ARCS Project

Sculptural Sumptuousness
2023-04-01 16:00 - 18:00 UTC | ARCS Center at MLK Fame Community Center, 3201 E Republican St, Ste 104, Seattle, WA, 98112, United States
Save the date for a special exhibit! Join us April 1 at 4pm for a jewelry exhibit by local artist Magda Nica.
The Sculptural Sumptuousness jewelry was created using velvet, glass-blown Murano beads and Mallorca pearls. Pieces from this collection can also be viewed at the Seattle Art Museum (date to be determined).
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to ARCS to support our education programs. Thank you, Magda!
Magda was part of the Exquisite Gorge Project II: Fiber Arts last year at the Maryhill Museum of Art! Read more about Magda below.
Please RSVP here.

Magda Nica
Magda Nica is a recognized artist with extensive experience across jewelry design, glass blowing, painting, and poetry. She has been living in Rome for over 20 years and currently commutes between Rome and Europe. Magda has had numerous exhibitions of her jewelry and artwork in Rome, London, Luxor, Tokyo, and other cities around the world.

Romanian Spring Menu with Irina Georgescu
2023-03-19 12:00 - 14:00 | Online
Online Cooking Class with Irina Georgescu
Join us on a virtual culinary adventure around Romania with Irina Georgescu, acclaimed food writer and author of Carpathia and Tava. You will remember Irina from our 2020 Sensory Journeys series.
In the first class on March 19th start a journey to the heart of Romanian cuisine with three iconic dishes. Irina Georgescu’s class will be focused on a Romanian menu using only staple ingredients.
We’ll start by making a cornmeal and cheese layered dish, called mămăligă în straturi, while learning about why this ingredient is part of Romania’s gastronomic DNA. We’ll continue with a conversation about pickles and fermented vegetables while making a fantastic, tangy-sweet gherkin stew in tomato sauce, mâncare de castraveți, that pairs perfectly with thick slices of bread. To finish in style, we’ll also make a popular version of the famous Romanian dessert: papanași fierți, simmered curd cheese dumplings served with crème fraîche (smântână), and jam of your choice. While cooking, you will learn about the cultural influences in Romanian cuisine and more than a few tricks on how to cook with cornmeal ‘the Romanian way.’
To recap the menu:
Starter: layered cornmeal with cheese, mămăligă în straturi
Main course: pickled gherkin stew, mâncare de castraveți acri
Dessert: simmered curd cheese dumplings, papanași fierți
The menu is for 4 people. The dishes are vegetarian but not dairy and gluten-free. Duration: 90 minutes.
Course fee: $30 (Please scroll down to pay)
Register HERE
After you register and pay, you will receive the recipes so you can be ready for your culinary and cultural adventure with Irina!
Don’t miss the next class, Romanian pies or plăcinte!
This course series is organized by ARCS with support from ARCS Arizona and ARCS Detroit.
Photos credit: Irina Georgescu, Jamie Orlando Smith and Matt Russell.

Irina Georgescu
Irina Georgescu is a UK food writer and author from Romania, whose work draws on her Eastern European heritage. She writes with integrity and respesct towards this rich heritage, and constantly raises the profile of Romanian culinary identity, bringing forward traditions and realities little known outside of her country.
Her first book, ‘Carpathia, food from the heart of Romania’ was shortlisted by the UK Guild of Food Writers for the Best International Cookbook Award, while its German translation was awarded a Silver Feather by the German Culinary Academy. The book was also translated into Hungarian and Dutch. Her second book, ‘Tava, Eastern European Baking and Desserts from Romania and Beyond’ is a meticulously researched baking book celebrating centuries of diversity and overlapping cultures that form today’s cuisine in Romania. A German translation is due in February 2023.

