to the theatre festival in Sibiu. At this point the festival was five or six years old, and from what I’d heard it was the work of a small provincial theatre, in Transylvania. For me, this was an extremely exciting idea. Every Romanian I’d met so far had talked about their peasant roots, plants and flowers remembered from their childhoods on a farm, grandparents tending sheep and buffalo. A small town in Transylvania, I guessed, would bring me closer to the roots of their culture.

In hindsight, this was a ridiculous notion. As it happened, the festival was an extraordinary mixture of elements. I had been looking forward to encountering the soul of the country in Transylvania. Instead, I was encountering groups of writers and performers from all over the world, all of them, it seemed, inspired by images rather than words. For example, one of the plays I remember from those early years was a Japanese version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The performance took place in a nearby castle which we reached by climbing a winding stone staircase. We walked in long lines, and by the time I reached the top I was almost staggering, out of breath. The giant doors were open and, in the hall, we sat in rows, facing each other.

This was a special occasion. Festival director Constantin Chiriac had been lobbying the European Union for years and this year they had sent a representative, a small giggling Italian who was sitting opposite me, flanked by Chiriac and the mayor, Klaus Iohannis. We waited and waited. I didn’t feel as disturbed as I might have, if only because attending these grand performances had always been an adventure. A couple of years before this I had gone to see Rusalka in the Astra Park just outside Sibiu. It was cold and it rained. The audience sat in a crescent by the lakeside, shivering, covered in blankets. The cast was posed on a platform floating on the lake. As the performance progressed however, the waters began to rise, choking the sputtering principals as they slipped in and out of the rising waves. As for the chorus my heart went out to them because they were standing there for a couple of hours, singing against the driving sleet, obviously freezing and in agony. Eventually, they abandoned the performance, because the cast of the show was going through the worst of it. The audience was having a tough time as well, but I was fine. A friend had wrapped me in his leather jacket and kept on warming me up with shots of vodka, so I ended the evening slightly inebriated and shaking with laughter.

But Rusalka wasn’t the strangest adventure. Another time, another show. This was a show which took place in a college near the theatre. It was announced for half past eight, but when we got there we were told that the play wouldn’t start until midnight. At round about mid night we were admitted, but then we were kept standing in the hallway for another hour and a half. At the end of that time, we were told that fifty people could enter for the first half of the performance. We were seated on the stage until the interval, when we were allowed to disperse into the auditorium. By then I was half asleep, but I lasted until about half past three, when I left. Afterwards I heard that it had gone on until five.

All this sounds extreme, but it was what I came to half expect in Sibiu, so waiting for the Japanese Shakespeare to begin I possessed my soul in patience, and watched the Italian opposite me, while the crew began its preparations, closing the doors and arranging the set. Suddenly the doors banged open, and the Japanese cast began marching in, costumed, holding up their banners, and moving in rhythm. It was a beautiful performance, and although I had been bothered about following the plot, I needn’t have bothered. Everything was clear, and I went to bed that night feeling more or less satisfied about what I had seen. The shock didn’t come until the next morning. When I went down to breakfast, there was a strange atmosphere, men who looked like police in plain clothes were standing around, and police cars driving in the square. In the street I met someone I knew and they told me that the Italian had been found dead in his bed that morning. Later on that day I reminded Chiriac of the superstition surrounding the play in the English theatre. “This one’s the curse of Sibiu,” he said.

All of this however, was about a moment of change. At the beginning of the century I was looking at a celebration of old European literary and dramatic traditions – Chekov, Shakespeare, Goethe – all of it overlaid by spirited transitions of Latin poetry and drama – Ovid, Horace, et al. It was as if the theatre I had grown up with hardly existed. In fact, when I thought about theatre, I was thinking about the one where playwrights like Pinter prowled and growled, about social and political commentary, and about words, words, words. By contrast Chiriac’s theatre began and ended with the spectacle. In that context I was repeatedly struck by the local importance of directors when it came to delivering a specific vision. In the circumstances it was easy to read the influence of the puppet theatre with all its cultural and political intent. At another level there was something teasingly familiar about organisations where everything depended on the ruthless orders of one man.

This was a strand of thought that coloured most of my early experiences in Romania. Don’t forget I’m talking about twenty years ago. Chatting with Silviu Purcarete about his life in France I got the sense that there were distinct similarities between our different roles as artists living a conceptual exile. The differences, though, were crucial. On my first visit to the country I had been, in a way, sidetracked by Sibiu and Transylvania.

In another year I had learnt more and now I was preparing to be part of a translation team working on a book by George Arion. We met in the cellar of a café in Bucharest, where George was sitting holding court, like a Romanian version of Hemingway. By the time we left I was a fan of George’s and his hero Andrei Mladin. Something about his comic and satirical approach to his material was comfortable and familiar, and so was the energy of his urban narrative. He wrote about the way that people lived while including sly references to the dictatorship under which he had been writing – “the entire basement is filled with water. They brought a pump to clear it, but it will take another hour to replace the burst pipe. And during the repairs there is no water running in the bathrooms. Today of all days, when I wanted to do the laundry ---- Did they find anything in the basement? ---- Only rats. You should see them climbing on the walls and screeching like mad… I almost pity them. And there are several cats on the prowl, grabbing the ones who manage to get out.”

It wasn’t hard to work out that, like my American, English, and French compatriots, the imagery was one which aimed at describing the condition of his society. Here was an authentic modern voice, speaking in terms which linked him with the same world in which the rest of us lived. Another version of the culture I was beginning to know.

End of third installment

The Romanian version was published in CULTURA Magazine / nr. 614 / August 2020
https://revistacultura.ro/2020/despre-locul-pe-care-il-ocupa-creativitatea-romaneasca-in-imaginatia-lumii-artistice-ii/ 

CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW (Part 1)

 I want this interview to tell a story - a story about you MIKE PHILLIPS.

How has your experience of Romania and Romanian arts affected and influenced your views as a critic and an author?

 By the time I visited Romania I had already established a career as travelling journalist, mostly in the Caribbean. My travels had actually started with a documentary TV series I made for the BBC, about the history of black life in Britain. One of the episodes took me to Kenya to interview some of the men who had fought for colonial independence, agitating in London and Paris.

After that experience I felt the world opening up in front of me, and looking back on those times, I remember climbing on and off planes in a state of eager impatience, desperate to fill my tape recorder and my notebooks with voices – Bob Marley in Jamaica, the crashing roar of waves on a beach in Barbados, Fidel in Cuba, standing in the dark until three in the morning, listening to his voice, hoarse, impassioned, lyrical. Afterwards we sat drinking mojitos with a couple of Russian reporters until the sun blazed over the horizon. I saw my first Romanians that day, beautiful in their red uniforms, waving and chanting in unison. 1978. 

Those memories are indelible, but the moments which excited me most, however, were unexpected, times which were strange and revealing. In Kingston, Jamaica, during a riot, I found myself with my friend and photographer, Neil, walking through a completely deserted part of the city, following the sound of drums. As the drums grew louder we came out of a side street, and there, sitting around a junction was a small crowd, about a dozen men, dressed in robes, all of them drumming steadily. This was Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus, and I performed the interview immediately. I can’t remember what Ras Michael said in the interview, but the photographs were beautiful.

By the time I met Caramitru in Prague, however, every aspect of my travels had changed. I was no longer a newspaper hack, focused on finding a story. Instead, I was on the platform, talking about my work, or discussing our practice with other writers. This was a change which had a number of consequences for how I approached what I was doing. I had moved, from an interest in how the people I met lived and behaved, to a fascination with the systems which shaped and controlled their behaviour. In retrospect, up to that point, I had also accepted the lazy assumption that the different cultures I observed in various different regions were somehow innate, products of some kind of historical tribal identity. I think all this changed, in my own mind, when I was commissioned, by the BBC, to convert my first book into a TV series. I had written Blood Rights, like most first novels, as a way of discussing or describing my experience so far, and my identity offered the book a secure background to the story I was telling. Writing a script was different, if only because its visual elements made radically different demands on the imagination. Scriptwriting opened up a new and instructive opportunity to explore the relationships between individuals and their social setting. An important element, therefore, in my construction of the script, was the delivery of how my protagonist was shaped by his environment and how he, in his turn, shaped it. This was it, a base that produced a multitude of habits and responses, which, for want of better word, people called culture.

When I say this it makes the entire transition sound relatively simple and straightforward, but it wasn’t. In retrospect, I’m also talking about one of those periods in my life when I was beginning to feel drained and exhausted, and I was looking for some kind of direction. My developing interest in Eastern Europe offered me a new pathway.

I began this interview talking about the Anglophone culture I inhabited as a child, and about my transition into the life of a young migrant in London. As I progressed, becoming a student, and working through the various stages of a career, I had thought about the work of my lifetime as understanding and assimilating the culture of country in which I had grown up and where I lived. Ironically, however, while I was aware that this process would involve changes in my own persona, the extent to which my presence was changing the landscape around me came as more of a surprise. In life there are no oneway streets, but my encounter with Romania seemed to offer little or no opportunity for an exchange of experience. Part of the problem was the fact the country existed on the other side of the Cold War barriers. What I knew about the place was filtered through scraps of information about a few artists – Tristan Tzara, Brancusi, along with vaguely remembered clips of news reports about street demonstrations. I climbed on the plane half expecting it to be exactly like Prague or Warsaw.

Looking back, I can’t really remember much about my first visit. What remains is a kaleidoscope of images, dominated by the giant monument to aviators decorating the centre of Bucharest. Someone had met me at the airport, and driven me to a building, which I learned later on, had been a hangout of the late dictator’s son. Now it had become Uniter. Inside, the place had gloomy lighting, which revealed a decrepit glossiness, gleaming with tarnished surfaces. The woman who met me downstairs led the way up to a large room, half of which seemed to be a bar with a glass ceiling. When she left I sat down, struggling to record and examine my impressions. By this time I had heard a myriad of hints and half expressed sentiments about the dictatorship and its effects, all of which seemed to contribute to my dark and depressed mood. What was I doing here, I kept asking myself.  In a while I fell asleep and dreamt about a man in a black suit and a hat, watching me. I woke up with a start and saw the moon, big and relentlessly bright, shining through the glass ceiling. This was my first night in Bucharest. In the morning I woke up again, went downstairs and saw, to my relief, Caramitru, leaning against his parked car, dressed in jeans and a crisply ironed shirt, reading a newspaper. “We’re going to Sibiu,” he said.

