Director Alexandru Solomon, the president of One World Romania

One World Romania calls on the Government to help the independent sector

România Internațional, 09.05.2020, 19:20

The webpage of One World Romania, one of the first cultural events cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, hosts a document that makes an appeal to the Romanian Government to help the independent sector, which is very likely to be destroyed by the economic crisis that is already starting to show effects.

Director Alexandru Solomon, the initiator of the event and president of One World Romania, has told us about the effects of this appeal, signed by some 600 organizations that run major social and cultural projects, and about the implications of rescheduling a festival of the size of One World Romania:

“Some conditions have been created for those who work in the cultural sector, but they benefit individuals rather than organizations. Moreover, there are restrictions that are totally inappropriate for this category. People have to prove they do not have other sources of income and have not cashed in anything recently. What is important, though, is that a dialogue has started, and thats the positive side of things. As regards supporting the sector at institutional level, nothing much has been done. With One World Romania weve been lucky, in the sense that it should have taken place one week after the state of emergency was declared, and the budget had already been secured. And we are lucky because our partners have not stepped back, at least for now. On the other hand, looking ahead, this rescheduling means a lot of effort, much more than normal, and providing salaries for a period longer that initially estimated. Moreover, it entails additional efforts on the teams part, and this needs to be recompensated. We intend to move on, maintaining the same approach, and we are trying to stay in touch with the audience in various ways. This means that OWR has an online film offer and we also have other things under preparation for the coming period. We dont know when the festival will actually take place, because there are still many unknown things. There is talk of a gradual restart, but I presume public events are not to be resumed any time soon.”

Since its first editions, One World Romania has been regarded as a platform for documentary films, an expression of civil society and human rights issues. Alexandru Solomon has told us about the concept and its 13-year long evolution:

“Weve got to this formula in time, because we thought it was important for the festival to be centered on film as a communication vehicle between various parts of society. We thought thats what defined us and could create a place for us on the cultural market in Romania. I believe it was something that the world needed and proof of that now is that there are so many NGOs and people interested in culture, art and social involvement that have started to identify with the festival. Obviously, this epidemic is the worst thing that couldve happen, we were not ready for that, but nobody was. The situation has forced us to give up a thing that define the festival, the physical connection with the others, and pushed us towards the virtual, online world, which is the opposite of what we wanted. A film festival is about communication, communion in front of a screen and , at least at OWR, lots of debates and discussions.”

« Acasa.My home », the debut documentary of director Radu Ciorniciuc, one of the favorites at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, was to open the 13th One World Romania. It tells the story of a family that lived for 20 years in the Vacaresti Delta, in the wild, until the place got the status of protected area and became the first urban nature park in Romania. For four years, director Radu Ciorniciuc documented the great adventure of the Enache family, who transitioned from a life in full harmony with nature to facing lots of challenges in the big urban jungle of the capital.

Here is director Alexandru Solomon once again :

T”Its a film that, on the one hand, reflects our interest in the social, in combatting discrimination, and in the ethnic minorities, and this is actually the main theme of the 13th edition of the festival. It focuses on Roma issues and the discrimination of the Roma population throughout history. Moreover Acasa.My Home is a very beautiful film, from all points of view, and its extremely touching. The start was extremely promising, as it won a photography award at Sundance, and it was actually the first Romanian film to achieve such a performance.”

The main section of this years One World Romania Festival, which should have taken place in late March, in Bucharest, is focused on the Roma minority, and this is not by chance. By screening films about this minority and holding debates on their status, OWR wants to mark a symbolical moment in the history of mentalities in Romanian society: finally, one century and a half since the abolition of slavery, those who see the Roma as their equals are larger in numbers than those who still do not accept them as their equals in society. (M.Ignatescu)