In-between WOR/L/DS
2023-03-12 14:00 - 16:00 | ARCS Center at MLK Fame Community Center, 3201 E Republican St, Ste 104, Seattle, WA, 98112, United States
Join us on March 12 at 2pm for an intimate reading with authors Alina Ștefănescu, Alta Ifland and Otilia Baraboi. Author Alta Ifland will be reading from her novel Speaking to No. 4, Alina Ștefănescu will share fragments from her work in progress on Carmen Bugan's memoir, Burying the Typewriter, and Otilia Baraboi will read from her manuscript titled An Updated Theory on Untranslatability. We look forward for a special afternoon that brings these three American Romanian writers together: Alina Ștefănescu from Birmingham, Alabama, Alta Ifland from San Francisco, California and Otilia Baraboi from Seattle, Washington. Read more about the authors below. Please RSVP here.March 12 @2pm MLK Fame Community Center3201 E Republican St, Ste 104Seattle, WA 98112 GuestsAlina ȘtefănescuAlina Ștefănescu was born in Romania and lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her partner and several intense mammals. Recent books include a creative nonfiction chapbook, Ribald (Bull City Press Inch Series, Nov. 2020) and Dor, which won the Wandering Aengus Press Prize (September, 2021). Her debut fiction collection, Every Mask I Tried On, won the Brighthorse Books Prize (April 2018). Alina's poems, essays, and fiction can be found in Prairie Schooner, North American Review, World Literature Today, Pleiades, Poetry, BOMB, Crab Creek Review, and others. She serves as poetry editor for several journals, reviewer and critic for others, and Co-Director of PEN America's Birmingham Chapter. She is currently working on a novel-like creature. More online at www.alinastefanescuwriter.com. Person not found Otilia Baraboi, Ph.D.Before coming to Seattle in 2000 from Romania, Otilia worked as a literary journalist and published short-fiction, translations and articles. She holds university degrees in French and English literatures from Romania, Switzerland, and the US. She has a Ph.D. on the politics of translation from the University of Washington, where she taught French language and literature for 17 years, and where she is currently co-teaching a course on Romanian literature and film. In 2013, she co-founded ARCS and was President of the Board for five years before becoming ARCS’ first Executive Director. For Otilia, ARCS has been a wonderful opportunity to remain connected with the vibrant culture of her birthplace, while contributing to the artistic and cultural vitality of the Pacific Northwest. As part of her work, Otilia has been managing the Romanian Film Festival in Seattle and ARCS community-based school for Romanian heritage students, as well as more than 300 cultural and educational events over the past 9 years. Her priorities are to create sustainable, community-building programs and partnerships, as well as develop ARCS' brand identity in accordance with its mission and values. Most of all, Otilia hopes that her work will have a direct, long-lasting impact on the ways in which future generations will define, celebrate and pass on their heritage. Otilia is also the President of the Ethnic Heritage Council of the Pacific Northwest and a board member of Romanian United Fund.

Mărțișoare Workshop
2023-03-05 13:00 - 15:00 | ARCS Center at MLK Fame Community Center, 3201 E Republican St, Ste 104, Seattle, WA, 98112, United States
Join us for a spring celebration of “Mărțișor” and March 8! The name "Mărțișor" is a diminutive of March (Martie in Romanian). It is believed that the person who wears the red and white string would enjoy a prosperous and healthy year. Read more HERE The wearing of “mărțișoare” also coincides with March 8, International Women’s Day or the traditional Mother’s Day in Romania. We invite children of Romanian heritage for a free creative workshop where they can learn how to make their own “mărțișoare” and honor their moms in their own special way. Please fill out the registration form for each child. Register HERE We are waiting for you at: MLK Fame Community Center3201 E Republican St, Ste 104Seattle, WA 9812

Global Competence Certificate Award Ceremony
2022-11-17 12:00 - 2023-03-24 18:00 | WA
Join us for the closing celebration of the Global Competence Certificate for Heritage Language Speakers via Zoom on June 28, 6:00-7:30 pm PDT.
We’ll be recognizing the students who have successfully tested and qualified for the State Seal of Biliteracy and the Global Seal of Biliteracy, as well as those who completed the Global Competence Certificate portfolio developed during this unique program.
About the grant program
In August 2020, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Migrant/Bilingual Department awarded a first-ever grant to Evergreen Public Schools in Vancouver, WA, to develop an online program for Heritage Language speakers of Romanian, Russian, and Spanish. The project has supported the students to develop proficiency in their Heritage Language, while also preparing a portfolio for the Global Competence Certificate in their Heritage Language (and/or in English), through the World Affairs Council in Seattle. Our students also had the opportunity to complete World Language Competency-Based Credit testing to earn high school credits in Romanian and potentially qualify for the Washington State Seal of Biliteracy. A number have also qualified for the Global Seal of Biliteracy https://theglobalseal.com/.
For registration please visit https://www.internationaledwa.org/events/hl-grant-global-competence-award-ceremony-2022/