Talking about this now, I just remembered that the night I described was not my first night in Bucharest, but it’s strangely appropriate that my memory skipped the three or four days I spent there. It’s appropriate because, when I think about the trip, my mind focusses on driving through the countryside, through long, silent, sunlit roads, past curious buildings, and stalls piled high with cherries, and looming mountain tops, blue and grey and green. The truth was that I had spent a few days wandering in the city, engaging in difficult half understood conversations with strangers. Some years before this I had crossed over into East Berlin a couple of days after the Wall came down, and I was familiar with a public atmosphere which has gradually changed over the years since then. A general atmosphere of shabbiness, punctuated by the grandiloquent declarations of buildings and streets. Guarded faces and swift suspicious stares as I went past. Angry dogs lurking. Everything has now changed radically, as I said, but at the end of those days I was glad to be leaving, and the beauty of the countryside was like an assault on the senses. I didn’t know where I was, but it didn’t matter.

That statement makes it sound as if I was confused about my location, but, of course, that wasn’t the case. By now I was accustomed to the sense of being a foreign observer, looking in on other people’s lives, trying to figure out who and what they were. This was a habit I had acquired earlier on when I first arrived in England, and it had been confirmed by my later experiences.

But, while this aspect of the relationship with my surroundings remained unchanged, one part of the equation had moved. This was my own identity. I was no longer the boy who walked off the boat into an English fog. Even the memories of my childhood were beginning to fade. This process had consequences. Over the years I had stopped thinking about myself as a transplant, a person from ‘somewhere else.’ Instead when I thought about ‘home’, it was in London. But not quite. I had been shaped and tailored, by my identification with the travails of colonial rebellion, by my experience of being a transplanted ‘outsider’, and by my understanding of nationality in the places to which I had travelled. I thought of myself as a “citizen of the world”, and to some extent I was bored by the passions of nationalism. On the other hand, I had begun to be struck by a different, more defensive, aspect of national identity in Eastern Europe. Speeding through the twilight towards Sibiu, I began to be seduced by the region’s complex interaction between its history and its origins.

End of second installment

"With my thoughts going to the war or any other absurdity of the times - since everything seemed possible and impossible at the same time - I felt the need to know life on each of its numerous levels. I wanted to take, with thirst and fury, as soon as possible, everything I was sure that, sooner or later, could be useful to me, as if I was able to assemble some reserves of love, beauty and peace.” (Augustin Buzura - Report on the State of Loneliness) 

“Cu gândul la război sau la orice altă absurditate a vremurilor, căci totul părea posibil și imposibil în același timp, simțeam nevoia să cunosc viața pe fiecare din numeroasele ei paliere, să iau cu sete și furie, cât mai repede, tot ce aveam certitudinea că, mai devreme sau mai târziu, mi-ar putea folosi, de parcă mi-aș fi putut face niște rezerve de dragoste, frumusețe și liniște.“ (Augustin Buzura – Raport asupra singurătății)

"Report on the State of Loneliness" is a concluding moment in Augustin Buzura’s great series of novels. The author enters the tenebrous and mysterious labyrinth of life in the most natural manner possible: slamming the secret door open to the wall.  

Translated from the Romanian by Ramona Mitrica, Mike Phillips and Mihai Risnoveanu
Available from Profusion Books, on Kindle and in paperback.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Report-State-Loneliness-Profusion-Gold-ebook/dp/B01LW32Q9T/ 
 

Book cover: Laura Lazăr and Mihai Risnoveanu
Photo: Laura Lazăr

Romanian version published here https://revistacultura.ro/pdf/Cultura_613_compressed.pdf (CULTURA Magazine, nr. 613, page 130; July 2020)     I want this interview to tell a story - a story about you Mike Phillips - and the story begins with who you are and how you came to be interested in Romania. What comes next is how those two things are connected - where is the connection? Finally how has your experience of Romania and Romanian arts, especially as it concerns the work of writers like Buzura, affected and influenced your views as a critic and an author. So let us begin.

 R. Who are you? How did you come to be interested in Romania?

or on Facebook Facebook.com/ProfusionBooks 

Closing Gala: Sieranevada (d. Cristi Puiu). Plus Q&A with actress Ana Ciontea.

www.rofilmfest.com

Special Screening: Stuff and Dough (d. Cristi Puiu). Plus Q&A with actor Alexandru Papadopol.
UK premiere: Back Home (d. Andrei Cohn). Plus Q&A with actor Alexandru Papadopol.
www.rofilmfest.com

Special Screening: Dogs (d. Bogdan Mirica). Plus Q&A with actor Vlad Ivanov.
www.rofilmfest.com

Special Screening: Illegitimate (d. Adrian Sitaru). Plus Q&A with actress Alina Grigore.
www.rofilmfest.com

Opening Gala: Graduation (d. Cristian Mungiu). Plus Q&A with actress Maria Dragus.
www.rofilmfest.com

Curzon Cinemas is London’s leading arthouse cinema chain with six venues across the capital. Located in the vibrant heart of Soho, Curzon Soho is a landmark cinema. 
See you all there! 10 – 14 November. Box Office: 033 0500 1331 www.curzoncinemas.com/rff

“No secret lasts forever. A difficult love story.”
ILLEGITIMATE (dir. Adrian Sitaru)
Followed by Q&A with lead actress Alina Grigore, hosted by writer Ian Haydn Smith
Fri 11 Nov, 6.40pm, Curzon Soho, @ Romanian Film Festival in London (RFF)
Trailer https://vimeo.com/rofilmfest/ilegitimtrailer
Tickets: http://www.rofilmfest.com/p/158/illegitimate 
2016/Drama/Romania, Poland, France/88min/Romanian with English subtitles
C.I.C.A.E. Award at Berlin International Film Festival 2016 – Forum

Each year the ROMANIAN FILM FESTIVAL IN LONDON offers, through the good offices of its organiser PROFUSION INTERNATIONAL, an award to students drawn from the Romanian diaspora in the United Kingdom. The qualifications are simple. The recipient should, permanently or temporarily, be resident in Britain, and he or she should be a student of the visual arts, especially in the field of cinema. Our practice is to leave applications open as long as possible, so there is still time to apply for the film festival in November 2016. A brief CV and a brief statement backing up your claim to the scholarship is all that is required. All communications should be addressed to Ms R Mitrica, Director, PROFUSION – mail@profusion.org.uk

www.rofilmfest.com

#profusionscholarship #rfflondon

10 – 14 November 2016, Curzon Soho Cinema
(99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 5DY)
www.rofilmfest.com 

TOGETHER AND APART is a phrase which may describe the relationship between two partners as they twist and twirl through the intimate movements of a dance. The phrase may also speak to the condition of the Romanian diaspora, divided by distance, united by history and family ties. Most powerfully, though, the phrase hints at the relationship between nationalities, you and me, separated
by time and space, but bound together by our fears and hopes for the future.

The Romanian Film Festival in London (RFF) features a glittering and stimulating array of titles. Very popular and talented actors Adrian Titieni, Alexandru Papadopol, Ana Ciontea and Vlad Ivanov will come from Bucharest in order to join us for the UK premieres of the latest Romanian films.

Thu 10 Nov - Opening Gala, 6.10pm, Screen 1, Curzon Soho
GRADUATION (d. Cristian Mungiu)
Followed by Q&A with lead actor Adrian Titieni, hosted by writer Ian Haydn Smith
Tickets: http://www.curzoncinemas.com/rff/graduation

Fri 11 Nov, 6.40pm, Screen 3, Curzon Soho
ILLEGITIMATE (d. Adrian Sitaru)
UK premiere followed by Q&A with lead actor Adrian Titieni, hosted by writer Ian Haydn Smith
Tickets: http://www.curzoncinemas.com/rff/illegitimate

Sat 12 Nov, 6.20pm, Screen 3, Curzon Soho
DOGS (d. Bogdan Mirica)
UK premiere followed by Q&A with lead actor Vlad Ivanov, hosted by screen writer Mike Phillips
Tickets: http://www.curzoncinemas.com/rff/dogs

Sun 13 Nov, 3.20pm, Screen 3, Curzon Soho
STUFF AND DOUGH (d. Cristi Puiu)
Followed by Q&A with lead actor Alexandru Papadopol, hosted by writer Ian Haydn Smith
Tickets: http://www.curzoncinemas.com/rff/stuffanddough

Sun 13 Nov, 6.20pm, Screen 3, Curzon Soho
BACK HOME (d. Andrei Cohn)
UK premiere followed by Q&A with lead actor Alexandru Papadopol, hosted by writer Ian Haydn Smith
Tickets: http://www.curzoncinemas.com/rff/backhome

Mon 14 Nov – Closing Gala, 7.00pm, Screen 1, Curzon Soho
SIERANEVADA (d. Cristi Puiu)
UK premiere followed by Q&A with lead actress Ana Ciontea, hosted by writer Ian Haydn Smith
Tickets: http://www.curzoncinemas.com/rff/sieranervada
--
All films are in Romanian with English subtitles.
Tickets: www.curzoncinemas.com/rff ; Box Office: 0330 500 1331
Curzon Cinemas is London’s leading arthouse cinema chain with six venues across the capital.
Address: 99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 5DY; Nearest tube: Leicester Square
--
The Romanian Film Festival in London is a not-for-profit enterprise, functioning with the help of grants and sponsorship from friends and supporters. RFF is organised by Profusion International Creative Consultancy (www.profusion.org.uk), in partnership with The National Centre of Cinematography in Romania and Curzon Cinemas. Supported by The Department for Romanians Abroad (DPRRP).
Acest proiect este realizat cu sprijinul Ministerului Afacerilor Externe – Departamentul Politici pentru Relaţia cu Românii de Pretutindeni.
Special thanks: ROMANi-ONLiNE.co.uk, Albinuta.co.uk, GHiDUL ROMANESC, The Romanian Filmmakers Union (UCIN), Traduceri Autorizate, Profusion Romania
Festival Team: Ramona Mitrica – festival director, Mike Phillips – festival consultant, Alina Salcudeanu – international advisor, Dan Mitrica – webmaster, Laura Lazar – advertising, Eugen Androne – logistics, Mihai Risnoveanu, Kwesi Phillips – media

www.rofilmfest.com 
press@rofilmfest.com
Facebook.com/RoFilmFest
Find us on Twitter @RomanianFilmLDN
Vimeo.com/RoFilmFest
Tel. +44 7456 542570

Watch Profusion Books co-director and translator, author Mike Phillips on BBC Four, Mon 17 Oct 2016 at 21:00

Mike Phillips is best known for his crime fiction, including four novels featuring black journalist Sam Dean: Blood Rights (1989), which was adapted for BBC television, The Late Candidate (1990), winner of the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger Award, Point of Darkness (1994) and An Image to Die For (1995). Subsequent novels are The Dancing Face (1998), A Shadow of Myself (2000) and The Name You Once Gave Me (2006). Non fiction works are Windrush: The Irresistible Rise of Multi-Racial Britain (1998), and London Crossings: A Biography of Black Britain (2001). Recently he has written, translated and published a number of East European works.

