The Enescu Festival marked the start of the series of fall cultural agenda, which continues with much-awaited exhibitions and film, music, and literature festivals. A selection of what is scheduled in Bucharest and in the country below. 

The Picasso Effect

September 27 – January 8 at the Museum of Recent Art in Bucharest

Forty-two exhibitions taking place in eight countries mark 50 years since the death of Picasso, and the Museum of Recent Art (MARe) in Bucharest is hosting one of them. This makes Romania the only country in Central and Eastern Europe to take part in the project launched by Spain and France. The show will include 46 works of the Spanish artist and 50 by Romanian artists inspired by him. Among the Romanian artists included in the exhibition are Ion Grigorescu, Mircea Cantor, Victor Man, Dumitru Gorzo, Florin Mitroi, Marin Gherasim, Ștefan Bertalan, Alexandru Țipoia, Alexandru Rădvan, Neculai Păduraru, Alma Redlinger, and Pisica Pătrată. Tickets for the event are on sale at the museum's website.

Brâncuși: Romanian Sources and Universal Perspectives

September 30 – January 28 at the National Art Museum of Timișoara

The largest recent retrospective in Brâncuși's home country is set to gather some 100 works of the artist: 22 sculptures, 55 photographs, and 11 drawings. The exhibition, curated by Doina Lemny, includes loans from Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate in London, the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Art Museum in Bucharest, the Art Museum in Craiova and private collections. Among the works included in the exhibition are The Kiss, Măiastra, Bird in Space, Mademoiselle Pogany, Sleeping Muse, The Sleep, and Head of a Child. Tickets for the event are on sale at the exhibition's website.

Art Safari – Stars Edition

September 29 - January 14 at Dacia Romania Palace in Bucharest

This edition highlights music, the story of the nocturnal city, love, and legendary bags worn by stars and superstars. A multisensory exhibition will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Madrigal Choir, while the Nightlife one will look at Bucharest's nocturnal life. In a partnership with the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the exhibition Bags: Inside Out will feature iconic bags. More on the program here.

SoNoRo

October 27 - November 5 in Bucharest, November 7 – November 12 in Cluj

The 18th edition of the chamber music festival is set to open with a performance by Janoska Ensemble at Bragadiru Palace in Bucharest. The event will gather 26 musicians for concerts at the Romanian Atheanaeum, National Museum of Art of Romania, the Museum of Recent Art and Expirat Club in Bucharest, and at Casino – Urban Culture Center, Babeș-Bolyai University, Meron Coffee, Da Pino & Oberjin Club in Cluj. Besides the concerts, the audience and the young who study music are invited to participate in the SoNoRo Talks. The program is updated here.

Animest International Animation Film Festival

October 6 – 15, in Bucharest

The only film event in the country that qualifies films for the list of eligible Oscar candidates will see 63 animated short films compete for the Animest Trophy this year. Twenty-five other films made by students from some of the world's most prestigious schools will compete for the dedicated section prize, while five films will premiere in the International Feature Film Competition. More on this edition here.

Astra Film Festival 

October 15 – 22, in Sibiu

For its 30th edition, the event dedicated to non-fiction productions presents an official selection consisting of more than 130 films from more than 40 countries. This lineup includes 75 national premieres and films shown at festivals such as Sundance, Cannes, Berlinale, and IDFA, while 43 films have been selected in the festival's four competitive sections: Romania, Emerging Voices of Documentary, Central and Eastern Europe, and DocSchool. Special programs, such as the industry-dedicated DokTank and Astra Film Junior, full-dome screenings, exhibitions, concerts, parties, and surprise events are all part of the program. More here.

Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest

October 20 – 29, in Bucharest

The festival founded by director Cristian Mungiu reaches its 14th edition this year, bringing to audiences in Bucharest and several other cities in the country a host of films awarded at this year's Cannes Festival, including Palme d'Or winner L'Anatomie d'une Chute by Justine Triet. Besides the Cannes winners, the program includes screenings of films that have won top awards in the world of auteur cinema. One of them is Nicolas Philibert's Sur l'Adamant, the winner of Golden Bear for Best Film at this year's Berlinale. The festival program is to updated here.

Jazz Syndicate Festival

November 9 – 12, in Bucharest

The first edition of the event will line up Kenny Garrett, Avishai Cohen, Yellowjackets, James Carter Organic Trio, Michael Mayo, Luiza Zan and Sorin Zlat Trio, among others, for performances held at Club One. More details here.

Timișoara 2023 City Celebration

October 6 -8, in Timișoara

This festival aims to rediscover the links between the city's neighbourhoods and the river crossing it while offering the experience of the changes brought by cultural events held along the river Bega. Diverse activities are meant to bring together the public and professionals from the arts, architecture, biodiversity, education, sport, urbanism, gastronomy and the general public, with the aim of generating "a new sense of community around the water that flows through the city." More on the program here.

Iași International Festival of Literature and Translation

October 18 – 22, in Iași

A highlight event of the local literary scene, the festival brings together writers, translators, publishers, festival organizers, literary critics, librarians, book distributors, managers and journalists for a five-day program of events for both the general public and professionals in connected industries. The program is updated here.

Timișoara International Literature Festival

October 25 – 28, in Timișoara

Round tables, prose and poetry readings and open discussions are all part of the program of the event that celebrates Central and East European literature and the city of Timișoara. Among this year's international guests are Swiss writer Christian Kracht, known for his travel prose and for writing the scripts for Finsterworld and Sisi & I, Icelandic poet and novelist Sjón, and Serbian-born Vesna Goldsworthy. The list of guests is available here.

Transilvania International Book Festival

September 28 – October 1, in Cluj-Napoca

This year's edition brings a focus on technology, AI, and social media, and guests such as Mexican novelist and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, Portuguese writer David Machado, and Italian writer Dacia Maraini. More on the event here.

Eurothalia

September 20 – 30, in Timișoara

The event organized by the German State Theatre of Timișoara is part of the city's European Capital of Culture program and aims to open up "the perception of different formats of the European performing arts world." It covers theatre, dance, dance theatre, documentary and puppet theatre, nonverbal performances and productions with multimedia and animatronic elements from Germany, Spain, Greece, Belgium, Macedonia, Latvia, Denmark, Bulgaria and Romania. The public can also attend thematic workshops, debates, staged readings, training programs, guided tours and exhibitions for all ages. More on the program here.

National Theater Festival

October 20 – 30, in Bucharest

For its 33rd edition, the festival selected a series of productions corresponding to theme of this year's edition, namely the Laboratories of the Sensitive. The productions were selected from more than 150 ones produced by state-funded and independent theatres that premiered in the 2022-2023 season. More on the selection here.

(Photo: Petitfrere | Dreamstime.com)

simona@romania-insider.com