Global Competence Certificate for Romanian Heritage Speakers- 2022-2023
2022-11-17 12:00 - 2023-03-24 18:00 | Seattle Public Library, 1000 4th Ave, Seattle, 98104, United States
ARCS is proud to announce that we received funds from The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Migrant/Bilingual Department to continue our program started in 2020, in partnership with Wenatchee Public Schools, in WA State. We will develop a year-long remote-learning program for Heritage Language speakers of Romanian, together with Russian and Spanish speaking instructors, students and communiy representatives.
The project-based curriculum will integrate content and functional language (such as writing or presenting summaries, narratives, descriptions, etc.) through synchronous interactive classes through Zoom and with online videos. Engaging, culturally and developmentally appropriate activities will be offered in a flexible way so that students’ learning experiences are personalized to their needs and interests. Over the year, the students would be developing evidence (in the Heritage Language) for their Global Competence Certificate in the areas of Global Learning, International Engagement, and Language and Intercultural Learning. Resources from this program will be open to teachers, schools, students, and families throughout the state and adaptable to other languages and cultures.
The project will support the students to develop their language proficiency and literacy in their Heritage Language culminating in ALTA testing, while also preparing a portfolio for the Global Competence Certificate in the Heritage Language (and English too, if they like) through the World Affairs Council in Seattle.
REGISTER HERE

Upon completion of the program, students will also have the opportunity to complete World Language Competency-Based Credit testing to earn high school credits in their language and potentially qualify for the Washington State Seal of Biliteracy. They may also qualify for the Global Seal of Biliteracy https://theglobalseal.com/.
The grant will also fund a series of workshops for teachers throughout the state to learn more about effective Heritage Language teaching practices.
To receive our email announcements please fill in this contact form. Or contact:

Dr. Michele Anciaux Aoki, Grant Project Manager
intledwa@gmail.com
Dr. Ileana Marin, Romanian Program Lead Instructor
ileana.marin@arcsproject.org
Ryan Hauck, Education Director, World Affairs Council
rhauck@world-affairs.org

View our presentation at the WAFLT 2020 Virtual Conference.

Click on the links below to register:
1) Thursday, August 25 at 6:30pm PST
2) Monday, August 29 at 6:30pm PST
3) Monday, September 12 at 6:30pm PST
4) Thursday, September 15 at 6:30pm PST Focus on Ukrainian
5) Monday, September 26 at 6:30pm PST Focus on Ukrainian
6) Monday, October 17, 2022 06:30-07:30 PM Pacific Time
Come learn more about the new Heritage Language Grant for the Global Competence Certificate for Heritage Speakers.
What:
Year-long remote-learning program for students to earn the Global Competence Certificate for Heritage Speakers and the Global Seal of Biliteracy.
Who:
Public high school heritage speakers of Romanian. The students need to have intermediate knowledge of Romanian.
When:
The program will run October 2022 through June 2023.
How Much:
The program is free for qualified public high school students, but space is very limited.
To receive our email announcements please fill in this contact form. To access this information in Romanian go here.

Q: Who can register for this program?
A: Because of the state grant funding through OSPI Migrant/Bilingual, this program is only open to students attending public high schools in Washington state.
Q: What is the cost of the program?
A: The cost of the program is funded by the state grant, so there are no registration fees required of students and their families.
Q: When does the program begin?
A: We are planning to recruit students during December and expect to begin the program mid-January.
For more details about the program please go here.
Partners:
Wenatchee Public Schools
Ethnic Heritage Council
Slavic East European Teachers Association of Washington
Washington Association for Language Teaching
Washington State Coalition for International Education
World Affairs Council Global Classroom.