He explores, without reserve, over more than 70 years, its clashes of nationalisms, its cruelty and militaristic savagery, its loves and romantic fantasies, its peasant transformations, its desperate longing for European significance, and much, much more. All this is seen through the eyes of individuals, naïve and sophisticated, ignorant and learned, spiritually pure and downright evil. (Mike Phillips - Introduction)

ISBN-13: 978-0956867643

Available in paperback, as well as Kindle e-book.

Andrew Marr investigates detective fiction, and reveals how it works.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p040pvpp

Mike Phillips is best known for his crime fiction, including four novels featuring black journalist Sam Dean: Blood Rights (1989), which was adapted for BBC television, The Late Candidate (1990), winner of the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger Award, Point of Darkness (1994) and An Image to Die For (1995). Subsequent novels are The Dancing Face (1998), A Shadow of Myself (2000) and The Name You Once Gave Me (2006). Non fiction works are Windrush: The Irresistible Rise of Multi-Racial Britain (1998), and London Crossings: A Biography of Black Britain (2001). Recently he has written, translated and published a number of East European works.

Now on the shelf at Owl Bookshop, 207-209 Kentish Town Rd, London NW5 2JU
"Report on the State of Loneliness" by Augustin Buzura

Profusion Books launched the first translation in English of Augustin Buzura’s “Report on the State of Loneliness”, on 18 April 2016 in London, at Level39, Canary Wharf, with the kind support of Sir George Iacobescu.

Augustin Buzura is one of the best-loved and respected Romanian authors, with a career as a journalist, novelist, and cultural manager spanning more than fifty years, and “Report on the State of Loneliness” is his first novel published in the United Kingdom.

The book was introduced by Dr Mike Phillips OBE, Profusion director, accompanied by his fellow director, Ramona Mitrica, who told the audience about the days when, as a young graduate, she worked as Buzura’s assistant. Due to health issues, the author himself was unable to travel to London, but his daughter Ada Buzura, who came in his place, spoke affectingly, about his reputation, his work and about growing up in a ‘house of whispers’.

Distinguished London based Romanian actors, Annamaria Marinca (Meg Mathias in the Welsh TV drama Hinterland), and Gabriel Constantin (Monsieur Philippe in the forthcoming TV series Victoria), then read extracts from the book. Among the guests were Sir George Iacobescu CBE, CEO of Canary Wharf, architect Serban Cantacuzino CBE and poet Alan Brownjohn FRSL.

* * * *
“Report on the State of Loneliness”
Paperback, 520 pages
Profusion (London, April 2016)
ISBN-13: 978-0956867643; ISBN-10: 0956867642
Translated from the Romanian by Ramona Mitrica, Mike Phillips and Mihai Risnoveanu

The book is on sale from Profusion http://bit.ly/1XOvvti or Amazon http://amzn.to/1SqqKlZ

Buzura is the pre-eminent novelist of contemporary Romanian writing, publishing several novels, editing magazines and engaging in literary tours and partnerships during a period from 1963 to the present day. Throughout those years he was engaged in a number of dangerous and difficult confrontations with the authorities, and after 1989, his confrontations with official opinion continued, morphing into passionate satires on the state of his region throughout its history. The novel “Report on the State of Loneliness” (Raport asupra singurătății) is a series of interlocking stories about the last hundred years of Transylvanian history, interspersed with the author’s reflections on identity and the approach of death. In part a lively political satire, in part a meditation on his own life, in part a passionate exploration of Balkan history, Report is a fascinating and illuminating read.

For information, send an e-mail to mail@profusion.org.uk 
www.profusion.org.uk

The Profusion Scholarship Scheme is run by Profusion International, the organisers of The Romanian Film Festival in London (RFF). Profusion is an independent organisation, a small group of passionate and dedicated individuals committed to providing an amazing display of Romanian films in the UK. RFF is a not- for-profit enterprise, functioning with the help of grants and sponsorship from numerous friends and supporters.

The 2015 Profusion Scholarship is funded in partnership with Lebara Play, the new entertainment service from Lebara.

Film fans can get 50% discount on their first month’s subscription to Lebara Play. Watch recent blockbusters including De ce eu?*, alongside movie classics such as Nea Marin Miliardar and Mihai Viteazul, streamed in HD-quality to your smartphone, computer or tablet.

Subscription packages start from £4.99. Visit https://play.lebara.com for more details.

Download the Lebara Play app for free from iTunes App Store and Google Play.

*UK premiere during the Romanian Film Festival in London

Friday 4 Dec: Why Me ?/ De ce eu?

Q&A with actress Andreea Vasile

 https://vimeo.com/rofilmfest/unfinishedhistories Unfinished Histories: The 12th Romanian Film Festival in London

Mon 30 Nov – Sun 6 Dec 2015 Tickets Curzon Soho: http://www.curzoncinemas.com/rff Bookings EBRD Connected event: http://www.ebrd.com/news/events/morometii-film-screening.html  

As part of the Romanian Film Festival in London, you are cordially invited to a showing of “Morometii” (“The Moromete Family” – 1988), a film adaptation of a modern classic of Romanian literature. This is the tale of a peasant family between the wars whose way of life will be doomed by the onslaught of WWII and the imposition of communism. Romanian stage and screen actor Victor Rebengiuc will attend and participate in a Q&A session with the audience after the film. 

Tea and coffee will be served from 17.00 in advance of the film which will begin punctually at 18.00 in the Auditorium. Afterwards, there will be time for a brief discussion with Mr. Rebengiuc, followed by a reception. 

When
Monday 30 November 2015 

Where
EBRD, One Exchange Square, London EC2A 2JN

Admission is free. EBRD staff members need not register; external guests will though have to register online by Thursday 26 November. 

Register for your FREE ticket here: 
http://www.ebrd.com/news/events/morometii-film-screening.html 

Please note that all guests must bring a form of identification and may be subject to a random bag search.
For more information about the EBRD events, including how to get to the venue, please see our FAQs

The Romanian Film Festival in London is organised by Profusion International Creative Consultancy, in partnership with The National Centre of Cinematography in Romania and Curzon Cinemas.
Supported by The Department for Romanians Abroad (DPRRP), The Romanian Filmmakers Union (UCIN), Levenes Solicitors, EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), ROMANi-ONLiNE.co.uk, Albinuta.co.uk, Blue Air, TibTrans and Traduceri Autorizate.

www.rofilmfest.com ; Tel. +44 (0)7787134047; E-mail: press@rofilmfest.com

Curzon Cinemas Magazine (Nov-Dec 2015) showing an excellent spread dedicated to the 12^th Romanian Film Festival in London
Booking lines are now open: http://www.curzoncinemas.com/rff

Fairy Tale

“Until recently my knowledge of Romania was limited to the time when under Imperial Rome it was known as Felix Dacia – or ‘Happy Dacia’, though I suspect the epithet ‘happy’ applied more to the Roman rulers than the local population.

However, I think I have more than trebled my understanding of modern Romania thanks to a fairy tale in the form of a crime novel. In fact Greuceanu-Novel With A Policeman, now smoothly translated and published here by Profusion Gold, is author Stelian Turlea’s re-working of a classic Romanian fairy tale, transposing the story of ogres and damsels-in-distress to a small provincial town in the grip of diamond-smuggling gangsters.

As in all the best fairy tales, the brave hero (in this case a humble policeman rather than a Prince Charming) defeats the baddies and gets the girl and although it’s a happy ending, Stelian Turlea doesn’t pull his punches when it comes to describing the grim side of a modern Romania still suffering a hangover from a ruthless socialist dictatorship and now enjoying the benefits of capitalist organised crime.

Ramona Mitrică la Digi24 TV, povestind despre Festivalul de Film Românesc de la Londra (www.rofilmfest.com) și despre cărțile românești traduse în limba engleză și publicate la Editura Profusion (www.profusion.org.uk). 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc0PW1sN3Aw

Dear Friends,

We’re writing to inform you about our growing list of English translations at Profusion publishing house.

When we started publishing under the name Profusion, in 2011, our aim was to bring aspects of East European literary culture, hitherto unknown in Britain, to the attention of the reading public. This was because most publications from the region were, more or less, “highbrow”, while popular stories and genres such as crime fiction tended to go unnoticed. Our list of books and authors is therefore a factor in increasing knowledge throughout Europe about the life and prospects of ordinary men and women in the region.

The founders and directors of Profusion areMike Phillips and Ramona Mitrica. Ramona is a former Romanian diplomat, now a British citizen and based in London. Mike is an English novelist and screenwriter, whose publications include “Windrush: the irresistible rise of multi-racial Britain”(HarperCollins), the BBC TV series “Blood Rights”, adapted from his novel of the same name, and, more recently, the true crime story, “Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest”.

