Romanian Literature Days: From page to stage & screen
Literary debates, book launches, performances, and encounters between Romanian writers and the younger generation — these are all part of the Romanian Literature Days, which began Tuesday in Chișinău.
Twenty-five guests from Romania and the Republic of Moldova will participate in 18 events over five days. This year's edition highlights the potential of local literature for adaptation to theater and film.
"How to Transform Literature into Performances and Films" was the theme of the opening debate at the Romanian Literature Days. Petru Hadârcă has created most of the stage productions, as well as radio plays, inspired by literary works.
"It's a very interesting program. I believe that every work of art, every piece, every novel has its own emotions, and we, as theater creators, resonate with them," notes the director.
In 2001, the film "Procust's Bed" was made, based on Camil Petrescu's novel—a significant challenge for directors Sergiu Prodan and Viorica Meșină.
"It was very difficult. We were both working on our first film. It was a period when Soviet cinema had collapsed, and new cinema hadn't yet taken shape, not even in Romania, where we were filming. That's why it was so hard," says director Viorica Meșină.
Lorina Bălteanu's first novel, "Tied to the Earth with a Rope" (Legată cu funia de pământ), was staged at the "Luceafărul" Theater, directed by Slava Sambriș. This performance will also culminate the Romanian Literature Days, featuring a meeting with the author.
"- The play is perfect; it's better than the book. - What's the path from a book to the stage or to film? - It's very direct, very close: talent, a good writer meeting a good director, with capable actors, and an engaged audience," says Lorina Bălteanu.
This year's edition also features debates on "How History Lies to Us" and "No One Escapes Childhood Unscathed," and presents "duets" between poets and actors as part of the traditional poetry marathon.
"We're discussing how the relationship between literature and film can be revived today, especially after it was quite fruitful in the 1960s," says writer Paula Erizanu.
"It's a productive festival. We meet, in essence, to understand how literature functions in different regions, and to create a kind of communicating vessel between writers from here and from Bucharest, Cluj, Iași," mentions writer Emilian Galaicu-Păun.
"When it comes to books, theater, and film, these are excellent opportunities for enriching discussions for everyone involved," states Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei, president of the parliamentary commission for culture, education, research, youth, sports, and mass media.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