Romanian Film Festival Seattle, 9th Edition
2022-11-11 - 2022-11-27 | Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, Seattle, WA, 98122
THE ROMANIAN FILM FESTIVAL, 9TH EDITION: "HomeLands"
WHEN: NOVEMBER 11-27, 2022WHERE: Online, Nov. 11-27Northwest Film Forum, Nov. 11-13 and Nov. 18-20
Nov. 11, 7:30pm - MetronomNov. 12, 6pm - Things Worth Weeping ForNov. 13, 5pm - The IslandNov. 18, 7:30pm - Blue MoonNov. 19, 6pm - Metronom
The 9th edition of the RFF titled Homelands reflects on this year’s current events, while celebrating the power of film to map out new meanings into a world where people have been displaced by wars, economic crises, political instability, and natural disasters. The internationally acclaimed movies featured in our carefully curated selection, covering all forms and genres, as well as our film related events with special guests, will redefine our sense of homelands and belonging, in relation to our families, neighbors, countries of origin, and, by extension, to our planet itself. As Daniel Ursache’s poster illustrates, movies remain, year after year, our main path and answer, when everything else seems out of place.
After two successful virtual editions in 2020 and 2021, the festival will continue to showcase the best of the newest film productions from Romania and Europe, promoting outstanding directors, both established and up-and-coming. It will also keep its partnership with Northwest Film Forum, Romanian Film Fest Arizona and its sister-organizations ARCS Arizona and ARCS Detroit. The Romanian Film Festival Arizona, will have its in person screenings November 19-20 at Majestic Tempe 7 in Tempe, AZ.
We will offer you virtual opportunities to interact with local, national and international special guests.In the meantime, please support our fundraising efforts. So far we raised over $16,000 from 60+ donors through Facebook and the ARCS website and we could not be more grateful to you! Will you help us reach our next target of $17,000? No amount is too small! Our goal is to raise $20,000 in two months. Let’s keep the story going for the 9th time!If you have a business or reprezent an organization, please check out our sponsorship package and let us know if you would like to benefit from our advertising opportunities.
Festival Official Partners and Co-organizers: Festival Institutional Partners:
Supporting Sponsors:
Festival Ambassadors: This project is carried out with the support of the Department for the Romanians Abroad. (Acest proiect este realizat cu sprijinul Departamentului pentru Românii de Pretutindeni.)
Community Partners - Thank you for helping us spread the word about the film festival:
Please follow the Festival on social media!
FILM FORMATS:
All virtual film programs in the 2022 festival are available to view ONLY in the U.S. You can purchase our films and watch them when it is most convenient for you, during the period of the festival. You have 48 hours to finish watching a film after you start playing it.
**Many online screenings in Romanian Film Festival in Seattle 2022 include a live discussion or filmmaker Q&A, available on zoom. All panels and talks take place over Zoom, and will be automatically recorded and added to the end of the film playlist on Northwest Film Forum's Eventive virtual cinema for viewing throughout the fest.
Note to in-person attendees: NWFF patrons will be required to wear masks that cover both nose and mouth while in the building. Disposable masks are available at the door for those who need them. We are not currently checking vaccination cards. Read full Covid policies here.
Fundraising CampaignThank you for your generosity! Our goal is to raise $20,000 to cover costs associated with programming, publicity, technical support and film distribution rights. We will keep the fundraising campaign open on our website and Facebook. Raised$22,178Goal$20,000

How much would you like to donate?(Required)

$25 Many ThanksWe will integrate a special thank you credit on our website.

$50 Festival FriendSpecial thank you credit on our website!

$100 Festival SupporterSpecial thank you credit on our website and free access to two films showing at the festival.

$250 Festival BenefactorSpecial thank you credit on our website and free access to four films showing at the festival.

$500 Festival AmbassadorSpecial thank you credit on our website and free access to eight films showing at the festival, thank you credit after the each film screening and special thank you credit on our website (with your company logo, if applicable).

$1,000 Supporting SponsorWe are offering up to three full festival passes, credit before the screenings, special thank you credit on our website with your logo and link to your website.

$5,000 Festival Official Partner and Co-OrganizerWe are offering up to five full festival passes, credit before the screenings, special thank you credit as a festival official partner and co-organizer on our website with your logo and link to your website.
Total