If interested, please find the Profusion list below. You can order our books through Amazon, Gardners, Bertrams, or through the Profusion web site directly: www.profusion.org.uk For any further details, please write to us on mail@profusion.org.uk
All our books are available in paperback, as well as Kindle e-books. Books are available in Romania as well, from “Anthony Frost English Bookshop” in Bucharest (www.anthonyfrost.ro).

Enjoy the read! Many thanks,
Ramona Mitrica and Mike Phillips,
Profusion Directors  

- - - - -

Profusion list:

Profusion Crime Series – Fiction, Non-Fiction, 2011-2012:
“Attack in the Library” by George Arion
“Kill the General” by Bogdan Hrib
“Anatomical Clues” by Oana Stoica-Mujea
“Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest” by Mike Phillips and Stejarel Olaru

Profusion Gold Series – Fiction, 2014-2015:
“The Innocent and Collateral Victims of a Bloody War with Russia” by Liviu Antonesei
“Greuceanu – Novel with a Policeman” by Stelian Turlea
“Report on the State of Loneliness” by Augustin Buzura (coming soon)

“Attack in the Library” by George Arion, one of the classic narratives of Romanian crime fiction, was written during the dictatorship of the 1980s in the finest Noir tradition. “I loved this book. Dry, snappy, absurdist wit... the colossal, surreal stupidity of totalitarianism.” (Patrick McGuinness - author, The Last Hundred Days - Man Booker Prize Longlist)
ISBN-13: 978-0956867612

“Kill the General” by Bogdan Hrib, an exciting and suspenseful thriller, takes you on a rollercoaster ride through the last decades in Romanian history. “...a good read offering an insight into a country that remains mysterious to many of us.” (Julian Cole - The Press, York)
ISBN-13: 978-0956867605

“Anatomical Clues” by Oana Stoica-Mujea features Iolanda, a crime-fighting heroine unique in the landscape of Romanian literature: mad, bad and dangerous to know. “...a gripping tale, which, like Iolanda, will creep into your head and stay there.” (Mike Phillips - author, CWA Silver Dagger winner)
ISBN-13: 978-0956867629

“Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest” by Mike Phillips and Stejarel Olaru is a social review of Romania in the ‘70s, with a serial killer’s story as a central focus. “... a fascinating read that frames a factual account of the crimes within their social environment, while examining their impact on the culture, and their lingering legacy in the present day.” (George Nott - Enfield INDEPENDENT)
ISBN-13: 978-0956867636

“Greuceanu – Novel with a Policeman” by Stelian Turlea
With the unerring instinct of a popular children’s author, Turlea locates, in GREUCEANU, one of the major Pan-European issues in contemporary times, the problem of organised crime. Turlea’s villains are not moustachioed banditos. Instead they are the brothers and sisters of gangsters in every European city centre, and playing as he does with the characters of the town, he explores a number of insights into the role of organised crime in post-Accession civic life. Greuceanu is a young policeman, at the bottom of the ladder. By chance, he gets rid of one of the feared gangsters, whose brothers and their wives come after him.
ISBN-13: 978-0956867667

“The Innocent and Collateral Victims of a Bloody War with Russia” by Liviu Antonesei
“The Innocent and Collateral Victims of a Bloody War with Russia” is Liviu Antonesei's latest collection of short stories, which track the experiences of a Romanian intellectual in the years since the political upheavals in his country and the surrounding region. They make for an exciting, insightful and provocative read about the events happening right now in Eastern Europe... These seductive short stories are an ingenious merger of simple life, essay, diary and reportage.
ISBN-13: 978-0956867650

“Report on the State of Loneliness” by Augustin Buzura
A deeply reflexive meditation on the history of Doctor Cassian, from the Second World War to contemporary times in Romania, told through the experiences of a panoply of characters and events. In counterpoint, the novel details the reflections of a young woman, Mara, and her relationship with the doctor.
The book explores, in depth, the Romanian landscape over more than 70 years, subtly locating the history of a myriad of individuals and events within their broader European context, as well as describing the conflicts and opportunities of the post-Accession generation. It is an important contribution to broadening European understanding of a little known history and culture.
ISBN-13: 978-0956867643

Available NOW on Kindle. Paperback out soon.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S977JI2
£2.99; Profusion (London, 2015); ISBN-13: 978-0956867667
Translated from the Romanian by Ramona Mitrica, Mike Phillips and Mihai Risnoveanu

“Writer and philosopher Stelian Turlea based his crime fiction GREUCEANU on a well-known Romanian fairytale, in which the eponymous hero battles with a number of Zmei [ogres], to bring back to the skies the sun which they had stolen. The novel transposes the fairytale to the reality of a provincial town which has been taken over by gangsters, now the town's masters. Greuceanu is a young policeman, at the bottom of the ladder. By chance, he gets rid of one of the feared gangsters, whose brothers and their wives come after him.

With the unerring instinct of a popular children’s author, Turlea locates, in GREUCEANU, one of the major Pan-European issues in contemporary times, the problem of organised crime. Turlea’s villains are not moustachioed banditos. Instead they are the brothers and sisters of gangsters in every European city centre, and playing as he does with the characters of the town, he explores a number of insights into the role of organised crime in post-Accession civic life.” 
(Mike Phillips, CWA Silver Dagger winner and author of Rîmaru - Butcher of Bucharest)

Greuceanu - Novel with a Policeman is Stelian Turlea’s first novel published in English. Published originally in Romanian as “GREUCEANU – roman (cu un) politist” (Crime Scene Publishing, 2010).

About the author
Born in January 1946, Stelian Turlea studied Philology (1968) and Philosophy (1976) in Bucharest. For nearly three decades, he has been editor on external affairs (“Lumea” magazine). After 1989, he coordinated “Lumea”, “Zig-Zag”, and “Meridian” magazines, and worked in television as Head of Antena 1 News Department. He has been working for ProTV since 1996 and, since 2000, he has been a senior editor for “Ziarul de duminică”.

He is the author of eighteen novels, ten books on journalism, nine books for children and two translations. He has coordinated six photo albums (a three-volume album about Bucharest during the reign of Carol I; other albums are: The public works during the reign of Carol I; The Palace of the Patriarchy; The Royal Palace; B.N.R. – Chronicle of the Old Palace Restoration; The Financial-Banking, Historical Centre of Bucharest).

He received the Writers’ Union Award for Children's Literature (2003), the Romanian Editors’ Association Award for Children's Literature (2005), the Writers’ Union Special Award (2006) and the Bucharest Writers’ Association Award (2007), Flacăra Prize for Literature (2011). He was nominated for the Writers’ Union Award for Children's Literature in 2000 and the AER Novel Award in 2003.

- - - - - - - -
PROFUSION GOLD SERIES – Fiction, 2014-2015
Stelian Turlea - GREUCEANU – Novel with a Policeman
Liviu Antonesei - The Innocent and Collateral Victims of a Bloody War with Russia
Augustin Buzura - Report on the State of Loneliness
Series Editor: Mike Phillips
Published by Profusion International Creative Consultancy
www.profusion.org.uk

Profusion delivers a new book in English. The perfect gift for Christmas! An exclusive collection of 11 beautiful short stories from master story teller Liviu Antonesei.

‘The Innocent and Collateral Victims of a Bloody War with Russia’ is Liviu's latest collection of short stories, which track the experiences of a Romanian intellectual in the years since the political upheavals in his country and the surrounding region. They make for an exciting, insightful and provocative read about the events happening right now in Eastern Europe....

“a high, wide, floating flight over the dark romantic forests, over the wide Rhine plains, making a detour over the Masurian Lakes beyond the borders and then aiming South, towards Krakow. There I was again, in the city of my holidays...”

Make this Christmas the magical space where you join Liviu Antonesei in the beautiful excitement of his European dream. Happy Christmas!

THE INNOCENT AND COLLATERAL VICTIMS OF A BLOODY WAR WITH RUSSIA
by Liviu Antonesei
OUT NOW on Kindle and in paperback!
Paperback £7.99; http://amzn.to/1rHeAOc
Kindle £2.99; http://amzn.to/ZlJqOs
ISBN-13: 978-0956867650
Translated from the Romanian by Mihai Risnoveanu, Mike Phillips and Ramona Mitrica

PROFUSION GOLD SERIES - Fiction
Liviu Antonesei – ‘The Innocent and Collateral Victims of a Bloody War with Russia’, short stories
Coming in 2015:
Stelian Țurlea – ‘Greuceanu – Novel with a Policeman’, novel
Augustin Buzura – ‘Report on the State of Loneliness’, novel
Series Editor: Mike Phillips
www.profusion.org.uk
 

RFF announces Opening and Closing Films: CLOSER TO THE MOON and FOREST OF THE HANGED
Both events promise to be extraordinary and astonishing. You have to be there! To secure you VIP seats in advance, please choose one of the Perks on offer. For details, please visit our indiegogo campaign page http://igg.me/at/romanianfilmfestival

www.rofilmfest.com
press@rofilmfest.com
Facebook.com/RoFilmFest
Find us on Twitter @RomanianFilmLDN
Vimeo.com/RoFilmFest
http://igg.me/at/romanianfilmfestival

ÎNCEPUT  DE  CAPITOL

The 11th Romanian Film Festival in London: Breaking New Ground
13 - 16 November 2014, www.rofilmfest.com

ROMANIAN FILM NEEDS YOU on Indiegogo

Hello, everyone.
The Romanian Film Festival is back! And this time we mean to be bigger and travel outside London to Edinburgh, Liverpool and Brighton.
 
You have been supporting us since 2003, for ten editions in which we showcased Romanian contemporary cinema, as well as rarely seen classics. Film-makers and actors from the Romanian film industry attended the screenings, Q&As, panels and special events, and many of you had the chance to meet them at our receptions.

