The largest literature festival in South-Eastern Europe, the International Festival of Literature and Translation FILIT, will take place during September 26-29 in Chisinau. The organizers announced the program of the event at a press conference that involved Minister of Culture Sergiu Prodan, and Sergiu Nistor, adviser to the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, IPN reports.
FILIT Iasi founder Narcis Afrăsinei said that thanks to KA-TET Foundation, the organizer of FILIT Chisinau, the festival was brought to the Republic of Moldova. “Last year, in this period, it was just a nice idea, but today, thanks to everyone’s involvement, we manage to attract important actors. I’m referring to the presidential administration of Romania, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, Eunit Global, a network present in over 100 countries,” stated Narcis Afrăsinai.
Sergiu Nistor, adviser to the President of Romania, sent a message on behalf of Klaus Iohannis. “Chisinau stands out as a space of freedom and of the deepest humanity, which writers, translators and literary critics cultivate, and readers seek and cherish. Through the support provided to FILIT Chisinau, Romania actively supports the Republic of Moldova and stands in solidarity with its citizens who are so strained in this period, but confident in the European future of this country. LWe should not forget the anthem of Europe with whose lyrics we identify ourselves regardless of the language in which we understand the message: Let all men be brothers. Through this festival, we recognize and value the power of the word, the ability to come together in ideas that build bridges and bring people together,” reads President Klaus Iohannis’ message reads.
For his part, Moldova’s Minister of Culture Sergiu Prodan conveyed to the Romanian President, through his adviser, his appreciation and gratitude. Sergiu Prodan also thanked the backers of this festival, specifying that the Ministry of Culture is a co-financier, not an organizer. “There are a lot of projects implemented by us, but there are also those coming from across the Prut, which come with all their power to strengthen culture and literature,” said the minister.
The president of the Romanian Cultural Institute, Liviu Jicman, who is also the president of Eunic Global, said he is glad that Eunic’s partners in Moldova chose to include this event in their agenda. “We seek to promote Romanian authors from the Republic of Moldova equally,” stated Liviu Jicman.
In the same news conference, Austria’s Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova Stella Avallone reaffirmed the support for the culture and literature from both banks of the Prut.
An important element of the festival will be the “Train of Literature” which will symbolically unite the two capitals of Moldova: Iasi and Chisinau. The caravan train will depart from Iasi on September 26, at midday, and will arrive in Chisinau at 04:40 p.m. On board will be officials from both banks of the Prut, Romanian writers, translators or travelers passionate about literature and not only, who for four hours will enjoy poetry performances, literary debates and a concert held by the band Adam’s Nest.
The second edition of FILIT Chisinau Festival focuses on a number of main events held on the stage of the Nameless Theatre, with great names of contemporary world literature and dramaturgy: Andrei Plesu (Romania), John Boyne (Ireland), Franzobel (Austria) and Josep Maria Miro (Spain).