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American Romanian Cultural Society1931 E Lynn StSeattle, WA 98112 FilmsTrailerImmaculateby Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark2021, Drama, 114 min(Romania)
When her junkie boyfriend ends up in prison, Daria is taken by her parents to rehab to quit heroin and become a good daughter again. Inside the clinic, Daria’s unwavering...
When her junkie boyfriend ends up in prison, Daria is taken by her parents to rehab to quit heroin and become a good daughter again. Inside the clinic, Daria’s unwavering loyalty to her boyfriend makes her exceptional in the eyes of the male junkies and saves her from their sexual pressures. Being desired yet protected by everyone makes Daria feel special for the first time in her teenage life. She relishes her position until a new mysterious patient is committed. His arrival confronts Daria with her own desires, triggering wild competition among the men. Suddenly trapped between everyone’s clashing expectations, Daria must find her own path.
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TrailerMetronomby Alexandru Bell2022, Drama, 102 min (Romania, France)
Bucharest, 1972. Ana, 17, dreams of love and freedom. One night, while partying with her friends, they decide to send a letter to Metronom, the musical program which Radio Free Europe broadcasts...
Bucharest, 1972. Ana, 17, dreams of love and freedom. One night, while partying with her friends, they decide to send a letter to Metronom, the musical program which Radio Free Europe broadcasts clandestinely in Romania. It is then that the Securitate, Ceausescu’s secret police, arrives...
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TrailerMan and Dogby Ștefan Constantinescu2022, Drama, 107 min (Romania, Bulgaria, Sweden, Germany)
After having received a mysterious text message, Doru (42) returns home from Sweden in the midst of the Corona outbreak due to the suspicion that his wife is having an affair....
After having received a mysterious text message, Doru (42) returns home from Sweden in the midst of the Corona outbreak due to the suspicion that his wife is having an affair. His family is a bit concerned about his unexpected visit, suspecting that he might have been fired from the job that they all rely on; at the same time, they are delighted to see him. As the days pass by, it becomes clear that Doru is pursuing an investigation. Alongside his mother’s rowdy dog, Amza, he is shadowing his wife around town, trying to uncover the possibilities of her betrayal.
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TrailerWoodby Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, Michaela Kirst, Ebba Sinzinger2020, Documentary, 97 min (Austria, Germany, Romania)
Illegal logging is a global business worth billions. Alexander von Bismarck, descendant of the Iron Chancellor and head of the Environmental Investigation Agency in Washington D.C., successfully pursues the machinations of the...
Illegal logging is a global business worth billions. Alexander von Bismarck, descendant of the Iron Chancellor and head of the Environmental Investigation Agency in Washington D.C., successfully pursues the machinations of the timber mafia worldwide – with dyed hair, a concealed camera and sound recording equipment. His primary concern isn't to expose a scandalous situation, but rather to promote a change in the consciousness of politics and civil society and to bring about a new code of conduct for the global economy and consumers. WOOD is an environmental thriller that draws its tension from sad everyday reality.
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TrailerA Higher Lawby Octav Chelaru2021, Drama, 125 min(Romania)
Ecaterina, a high school Religion teacher and wife of the town priest, gets involved with Iuliu, a 16-year-old student with a troubled past. Ecaterina tries to keep him under control,...
Ecaterina, a high school Religion teacher and wife of the town priest, gets involved with Iuliu, a 16-year-old student with a troubled past. Ecaterina tries to keep him under control, but she loses her own control in the process. As Ecaterina faces a genuine crisis of faith, Iuliu’s infatuation turns increasingly dangerous when he takes his sins to the priest, her husband.
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TrailerThe Islandby Anca Damian2022, Animation, 84 min(Romania, France, Belgium)
Discover a musical fable on the Robinson Crusoe myth: The Little Prince meets Monty Python. Robinson is a doctor and his solitude is voluntary in an island invaded by migrants, NGOs...
Discover a musical fable on the Robinson Crusoe myth: The Little Prince meets Monty Python. Robinson is a doctor and his solitude is voluntary in an island invaded by migrants, NGOs and guards. He saves Friday, a castaway, the only survivor of his illegal refugee boat. During his journey on the island, Robinson encounters extraordinary beings and events. He will confront current affairs through visual poetry and symbolism in a world where everybody looks for its own paradise.
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TrailerThings Worth Weeping Forby Cristina Groșan2021, Comedy/Drama, 87 min (Hungary)
Maja’s life is finally coming together and her boyfriend couldn’t be more pleased. In the midst of moving out from their student flat, Maja’s evening takes a surprising turn when...
Maja’s life is finally coming together and her boyfriend couldn’t be more pleased. In the midst of moving out from their student flat, Maja’s evening takes a surprising turn when she stumbles upon an old relative who is without a doubt, dead. As she waits for the authorities, Sara, Maja’s childhood friend, joins. Hours pass and absurd situations arise. Are they allowed to eat next to a dead person? Did the woman just move her hand? And what is the proper way to say goodbye to someone you didn’t actually know?
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TrailerUs Against Usby Andra Tarara2020, Documentary, 74 min (Romania)
The director and her father take a camera in hand and film each other during interviews in which they discuss schizophrenia, their own pasts, and their personal conceptions of happiness. The film...