RFF 2014 will take place from the 13^th to the16^th November in London, and – with your kind support – the London showings will be followed for the first time by screenings outside the capital: in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Brighton. The Festival is at a crucial time in its development and what can be more exciting than bringing the joy of pitch-perfect cinema to new audiences?

For details, please visit our campaign page

We promise to bring, as usual, new releases, talented artists, hot debates with film experts and critics, rare classics from Romania to the UK. Special events, galas, conversations and industry events will complement the screenings, continuing the tradition of the festival as a joyful celebration of Romanian cinema. Award-winning filmmakers and actors will join the festival to enter into a dialogue with the audiences. Details of the festival program and participating guests will be available mid October. Stay tuned for updates through our Indiegogo campaign.

We are an independent organisation, a small group of passionate and dedicated individuals committed to providing an amazing display of Romanian films in the UK. Without sponsors and donations (and your attendance at the festival), RFF would be unable to do all this.

HOW CAN YOU HELP RFF?
There are numerous ways you can help RFFthroughout the year.
But the most immediate way you can help is to donate to this campaign -, and to share it on your Blogs and Web sites, as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ etc.

Contribute - No contribution is too small. With every pound we move a step closer to realizing our goal of evolving from a small independent festival, that is purely a labour of love, to a stable, enduring cultural foundation for the public.

To find out more about how your money will be spent, and what perks are available as a recognition of your kind contribution, please visit our campaign page at http://igg.me/at/romanianfilmfestival

We are Breaking New Ground with you!
 
-------------
Romanian Film Festival in London
Tel. +44 7456 542570
E-mail: press@rofilmfest.com

In the last decade Scandinavian crime fiction has dominated the European market for translations into English of stories about crime. Justifiably so, because there are some remarkable writers working in the genre. On the other hand, during the last few years translations from other languages have come into focus. Translations from Italian, French, Spanish and German have already commanded attention for some time, and in recent years we have seen the emergence of East European work. Romanian writers, largely through the agency of new publishers, Profusion, are the latest to burst into the market.

Euro Noir: The Pocket Essential Guide to European Crime Fiction, Film & TV is a bibliography and collection of essays about crime fiction writing in Europe. Compiled by Barry Forshaw, a prominent critic of crime fiction, it follows his best selling work on British crime fiction, and features the best writers in the genre throughout Europe. The section on Romania lists the Profusion writers, George Arion (Attack in the Library), Bogdan Hrib (Kill the General) and Oana Stoica-Mujea (Anatomical Clues). This chapter is no mere listing. Instead, it describes the books in some detail, and goes on to mention the non-fiction work Rimaru, Butcher of Bucharest by Mike Phillips and Stejarel Olaru. The section winds up with interviews from authors Mike Phillips and Bogdan Hrib. It is true that occasional Romanian authors, writing about the dictatorship, have been bestsellers, especially in the USA. On the other hand, this chapter in Euro Noir is about stories which represent day to day life. Popular Romanian writing has never attracted such attention in the UK market before now, and this is a breakthrough.

Euro Noir is available on Amazon – Paperback & Kindle edition

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1843442450/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_asp_TSzOH.04QN8BC

Spring is rightfully seen as the season of life, the season when hope and love are definitely in the air. Spring is also the season when nature comes again into its own after its long winter sleep. It is no wonder, then, that wherever you go around the world you are likely to find events and customs that are celebrations of Spring. Romania surely makes no exception.

The Celebration of Love:
DRAGOBETE is a celebration of love and fertility, with roots in the ancient pagan past. It takes place, traditionally, on the 24th of February. The legend has it that there used to be no love on the earth, and that Dragobete, himself a supernatural being, took the gift of love from the gods and gave it to mankind. In the olden days, people believed that those who were still single on the day of Dragobete would remain so for the rest of the year. On the contrary, those who celebrated Spring as part of a couple would enjoy luck and abundance. It was also believed that, non-migratory birds started looking for mates and built their nests on the day of Dragobete, so that they would be blessed with offspring.
During the communist years, Dragobete was not an officially sanctioned celebration. This lead to the custom losing popularity in urban areas, opening the way for another celebration of love to take over, after the 1989 revolution. Yes, it’s Valentine’s Day, imported directly from the US, with all its attendant special offers and dedicated products. Maybe as a resurgence of traditional celebrations in recent years, maybe as a fight back against rampant consumerism, the Romanians have started to reclaim their own ancient celebration of love. Dragobete has made a welcome comeback and is here to stay. 

The Celebration of Spring:
The celebration of Spring by excellence is MĂRȚIȘOR, the first day of March. To use a Romanian expression, this feast is as ancient as Earth itself (veche ca pământul) and it comes from our forefathers and ancestors (din moși strămoși). Tradition dictates that, on this day, men should give the gift of a double-threaded red and white string to the women in their families and those of their closer acquaintance. The colours of the string, red and white, recall a time of pagan beliefs: red symbolises blood and death, and white, purity and rebirth. Over the years, small charms and coins came to be attached to the string – this small trinket or charm is called mărțișor as well. Nowadays the charms generally take the form of flowers or animals. They can be made of a wide range of materials, from wood and plastic to silver, gold, and precious stones. As the first day of March approaches, the mărțișor makers gather at the corners of the big public squares to exhibit their wares. People shop around for the best prices and most appropriate models, but the final days of February can witness shopping frenzies bigger than any shopping mall has ever seen, where almost everything will get sold. The immense popularity and ubiquity of the mărțișor means that people who try to shirk their responsibility of giving away the charm to their loved ones are seriously frowned upon.
Once given away, the mărțișor – including both the string and the charm - has to be worn pinned to the lapel for the following week. In some parts of the country tradition says that after one week, the string needs to be tied to a flowering tree. By doing this, people ensure they will have good luck and a good crop. A version of the custom of mărțișor is also found in the Republic of Moldova, and in Bulgaria as well, where it is called Martenitsa. In Bulgaria it involves only a red and white twine tied to the wrist of people’s loved ones. So if you happen to see red and white string tied to trees in the parks of Britain and Europe, you will now know what they stand for.

The Celebration of Women:
Chance had it that mărțișor is accompanied in Romania by MOTHERS’ DAY, which is celebrated on International Women’s Day, on the 8th of March. Ask any Romanian what happens on 8th of March and they will tell you: Mothers’ and Women’s Day. The majority of people have forgotten, or might simply have no idea, that things have been so for only a (relatively) short time, and that Mother’s Day, as we know it, was imported straight from Soviet Russia at the end of the 1940s. Originally used as the communist regime’s flagship for women’s issues, it seems it was adopted by the people quite willingly. Being very close to the traditional celebrations of 1st of March also helped, the existing popular tradition turned an imposed political event into a well-loved holiday.
So it is that the 8th of March became the day when women, especially mothers, could be lavished with small gifts and flowers. As in other counties on Valentine’s Day, the price of flowers skyrockets on Mothers’ Day in Romania. Businesses, stores and local authorities around the country compete to bring special offers for women, from free coffees and flowers to discounts. There have also been official pardons for minor motoring offences. Although, from 2010, there has been an official Mothers’ Day in Romania, on the first Sunday in May, it will probably take a very long time for it to take over the function of 8th of March as both Mothers’ and Women’s Day.

- - -

As an aside to mărțișor and Mothers’ and Women’s Day, it has to be said that certain categories of women were (and still are) the main beneficiaries, and teachers are especially spoilt for choice. Why? Because all the pupils and students in their classes will bring mărțișor charms and flowers. Teachers will have to take hard decisions, as the lapels of their jackets or coats are almost always too small to display all the charms received. Anyone with female relatives in the teaching profession can tell stories of drawers filled with mărțișor charms of all sizes and colours, a stash which was raided the following year, in the good spirit of recycling. One week later, on 8th of March, it seemed that one can never have enough vases in the house. As a sign of appreciation, teachers would receive bouquet after bouquet, returning home with giant bunches of multicolour flowers.

THE 10th ROMANIAN FILM FESTIVAL IN LONDON: TURNING THE PAGE
Day 5

2 December 2013, 6.30pm, EBRD
'HAPPY FUNERALS' - UK Premiere (Director: Horațiu Mălăele • România 2013 • 111 mins)
Plus Q&A with director and lead actor HORAȚIU MĂLĂELE
More on: www.rofilmfest.com
Copyright © 2014 Profusion International

As part of its ten year celebration, the Romanian Film Festival in London announced the inaugural annual Profusion scholarship scheme. 

The aim of the Profusion scholarship is to contribute to the development of young film makers with a Romanian background.

The 2013 scholarship was launched at a special event during the Festival, in the presence of the first recipient: the young Romanian cinematographer Simona Susnea.

The 2013 scholarship, with the value of GBP 1,500, consisted of:
- a stay of one week in London, during The Romanian Film Festival in London, and
- a GBP 500 contribution towards Simona Susnea’s tuition fees for the National Film and Television School in London (NFTS), where she is currently enrolled as an MA student.
The funds guaranteed by the scholarship covered the cost of travel Bucharest-London-Bucharest, local transport in London, hotel accommodation for one week, per diem, tickets for screenings.

The scheme also offers assistance in the fields of fund raising, supervision and mentoring. In 2014 the Profusion scholarship scheme intends to promote films based on the diasporic experience and to encourage the development of young filmmakers growing up in the diaspora.

Biography:
Simona Susnea is a photographer and a DOP. She graduated from the Faculty of Cinematography of the National University of Theatre and Cinematography in Bucharest, Romania. She has been recently accepted by the National Film and Television School in London to continue her studies and obtain a Cinematography MA. In 2011, through the Media Mundus program of the European Union, Simona received a scholarship in order to participate to the prestigious Budapest Cinematography Masterclass, led by Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC. In 2010, Kodak Romania offered her the cinematography award for Romanian film. Her portfolio has been appreciated by cinematographers such as John Bailey, ASC, and Andy Fallon, and her short films were presented at international festivals such as Cannes International Film Festival. More details on www.simonasusnea.com

My Festival experience and the Profusion scholarship:
“Taking part in the Romanian Film Festival in London meant a double celebration for me.

