Romanian director Alexandra Badea and writer Cristian Fulaş awarded by French Academy
Director and playwright Alexandra Badea and writer and translator Cristian Fulaş are among the 67 laureates of the awards granted this year by the French Academy.
Alexandra Badea received the "Prix du Théâtre. Ensemble de son œuvre dramatique" (Theater Prize for her entire dramatic work), while Cristian Fulaş was honored with the "Prix du Rayonnement de la langue et de la littérature françaises" (Prize for remarkable contributions to the French language and literature). Both prestigious awards fall under the category of "Grands Prix," as stated by the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) and cited by news.ro.
The French Academy annually awards two categories of literary prizes: "Grands Prix," for which nominations are exclusively made by members of the Academy (31 laureates in 2023), and "Prix de fondations," for which authors and publishers can submit proposals (36 laureates in 2023).
The two Romanians are among the cultural figures whose work has been promoted by the Romanian Cultural Institute.
The prize received by Romanian-born author Alexandra Badea was initiated in 1980 and previous laureates include playwrights such as Marguerite Duras, Hélène Cixous, and Marie NDiaye. Badea is the first writer whose native language is not French to receive this award.
As a theater and film director, playwright, and novelist, Alexandra Badea has been residing in France since 2003. She has published twelve plays with the prestigious publishing house L'Arche and two novels.
Badea’s texts, written in French, have been translated into several languages and performed on major stages worldwide. In 2013, she received the Grand Prix de littérature dramatique (Grand Prize for Dramatic Literature) from the French National Theater Center for her play "Pulvérisés." In 2016, she was awarded the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of Arts and Letters) by the French Ministry of Culture. In 2019, she was invited by the Avignon Festival to create the second part of the trilogy "Points de non-retour," which was later presented at the Théâtre National de la Colline in Paris.
Alexandra Badea is a graduate of the UNATC Bucharest, Theater Directing department, and Sorbonne Nouvelle University. In Romania, Tracus Arte Publishing has released the volume "Exil," a play that achieved remarkable success when staged at the National Theatre of Bucharest in 2022.
Writer and translator Cristian Fulaş was awarded the "Prix du Rayonnement de la langue et de la littérature françaises," médaille de vermeil. This annual prize, established by the French Academy in 1960, is traditionally given to French or foreign personalities who have made remarkable contributions to the language and literature.
Alongside Cristian Fulaş, this year's recipients of the same prize include Valentina Hristova, a historian of Hungarian origin, Stenio Solinas, an Italian writer and editor, Bernard Michel, for his contribution to rediscovering the work of René Maran, and Thi Hao Tran, a Vietnamese-born French-language novelist.
Fulaş graduated from the Faculty of Letters in Baia Mare and pursued advanced studies in literary theory at the University of Bucharest. He has translated approximately fifty books from English, Italian, and French, and since 2019 he has been working on a new translation of Marcel Proust's novel "In Search of Lost Time." Fulaş authored the fictionalized biography "Celan. Am trăit, da" (2022). His most recent novel, "Specii," was published by Polirom in 2023.
Both laureates are among the authors whose work has been promoted over time by the ICR. For example, the Romanian Cultural Institute and La Peuplade Publishing House in Canada organized a literary tour in France and Belgium in November 2022 to present Cristian Fulaş's novel "Ioşca" in French translation by Florica Courriol and Jean-Louis Courriol. Presentations and meetings with readers were held in bookstores and cultural centers in Paris, Nantes, Bordeaux, Lyon, and Brussels, followed by coverage in the specialized press. Furthermore, the French edition of the novel "Ioşca" was presented at the Romania booth during the Festival du Livre de Paris in April 2023, organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute.
The Romanian Cultural Institute in Paris supported Badea's participation in Strasbourg in January 2020 to supervise an ambitious project of the University of Strasbourg, the Artlingo workshop, where students studying Romanian language courses at the university familiarized themselves with the subtleties of the Romanian language through theater.
(Photo source: Icr.ro)
Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis receives German Civic Award and Franz Werfel Award
Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis received the German Civic Award, conferred by the Bad Harzburg Civic Foundation, and the Franz Werfel Award for Human Rights, conferred by the Center against Expulsions, for his political career.
The German Civic Award was granted to Iohannis during a ceremony that took place on Saturday, June 3, at the Benrath Castle in Düsseldorf, Germany. The next day, the Romanian leader received the Franz Werfel Award for Human Rights at St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt on the Main.
The Bad Harzburg Civic Foundation decided to grant the German Civic Award to president Klaus Iohannis based on the assessment of his entire political career, emphasizing his support for the harmonious coexistence of different ethnicities, commitment to freedom, democracy, and pluralism, the restoration and modernization of his hometown Sibiu, support for the fight against corruption, and attachment to the idea of a united Europe, according to Digi24.
The Bad Harzburg Civic Foundation was established in 1988 as an independent, non-partisan association comprised of personalities committed to preserving and promoting democracy and tolerance in Germany and Europe. The foundation's declared objective is to make democracy tangible, primarily by stimulating dialogue with citizens and their representatives in Germany.
In addition to debates and actions concerning current political and social issues, the association has been awarding the German Civic Award to public figures who have made outstanding contributions to the promotion of democracy and the common good since 1995. Among the laureates of the award are the former president of the Bundestag Norbert Lammert, former president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, renowned dissident and former president of the Czech Republic Václav Havel, the first president of the European Commission Jacques Delors, and former federal presidents Richard von Weizsäcker and Roman Herzog.
President Klaus Iohannis stated in his speech at the ceremony where he received the German Civic Award that this distinction "represents, first and foremost, recognition of how democracy and civic engagement are manifested today in Romania." He emphasized, as cited by News.ro, his commitment and the commitment of Romanian citizens to the development of a democratic, united, and solidary Europe.
"A decision in favor of Romania's accession to the Schengen area this year will send a very important signal to our citizens, of belonging and trust in the common European project," Iohannis pointed out.
Meanwhile, the decision to award the Franz Werfel Award to the president of Romania also came in recognition of his activities in promoting human rights and peaceful coexistence among ethnic groups throughout his political career. The laudation was delivered by Jean-Claude Juncker, former president of the European Commission.
The Franz Werfel Award for Human Rights is granted by the Center against Expulsions in Bonn, Germany. The center was founded in 2000 as a project of the Federation of Expellees in Germany, aiming to contribute to the fight against expulsions and genocide as political weapons on a global level and thus contribute to understanding between peoples, reconciliation, and peaceful coexistence.
Since 2003, the Center against Expulsions has been awarding the Franz Werfel Award for Human Rights to individuals or groups who have made outstanding contributions to combating human rights violations through genocide, expulsion, or intentional destruction of national, ethnic, racial, or religious groups. Among the laureates of the award are former German president Joachim Gauck, writer Herta Müller, historians Karl Schlögel and Michael Wolffsohn, and director Rick Ostermann.
President Klaus Iohannis also referred, in his speech after receiving the Franz Werfel Award for Human Rights 2023, cited by News.ro, to the good coexistence of national minorities in Romania and to the assistance that Romania provides to Ukraine after the neighboring country was attacked by Russia.
(Photo source: Presidency.ro)