The director and her father take a camera in hand and film each other during interviews in which they discuss schizophrenia, their own pasts, and their personal conceptions of happiness. The film is a personal statement of two people affected by or marked by a mental disorder - a father forced to live with it and a daughter who had to grow up with a sick and often absent father. During filming, they try to find understanding for each other while revealing their inner traumas. One of the secondary topics is what it is like to undergo treatment for a mental disorder in Romania, as the father expresses frustration with the way he and his condition are viewed by the local healthcare system.
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TrailerThe Certainty of Probabilitiesby Raluca Durbacă2021, Documentary, 90 min(Romania)
As an instrument of ideological domination, language, both verbal and visual, defines, describes, delimits and dissimulates the manner in which the social, political and economic reality of a society is...
As an instrument of ideological domination, language, both verbal and visual, defines, describes, delimits and dissimulates the manner in which the social, political and economic reality of a society is perceived. In order to critique a dominant group's ideology, one must fragment and recontextualize its discourse. The Certainty of Probabilities seeks such a critique. Comprised entirely of archival footage produced during 1968, one of the most optimistic and prosperous years in the history of socialist Romania by the most important state-run documentary film studio, this essay film surveys the efforts undertaken by the state in order to ensure social stability in a society claiming to have quashed all exploitative and alienating labour relations.
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TrailerPlastic Semioticby Radu Jude2021, Stop motion short, 22 min(Romania, France, Belgium)
The life of human beings, seen from birth to old age. Only that this generic life is not represented with humans, but with the artifacts that we the humans have...
The life of human beings, seen from birth to old age. Only that this generic life is not represented with humans, but with the artifacts that we the humans have created for our children (or should we say “cubs”?), in order to prepare them for life: the toys. So, the film is a collage of scenes in which the toys help us understand better a possible essence of our life.
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TrailerThe Man Who Would Be Freeby Mihai Mincan and George Chiper-Lillemark2019, Documentary, 106 min (Romania)
July 1999, Bucharest. A dead man’s body is found in a small apartment. The case is quickly classified by the police as suicide. That man’s name was Cezar Mititelu and...
July 1999, Bucharest. A dead man’s body is found in a small apartment. The case is quickly classified by the police as suicide. That man’s name was Cezar Mititelu and he was 54 at the time of his death. Throughout his life, Cezar Mititelu never had any kind of property. He refused to be ever employed and referred to “paid work” as “corruption”, something that stood in the way of living as a truly free and responsible person. He fathered a son, but he had no true family, nor did he ever wish for one. In the eyes of the communist authorities, he was a “social parasite”, hunted all his life by the Secret Police and sent to prison twice. For some people, however, Cezar Mititelu was a teacher, a bearer of light in a world made of lies and ignorance. For his followers, this man was the proof that a life of complete freedom was really possible, with one condition: stepping outside of the lies and the hypocrisy created by “modern life” and starting the search for the true humanity that’s inside each of us. This is the story of Cezar Mititelu. The story of a man who embarked on a radical pursuit of finding true freedom and discovered, along the way, that he needs to change the entire world.
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TrailerUkrainian Sheriffsby Roman Bondarchuk2015, Documentary, 85 min (Ukraine, Latvia, Germany)
Like a bird, the Ukrainian flag flies along perched on the car of two affable "sheriffs" deputized by the mayor of a village in southern Ukraine. There's a sly bum...
Like a bird, the Ukrainian flag flies along perched on the car of two affable "sheriffs" deputized by the mayor of a village in southern Ukraine. There's a sly bum whose gift is not to work. There's a guy who puts an anaconda in his woman's shed. The advent of Euromaidan, and draft-dodgers abound. Town folks are dipping in icy water and laughing, but are they divided in their loyalty? These sheriffs are taking you along for the ride.
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TrailerSpiralby Cecília Felméri2020, Drama, 98 min(Hungary, Romania)
Spiral is about letting go. A strange triangle story by a mysterious lake, between one man and two women. Sometimes we can’t let go and this might result in consequences that...
Spiral is about letting go. A strange triangle story by a mysterious lake, between one man and two women. Sometimes we can’t let go and this might result in consequences that end in tragedy. There’s only one thing we can do: face ourselves.
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TrailerAmokby Balázs Turai2022, Animated short, 14 min(Hungary, Romania) After losing his fiancée and his good looks in a freak accident, Clyde must confront his inner demon.TrailerBlue Moonby Alina Grigore2021, Drama, 85 min (Romania)
The film follows a girl’s psychological journey to her dehumanizing process. While struggling to achieve higher education and escape the violence of her extended dysfunctional family, Irina metamorphoses from victim...
The film follows a girl’s psychological journey to her dehumanizing process. While struggling to achieve higher education and escape the violence of her extended dysfunctional family, Irina metamorphoses from victim into abuser as a result of subtle violent contexts. An ambiguous sexual experience with an artist gives her the strength to fight the violent approach of the males in her family.
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TrailerThe Deer Passed in front of Meby Vlad Petri
2020, Documentary short, 27 min (Romania)