First, this was my first time in the festival and it happened to be for the 10th year anniversary of the RFF. I was happy to be able to join the audience, the personalities and the Romanian artists celebrating the success and achievements of our cinematography. I believe this is an important event not only because of that, but also because it brings together people from the Romanian community as well. It was a pleasure for me to meet the organising team and to get a glimpse at what it takes to make this happen and bring the films in front of the audience. After experiencing this, I would like the films which I’ll make in the future, after graduation, to be selected and brought in front of the British-Romanian audience.

My second reason for celebration was the fact that the organisers of the RFF, Profusion International creative Consultancy, inaugurated a scholarship scheme and I had the honour to be awarded the first scholarship. The Profusion scholarship brought me nearer my dream of studying at the NFTS and is helping me in the process of raising the necessary funding in order to cover my tuition fees. Gaining this scholarship strengthened my belief and determination in pursuing my plan and trusting it will be successful. Young people need guiding and mentorship in order to make it to the top, and I am very lucky to have the backing of Profusion. I thank them for this opportunity, for their initiative and for the efforts they make in order to promote Romanian cinematographers.” - Simona Susnea

Convorbiri Romanesti = Dialogue

Web site: www.convorbiriromanesti.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/convorbiriromanesti
E-mail: contact@convorbiriromanesti.com
Tel: +44 7456 542570 

http://www.romani-online.co.uk/ghid

Ediția tipărită va fi distribuită la toate punctele de interes ale românilor din Marea Britanie (biserici, consulate, magazine, restaurante, în toate coletele distribuite de Albinuta UK, prin intermediul partenerilor ROMANi ONLiNE, la evenimentele românești, în aeroporturi etc), începând cu luna ianuarie 2014.

Acest proiect este realizat cu sprijinul Ministerului Afacerilor Externe – Departamentul Politici pentru Relaţia cu Românii de Pretutindeni.

Your Book for Christmas!
after you’ve disembowelled the Christmas turkey,
after you’ve sorted out the crying children,
after you’ve had that definitive quarrel with your disagreeable father/mother/brother/sister/aunt/uncle (take your pick),
after you’ve been sick…
SETTLE DOWN AND HAVE A GOOD READ ABOUT SERIAL KILLING:
RIMARU – BUTCHER OF BUCHAREST – by Mike Phillips and Stejarel Olaru
Available in Paperback: http://amzn.to/1cKfL2w (£7.22) and on Kindle: http://amzn.to/1c34ZX3 (£3.08)

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1970-71 Bucharest’s dark streets were haunted by a ruthless killer with vampire propensities. Vet student Ion Rimaru, tried and shot, was communist Romania’s own Jack the Ripper.

“An inexorable accretion of detail, maintaining a firm grip on the reader's attention... a cool, uninflected narrative that allows the facts to speak for themselves to chilling effect... the customary banality of evil, but also the fashion in which that evil can flourish in a totalitarian state. It is a chilling and salutary read.”
Barry Forshaw - writer and journalist - British Crime Writing: An Encyclopedia

“... a fascinating read that frames a factual account of the crimes within their social environment, while examining their impact on the culture, and their lingering legacy in the present day.”
George Nott - Enfield INDEPENDENT
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UK audiences will get a chance to experience a selection of these films at the 10th Romanian Film Festival in London that starts 28 November. The festival is entitled Turning the Page, indicating how the films on show look forward beyond the New Wave in terms of content, social analysis and storytelling.
"The windows have been thrown open! We're turning the page!" is the festival's tagline.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24668173

The 10th Romanian Film Festival in London: TURNING THE PAGE brings you the latest, the most exciting and the most illuminating productions from the ferment of the Romanian film industry.
Tickets are NOW on sale. SEE FESTIVAL PROGRAM HERE: http://rofilmfest.com/c/1/programme
Hugely popular actors and immensely insightful directors will lend their presence to the screenings within the 10th Romanian Film Festival in London: actor Victor Rebengiuc (Japanese Dog), actor and director Horatiu Malaele (Happy Funerals), actor Bogdan Dumitrache (When Evening Falls On Bucharest Or Metabolism), actors Dragos Bucur, Alexandru Papadopol and Dorian Boguta (Love Building), director Stere Gulea (I Am An Old Communist Hag), and director Adrian Sitaru (Domestic). Join us on the red carpet!

The ROMANIAN FILM FESTIVAL IN LONDON (RFF) is gearing up for its 10th edition, which runs from Thu 28 Nov – Mon 2 Dec 2013. Save the dates for our 5-day celebration of film! Join the festival Facebook page http://Facebook.com/RoFilmFest for some great news, competitions and prizes, your chance to meet the top actors and directors invited, and more!

Distributed, free of charge, via e-mail. If interested, drop us an e-mail at ramonamitrica@gmail.com

Contents:
- Portrait of the Month: author Nicolae Breban
- Top Tips
- In the News
- Cultural Diary: September – October 2013

Kindle e-book of Anatomical Clues by Oana Stoica-Mujea - ONLY £0.99 for a limited time

Anatomical Clues (Indicii anatomice) by Oana Stoica-Mujea features Iolanda, a crime-fighting heroine unique in the landscape of Romanian literature: mad, bad and dangerous to know.

“...a gripping tale, which, like Iolanda, will creep into your head and stay there.”
Mike Phillips - author, CWA Silver Dagger winner

Find Anatomical Clues on Amazon's Kindle at http://amzn.to/176DtTU

Distributed, free of charge, via e-mail. If interested, drop us an e-mail at ramonamitrica@gmail.com

Contents:

- Portrait of the Month: author Stelian Turlea
- Cultural Diary: August-September 2013
- In the News
- Free Preview – The Chernobyl Event, from KILL THE GENERAL by Bogdan Hrib
- Top Tips

Distributed, free of charge, via e-mail. If interested, drop us an e-mail at ramonamitrica@gmail.com

Contents:

- Portrait of the Month: author Liviu Antonesei
- Cultural Diary: July 2013
- In the News
- Top Tips

NOIR FROM EASTERN EUROPE from Profusion.org.uk - Perfect summer reads with the right amount of "chill" factor

Attack in the Library (Atac în bibliotecă) by George Arion, one of the classic narratives of Romanian popular fiction, was written during the dictatorship of the 1980s in the finest Noir tradition.
“I loved this book. Dry, snappy, absurdist wit... the colossal, surreal stupidity of totalitarianism.”
Patrick McGuinness - author, The Last Hundred Days - Man Booker Prize Longlist

Kill the General (Ucideți generalul) by Bogdan Hrib, an exciting and suspenseful thriller, takes you on a rollercoaster ride through the last decades in Romanian history.
"...a good read offering an insight into a country that remains mysterious to many of us."
Julian Cole - The Press, York

Anatomical Clues (Indicii anatomice) by Oana Stoica-Mujea features Iolanda, a crime-fighting heroine unique in the landscape of Romanian literature: mad, bad and dangerous to know.
“...a gripping tale, which, like Iolanda, will creep into your head and stay there.”
Mike Phillips - author, CWA Silver Dagger winner

Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest (Rîmaru – Măcelarul Bucureștiului) by Mike Phillips and Stejarel Olaru is a social review of Romania in the ‘70s, with a serial killer’s story as a central focus.
“... a fascinating read that frames a factual account of the crimes within their social environment, while examining their impact on the culture, and their lingering legacy in the present day.”
George Nott - Enfield INDEPENDENT

All Profusion books are available in paperback from Profusion.org.uk and Amazon.co.uk, as well as Kindle e-books. Books are available in Romania as well, from ‘Anthony Frost’ English bookshop in Bucharest (www.anthonyfrost.ro).

PROFUSION CRIME SERIES - Fiction/Non-Fiction, Series Editor: Mike Phillips

 
Monday 17 June 2013

Special Conference:
Developing Narratives about Contemporary Life for Children and Young People

10:30 am, Palatul Copiilor (Iași, Bulevardul Carol I, No.2)
part of IAȘI INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF EDUCATION
Host: writer Liviu Antonesei, President of the Festival of Books and Authors for Children and Young Adults

Developing Narratives about Contemporary Life for Children and Young People
Traditionally, fiction for children and young people has been dominated by the telling of myths and legends. In recent years, educationalists have tried to add more recent history and debates about society to the content of children’s fiction. However this has consequences for the development of the stories. What sort of narratives are the most appropriate in modern storytelling for young people? How are they to be discovered?

Read the full details here.

We are happy to present the English version of very special interview with Constantin Chiriac, Director of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival:

Magdalena Popa Buluc - in dialogue with Constantin Chiriac, Director of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival: “I shall continue to believe people need soothing, dialogue, and stories”

Happy reading!

Ramona Mitrica, director of Profusion Publishers and Consultancy, talked recently to Romanian news portal Ziare.com about the challenges and opportunities of promoting culture from Eastern Euroope in the UK.

Click here to read the full interview (Romanian ONLY)

Saturday 15 June 2013

Special Conference: Literature, and the transcultural forum in Europe

11.30 am, Habitus Cultural Centre, Sibiu
within SIBIU INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL

Literature, and the transcultural forum in Europe
Popular genres have always been an effective strategy in describing and disseminating arguments, conflicts and issues in any given society. Crime fiction is associated with the exploration of the rise of industrialised infrastructures, and the genre described the perils and mysteries of the newly invented urban life. Similarly, the science fiction genre debated the effects of space exploration, nuclear energy and computer science, as they happened. In a sense, the literature of these periods and events became methods of communication, unlike anything which had gone before.

Read the full details here.

Ramona Mitrica, director of Profusion International, acts as a mentor in the Speed-Networking Event organised by the Romanian Business Club and the League of Romanian Students Abroad, on Saturday 25 May 2013.

The event takes place at the University of East London, University Way, London E16 2RD.

Registration necessary, see http://uk.lsrs.ro/2013/04/05/rbc-lsrs-speed-networking-event for details.

Distributed, free of charge, via e-mail. If interested, drop us an e-mail at ramonamitrica@gmail.com

Contents:

- In the News
- Top Tips
- Portrait of the Month: Ion Caramitru
- Cultural Diary
- Pencil in

Romanian Orthodox Easter
Paște fericit! Happy (Orthodox) Easter to all our friends!

In 2013, Orthodox Easter falls on Sunday 5 May - Easter generally doesn’t fall on the same day for Orthodox Christians and for Catholics and Protestants. More about the reason why – click here.

Easter, or Paște, as it is called in Romanian, is arguably the most important holy day in the calendar. Proper religious observance demands 40 days of Lent, and some people go the full length of the Lent without touching meat or other products of animal origin. Most people fast only on Wednesdays and Fridays, some try to fast only during the week before Easter. Easter day arrives with an impressive feast, and tradition dictates some foods are absolutely mandatory. First of all – Easter eggs. These are hard-boiled eggs which are painted one or two days before Easter Sunday in vivid colours, or with striking traditional patterns. As a reminder of Christ’s blood, eggs are generally painted red, but other colours are also very common. The most spectacular ones are the so-called “written eggs” (ouă încondeiate), which are painted following a complicated ancient technique involving hot wax and natural dyes. Sadly, this folk art is known only to a few people nowadays, and hollowed-out “written eggs” are now kept as decorative objects.

Another traditional food is lamb, which many Romanians eat only for Easter, but in a variety of dishes. For an entree, we have the coarse lamb pâté called drob, then there is borș de miel, a sour soup with white borscht and freshly chopped leaves of lovage (Levisticum officinale); then you might try roast lamb, lamb casserole, and lamb in garlic sauce. Pasca, a type of baked cheesecake made only for Easter, comes as the required traditional dessert, accompanied by cozonac, a brioche loaf with walnut or poppy seed filling, sultanas and pieces of Turkish delight.

Normally, the Easter Feast starts when the family come home after the Resurrection Mass at midnight. The meal starts with knocking and breaking the painted eggs, shouting Cristos a înviat, adevărat a înviat! (Christ is risen, truly he is risen). Traditionally, the person breaking the most eggs would have kept them and eaten them all. Only after this the feast can really start. Some people prefer to go only for the eggs and abstain from the other dainties. The reason for this? On Easter Sunday, after the main mass, there will be another, bigger banquet.

Start reading crime fiction from Eastern Europe NOW! Readers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your boredom.

Profusion News No. 4 is out now!

Distributed, free of charge, via e-mail. If interested, drop us an e-mail at ramonamitrica@gmail.com

Contents:

- Romanian Orthodox Easter: 5 May 2013
- Portrait of the Month: Constantin Chiriac
- Profusion Contest – Win a Book
- In the News
- Top Tips
- Cultural Diary
- Pencil in

Tuesday 30 April 2013: TALK

CRIME FICTION SERIES: ROMANIAN NOIR

with Profusion editors, Ramona Mitrica and Mike Phillips
18:30, Belgravia Books, 59 Ebury Street, London SW1W 0NZ (map here)
Tel. 020 7259 9336; E-mail: jimena@belgraviabooks.com
Free entry. Book early. Limited space.

EVERYTHING YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT ROMANIAN CRIME FICTION...

Q: Is there such a thing as Romanian crime fiction?
A: Yes, and Profusion is here to prove it.

Q: Romania – it’s in Eastern Europe, right?
A: It used to be behind the Iron Curtain. Cue one bloody revolution. Cue one long transition to a market-economy. Now it's a vital European partner.

Q: Can you see something of this in your books?
A: Certainly. Attack in the Library by George Arion, one of the classic narratives of Romanian popular fiction, was written during the dictatorship of the 1980s in the finest Noir tradition. Kill the General by Bogdan Hrib, an exciting and suspenseful thriller, takes you on a rollercoaster ride through the last decades in Romanian history. Anatomical Clues by Oana Stoica-Mujea features Iolanda, a crime-fighting heroine unique in the landscape of Romanian literature: mad, bad and dangerous to know. Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest by Mike Phillips and Stejarel Olaru is a social review of Romania in the ‘70s, with a serial killer’s story as a central focus.

Q: That sounds serious.
A: It is. But the stories are also full of insights into the life of ordinary Romanians. This is a different society under different conditions, but Romanians are subject to the same existential problems as any other human beings, and they react in similar ways – both in ordinary and extraordinary situations. The books also contain a strong dose of black humour of the type recently explored in the films of the Romanian New Wave.

Q: So I guess I’ll see you there?
A: By all means. The books will be available for a special price on the evening. There’s going to be a wine reception, too, sponsored by the Romanian online food-store www.albinuta.co.uk

Q: Aha! Is the event free?
A: Yes, it is. But you have to book your place in advance. Call 020 7259 9336 or e-mail: jimena@belgraviabooks.com.
Other details on www.facebook.com/events/439513022792251/?ref=22 and www.belgraviabooks.com
You can read more about the books on www.profusion.org.uk. You can also watch a video trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDRIpj3kKyw

Read All About It! Profusion News Issue No. 3 is out now!

Cultural news and events, some very handy tips, a diary of Romania-related cultural events in the UK, and an interview with prominent dissident writer Augustin Buzura, a true master of Romanian prose.

Profusion News is distributed, free of charge, via e-mail. Interested in reading it? Drop us an e-mail at ramonamitrica@gmail.com

PANEL DISCUSSION: New Romanian Books in English
4 pm, Monday 15 April 2013, Romanian Stand W205, Earls Court 2 (Warwick Road, London, UK, SW5 9TA)

Dr Mike Phillips OBE, author, journalist and curator, co-director of Profusion Publishers, will chair a discussion about new Romanian books in English. This event is part of the Romanian programme in the London Book Fair.

The participants in the panel are: Paul Bailey, Carmen Bugan, Susan Curtis-Kojakovic, Ramona Mitrică, Miranda Spicer, Cecilia Ştefănescu.

Enjoy the latest translations from Romanian, from Carmen Bugan’s Orwell Prize long-listed Burying the Typewriter and Cecilia Ştefănescu’s Sun Alley to the Romanian crime fiction series published by Profusion Publishers (www.profusion.org.uk), or the Romanian books offered by Plymouth University Press - introduced by the authors themselves with contributions from fellow writers and editors.

For the sixth time in a row, Romania is present in the prestigious London Book Fair. Under the title A Tribute to the Labours of Love, the Romanian stand will present a series of events will pay homage to the crucial contribution made by translators, editors, and authors, both in Britain, the United States and Romania, to the promotion of Romanian poetry, prose, and academic writing. More details about the programme on www.icr-london.co.uk/article/romania-at-the-london-book-fair-a-tribute-to-the-labours-of-love.html

Entrance to the London Book Fair is open to pass holders. Passes start at £30. For registration, visit  www.londonbookfair.co.uk/en/Register-Link/

Tuesday 30 April 2013: TALK

CRIME FICTION SERIES: ROMANIAN NOIR
18:30, Belgravia Books, 59 Ebury Street, London SW1W 0NZ (map here)

Tel. 020 7259 9336; E-mail: jimena@belgraviabooks.com
Free entry. Book early. Limited space availability.

“Belgravia Books is pleased to partner with Profusion Publishers (www.profusion.org.uk) for this event. Ramona Mitrica from Profusion and author Mike Phillips will guide you through a fascinating literary world you never thought existed. They are responsible of bringing to Britain a never-before-seen glimpse of Romania, with a series of Romanian noir with a difference: novels that certainly thrill, but also books which can show the audience the reality of a country which used to be behind the Iron Curtain but now emerges as a vibrant European partner after a bloody revolution and a long transition to a market-economy.”

Wine reception sponsored by www.albinuta.co.uk

Details: www.facebook.com/events/439513022792251/?ref=22
www.belgraviabooks.com

- - - - - -

TRAILER

MOTHER’S DAY in Romania is celebrated on International Women’s Day, on the 8th of March. As a festival, its roots go so deep in the Romanian psyche that the majority of people forget – or simply never knew – that this celebration was imported directly from Soviet Russia after 1947 (the year of the declaration of the Romanian Popular Republic). It became the communist regime’s flagship for women’s issues, and its propinquity to the traditional celebrations of 1st of March meant that its official status could be underlined by the existing popular tradition.

So the 8th of March became a day when small gifts and flowers could be lavished on women, especially mothers. Local authorities and businesses around the country compete to make women special offers, from free coffees to shopping discounts, and even official pardons for minor motoring offences. In spite of the Soviet overtones, Romanians took wholeheartedly to the 8th of March as Mother’s and Women’s Day, and any attempt to change the date would probably be futile.

MĂRȚIȘOR, the celebration of Spring on the first day of March, is – to use a Romanian expression – as ancient as Earth itself. On this day, women receive a gift of a double-threaded red and white string, together with a small trinket – called mărțișor. This mărțișor is worn for the next week, on the lapel. In some parts of the country tradition dictates that the string would then be tied to a flowering tree, so as to bring good luck and a good crop. The colours, red and white, recall a time of pagan beliefs, red symbolising blood and death, and white purity and rebirth.

Over the years, small charms and coins came to be attached to the string. Nowadays the charms take the form of flowers or animals, and can be made of a wide range of materials, from wood and plastic to silver, gold, and precious stones. As March approaches the mărțișor makers gather on the corners of the big public squares exhibiting their wares. A version of this custom is also found in Bulgaria, called Martenitsa, but it involves only a red and white twine being tied to the wrist of people’s loved ones.

Read All About It! Profusion News Issue No. 2 is out now! Read about Romanian Spring customs, cultural news and events, and some very handy tips. Plus a short diary of Romania-related cultural events taking place in the UK, and a short portrait of award-winning film director Calin Peter Netzer.
Profusion News is distributed, free of charge, via e-mail. Interested in reading it? Drop us an e-mail at ramonamitrica@gmail.com

Ultima Oră, Ediție Specială! S-a lansat numărul 2 al buletinului de știri Profusion News! Citiți în acest număr despre: obiceiuri românești de primăvară, știri și evenimente culturale românești sau legate de România, precum și informații foarte utile. Plus, o mică agendă a evenimentelor culturale românești din Marea Britanie și un scurt portret al regizorului Călin Peter Netzer, câștigătorul premiului “Ursul de aur” la ediția din 2013 a Berlinalei. Buletinul de știri Profusion News se distribuie gratuit, pe e-mail. Doriți să-l citiți? Trimiteți-ne un e-mail la adresa ramonamitrica@gmail.com.