During the Covid-19 lockdown the director's grandmother passed away. As he sifted through personal archives, he found an audio recording of her and some old photo albums. Composed entirely from photographs, this...
During the Covid-19 lockdown the director's grandmother passed away. As he sifted through personal archives, he found an audio recording of her and some old photo albums. Composed entirely from photographs, this is the story of her life against the backdrop of the historical changes Romania have been through in the 20th century.
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TrailerThe Marshal's Two Executionsby Radu Jude2018, Historical fiction short, 10 min (Romania)
The film confronts two different views of the execution of General Ion Antonescu, Romania’s leader during the Second World War. On one side is silent black-and-white footage of the execution as...
The film confronts two different views of the execution of General Ion Antonescu, Romania’s leader during the Second World War. On one side is silent black-and-white footage of the execution as recorded in 1946 by cameraman Ovidiu Gologanl; on the other are scenes from a biographical film shot in 1994 by director Sergiu Nicolaescu.
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Opening Night Reception
When: Nov. 11, 2022 at 6:00 PM PSTWhere: Northwest Film Forum.
After two years of clinking our glasses virtually, we are excited to celebrate the 9th edition of the festival in person! Please join us Nov. 11 at 6pm for the Opening Night Reception at Northwest Film Forum. We'll enjoy light refreshments and some catching up. After the reception, there will be a screening at 7:30pm for "Metronom" by Alexandru Belc.Q&A SessionsQ&A with director Cristina Groșan When: Nov. 13, 2022 at 10:00 AM PSTWhere: OnlineRegister HERE for the live discussion. Q&A with director Anca DamianWhen: Nov. 14, 2022 at 10:00 AM PSTWhere: OnlineRegister HERE for the live discussion. Moderated by Ileana Marin, Ph.D. Q&A with director Ștefan Constantinescu and actress Ofelia PopiiWhen: Nov. 15, 2022 at 10:00 AM PSTWhere: OnlineRegister HERE for the live discussion. Q&A with director Andra TararaWhen: Nov. 17, 2022 at 12:00 PM PSTWhere: OnlineRegister HERE for the live discussion.Q&A with director Raluca DurbacăWhen: Nov. 18, 2022 at 10:00 AM PSTWhere: OnlineRegister HERE for the live discussion.Q&A with director Cecília FelmériWhen: Nov. 19, 2022 at 9:00 AM PSTWhere: OnlineRegister HERE for the live discussion.Q&A with director Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan and Michaela KirstWhen: Nov. 19, 2022 at 11:00 AM PSTWhere: OnlineRegister HERE for the live discussion.Q&A with directors Mihai Mincan and George Chiper-LillemarkWhen: Nov. 20, 2022 at 9:00 AM PSTWhere: OnlineRegister HERE for the live discussion.Q&A with director George Chiper-Lillemark and actress Ana DumitrașcuWhen: Nov. 20, 2022 at 11:00 AM PSTWhere: OnlineRegister HERE for the live discussion.Q&A with director Alina Grigore and actress Ioana ChițuWhen: Nov. 21, 2022 at 12:00 PM PSTWhere: OnlineRegister HERE for the live discussion. Moderated by Luiza Pîrvu. Q&A with director Alexandru Belc and actress Mara BugarinWhen: Nov. 22, 2022 at 10:00 AM PSTWhere: OnlineRegister HERE for the live discussion. Moderated by film critic Robert Horton. Q&A with director Roman Bondarchuk and Andrei DăscălescuWhen: Nov. 23, 2022 at 10:00 AM PSTWhere: OnlineRegister HERE for the live discussion. Moderated by Kateryna Ruban.Guests
Cristina GroșanCristina Grosan is a Hungarian-Romanian filmmaker and visual artist working on fiction films screened at festivals worldwide. Her award-winning short “Holiday at the Seaside” exploring a mother-daughter relationship screened at more than 40 festivals.