Just like classic "heart & dagger" love tattoos, Profusion Crime books are for life, not just for Valentine's Day. Share the love with a little Noir from Eastern Europe.

More about the books here.

Writer and blogger Charlie Stella reviews and recommends “Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest” 

“... a well documented tale of not only the killer [Ion Rimaru], his family, and the victims, it also serves as a condemnation of the aftereffects of years of communist rule [...] Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest is a fine glimpse into the mind of a notorious serial killer and an intriguing read. It’s great to see an Eastern European publisher of crime make it here. Definitely recommended reading...”

Read more about the book here.

Are you looking for brilliant gift ideas? Your loved ones might have enough ties, socks, and scarves, and eaten too many chocolates already. Be bold, be daring, be you: go for a novel approach to gift-making! It’s time to give the gift of Noir from Eastern Europe! 

Special offer for the holidays - Buy 3 books for the price of 2! only from Profusion.org.uk

Books can also be purchased by cheque. Send an e-mail at mail@profusion.org.uk for details.

Profusion Books - Highest Quality Noir from Eastern Europe for a lucky 2013!

An extraordinary trio of novels from Romanian authors in English translation, plus an amazing non-fiction book:

Attack in the Library (Atac în bibliotecă) by George Arion, one of the classic narratives of Romanian popular fiction, was written during the dictatorship of the 1980s in the finest Noir tradition.

Kill the General (Ucideți generalul) by Bogdan Hrib, an exciting and suspenseful thriller, takes you on a rollercoaster ride through the last decades in Romanian history.

Anatomical Clues (Indicii anatomice) by Oana Stoica-Mujea features Iolanda, a crime-fighting heroine unique in the landscape of Romanian literature: mad, bad and dangerous to know.

Rimaru - Butcher of Bucharest (Rîmaru – Măcelarul Bucureștiului) by Mike Phillips and Stejarel Olaru is a social review of Romania in the ‘70s, with a serial killer’s story as a central focus.

All Profusion books are available in paperback from Profusion.org.uk and Amazon.co.uk, as well as Kindle e-books. Books are available in Romania as well, from ‘Anthony Frost’ English bookshop in Bucharest (www.anthonyfrost.ro).

PROFUSION CRIME SERIES - Fiction/Non-Fiction, Series Editor: Mike Phillips

 It’s time for you to give the gift of Noir from Eastern Europe!

Special offer for the holidays - Buy 3 books for the price of 2!

Offer valid until the end of December 2012. Order early to ensure delivery before Christmas! It is advisable to order your books by Tuesday 19 December 2012 to make sure they will reach you before Christmas.

Books can also be purchased by cheque. Send an e-mail at mail@profusion.org.uk  for details. 

 It’s time for you to give the gift of Noir from Eastern Europe!

Special offer for the holidays - Buy 3 books for the price of 2!

Offer valid until the end of December 2012. Order early to ensure delivery before Christmas! It is advisable to order your books by Tuesday 19 December 2012 to make sure they will reach you before Christmas.

Books can also be purchased by cheque. Send an e-mail at mail@profusion.org.uk  for details. 

The Romanian Film Festival in London is organised by Profusion International Creative Consultancy, in partnership with The National Centre of Cinematography in Bucharest and Curzon Cinemas in London.

It is a unique opportunity to enjoy a showcase of Romania’s most exciting new films, between 22- 25 November 2012, at Curzon Renoir Cinema, in the heart of Bloomsbury. See you on the red carpet!

Full programme on www.rofilmfest.com

Profusion is proud to present the Romanian Film Festival (RFF) in London, 22- 25 November 2012, at Curzon Renoir Cinema (London WC1N 1AW)

It is a unique opportunity to enjoy a showcase of Romania’s most exciting new films in the heart of Bloomsbury. See you on the red carpet!

Full programme on www.rofilmfest.com

To read free preview of the books in the Profusion Crime Series, click here.

The Festival, one of the major Romanian cultural events of the year in Britain, showcases an extraordinary line-up of new and exciting films between 22- 25 November 2012, at Curzon Renoir Cinema in central London.

All Profusion Crime Books are available in paperback from Profusion.org.uk, Amazon.co.uk, Waterstones.com and Blackwell.co.uk, as well as Kindle e-books.

All Profusion Crime Books are available in paperback from Profusion.org.uk, Amazon.co.uk, and Waterstones.com, as well as Kindle e-books.

'Rîmaru - Butcher of Bucharest' is available in paperback from Profusion.org.uk, Amazon.co.uk, and as a Kindle e-book.
To read a free preview of 'Rîmaru - Butcher of Bucharest', click here.

'Rîmaru - Butcher of Bucharest' is available in paperback from Profusion.org.uk, Amazon.co.uk, and as a Kindle e-book.
To read a free preview of 'Rîmaru - Butcher of Bucharest', click here.

Entrance is free; refreshments provided; books at special price, no booking required.

The author Mike Phillips will be present and reading from 'Rimaru – Butcher of Bucharest' and from his novel A Shadow of Myself, which also has its focus in the recent history of Eastern Europe. He will also explore the background to his recent work and its connections with his own previous literary history.

'Rîmaru - Butcher of Bucharest' is available in paperback from Amazon.co.uk, and as a Kindle e-book.
To read a free preview of 'Rîmaru - Butcher of Bucharest', click here.

The resulting book is a remarkable, uneasy and illuminating story.

'Rîmaru - Butcher of Bucharest' is also available in paperback from Amazon.co.uk, and as a Kindle e-book.

To read a free preview of 'Rîmaru - Butcher of Bucharest', click here.

Our books give you a mental workout fit for champions. Read free previews of the books in the Profusion Crime Series by clicking here.

All Profusion Crime Books are available in paperback from Profusion.org.uk, Amazon.co.uk, and Waterstones.com, as well as Kindle e-books.

To read a free preview of 'Rîmaru - Butcher of Bucharest', click here.

'Anatomical Clues' is also available in paperback from Amazon.co.uk, and as a Kindle e-book.

To read a free preview of 'Anatomical Clues', click here.

'Anatomical Clues' is also available in paperback from Amazon.co.uk, and as a Kindle e-book.

To read a free preview of 'Anatomical Clues', click here.

'Anatomical Clues' is also available in paperback from Amazon.co.uk, and as a Kindle e-book.

To read a free preview of 'Anatomical Clues', click here.

For signed copies, order your books on this site.

To read free previews of the books in the Profusion Crime Series, click here.

'Rîmaru - Butcher of Bucharest' is also available in paperback from Amazon.co.uk, and as a Kindle e-book.

To read a free preview of 'Rîmaru - Butcher of Bucharest', click here.

* - exclusive price offer of £6.99 ends 30 June 2012

For signed copies, order your books on this site.

To read free previews of the books in the Profusion Crime Series, click here.

To read free preview of the books in the Profusion Crime Series, click here.

To read a free preview of 'Kill the General', click here.

For signed copies, order your books on this site.

The books in the Profusion Crime Series are also available in paperback from Amazon.co.uk, and as Kindle e-books.

To read free previews, click here.

The books in the Profusion Crime Series are also available in paperback from Amazon.co.uk, and as Kindle e-books.

To read free previews, click here.

To read a free preview of 'Attack in the Library', click here.

Read a free sample by clicking here.

"... a cool, uninflected narrative that allows the facts to speak for themselves to chilling effect. It is a chilling and salutary read."
(Barry Forshaw, writer and journalist - British Crime Writing: An Encyclopedia)

In September 1971 Ion Rîmaru stood trial for the murder of several women. The indictment accused him of committing 23 very serious offences over a period of one year from May 1970 to May 1971: murders committed in extremely aggravated circumstances. The authors, Mike Phillips and Stejarel Olaru, have had unprecedented access to police and secret police records about the case, including the testimonies of the killer and his family.

A remarkable, uneasy and illuminating story... CLICK HERE to read more about the book and to purchase a signed copy for only £6.99.

Passionate film makers who might be tempted to turn the story of a serial killer into a movie are welcome.

Hurry up! Only a few places are still available. Register now! – see www.hollywoodintransilvania.com for details

Read a free sample by using the LOOK INSIDE feature on the Amazon.co.uk page

Edited by Ramona Mitrica. Profusion Books (Profusion Crime Series)
• Paperback (May 2012), 200 pages, Language: English, ISBN-13: 978-0956867636. RRP £7.99
• Kindle Edition (Apr 2012), Language: English, ASIN: B007XJ6RRG. List price: £3.08

Click here for more details about the book and the authors.

Patrick McGuinness, Christopher MacLehose, Mike Phillips, and Peter Lee-Wright (chair) discuss crime fiction - the real European currency, on 24 November 2011, 17:00 - 19:00.
From the astonishing success of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books (and films, and US re-makes) and multiple Wallander TV series, to the Danish Killing and French Spiral TV series: is crime fiction the real European currency? Romanian crime fiction reveals another side: it subverted censorship.

Location: LG02,  1 New Academic Building, Goldsmiths College, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW. Free entrance

The University of Leeds hosts a presentation and debate on crime literature from Eastern Europe, on 1 December 2011, 17:30-20:00, featuring award-winning author Mike Phillips and special guests from Romania: George Arion, Oana Stoica-Mujea, and Bogdan Hrib.
Introduction by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor Frank Finlay and John McLeod, Professor of Postcolonial and Diaspora Literatures.

Location: Rupert Beckett Lecture Theatre, Michael Sadler Building, LG X04, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT.

OUT NOW!

Kill the General 

on Kindle

Special price £3.44 for one month only.
(offer ends 10 December 2011)

Grab your e-book directly from Kindle Store (UK).

Also available for iPhone, iPad, and Android phones and tablets, using the free Kindle app.

Buy the e-book from Kindle US, Kindle France, or Kindle Deutschland.