Cristina is keen on connecting to the places she’s lived in, working in both her homecountries, Hungary and Romania. Her debut feature “Things Worth Weeping For” premiered at the Sarajevo International Film Festival's main competition and received several nominations for Best Film at film festivals. The film’s lead actress, Nóra Rainer-Micsinyei was awarded Best Actress at the Bosphorus International Film Festival in 2021. Her second feature, “Ordinary Failures”, was developed with Czech writer Klára Vlasákova. The film premiered at the Giornate degli Autori competitive section in September 2022, as part of the Venice Biennale where Cristina was awarded the “Autrici under 40 - Valentina Pedicini award” for Best Director.

Anca DamianAnca Damian studied at the Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in Bucharest where she majored in cinematography and later obtained a doctor’s degree in Arts, Cinema and Media. She worked as a director, screenwriter, and producer for several documentaries on art related topics. She was director of photography of two long feature films and several shorts. Her second feature the animated documentary, “Crulic: The Path to Beyond” (2011, Cristal Award in Annecy), has been selected in more than 150 international festivals like Locarno IFF, Telluride, New Director new films, and received more than 35 international prizes. Her extensive filmography includes Crossing Dates (2008), A Very Unsettled Summer (2013), The Magic Mountain (2015), Moon Hotel Kabul (2018), and Marona′s Fantastic Tale (2019). Her films were distributed worldwide and she has been awarded with numerous international prizes, including Cristal for Best Feature Film Award at Annecy, Best Director Award at Warsaw, Mirada International Award at Madrid, and Audentia Award by Eurimages. The Island is her seventh feature.
Ileana Marin, Ph.D.Ileana Marin teaches interdisciplinary courses at the University of Washington in Seattle and at the Center of Excellence in Image Studies at the University of Bucharest. Her long-standing academic career on both sides of the ocean has given her the opportunity to establish contacts between Romanian and American scholars, artists, and institutions. She, thus, initiated the first UW Exploration Seminar to Romania, and to Eastern Europe, and opened the fund for Romanian Studies, hoping that Romanian language will be taught regularly in Seattle. With a BA in Romanian and a PhD. in Comparative Literature from the University of Bucharest (2000), and one in Textual Studies from the UW (2011), Ileana is a strong believer in the power of education and bilingualism. In ARCS, she advocates the expansion of the Romanian language programs in the US and for disseminating the most recent Romanian cultural achievements. On her agenda as president, Ileana Marin has two major tasks: board development and recruitment to ensure the successful implementation of ARCS mission through meaningful programs.
Ştefan ConstantinescuŞtefan Constantinescu (1968, Bucharest) is a Romanian filmmaker and artist. He works in multiple mediums, including film, photography, artist books and painting. He has studied classical painting, film and video at the Bucharest Academy of Art and Film and at the Royal Art Academy in Stockholm. In 2009 he represented Romania at the Venice Biennale with the film Troleibuzul 92. In 2012 his short film Family Dinner screened in Semaine de la Critique in Cannes, and in 2013 his short film Six Big Fish premiered in the competition of the Locarno Film Festival. His feature length documentary My Beautiful Dacia (2009) went on to numerous international festivals (IDFA, Jihlava, Montreal, among others) and received the Jury Prize in Documenta Madrid. "Noah’s Ark – An Improbable Space Survival Kit" is a book he created alongside Corina Ilea.
Ofelia PopiiOfelia Popii is a prolific Romanian film and theater actress. She graduated from The Faculty of Theater of the Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca in 2001. She holds a PhD in Theater and Performance Arts. In 2001, she played first role in the movie Grand Hotel Victoria. In 2015 she won the Gopo Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the film Quod erat demonstrandum by Andrei Gruzsniczki. In 2019 she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Moon Hotel Kabul by Anca Damian.

Andra TararaAndra Tarara (b.1994) is an artist working in cinema, video art, photography. She is a UNATC Bucharest graduate in Film (2016) and a master's degree graduate in Visual Anthropology from SNSPA Bucharest (2018).

Us Against Us (premiered at Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival 2020) is Tarara’s first feature film, a documentary made in collaboration with her father, which explores their relationship through an authentic dialogue about the illness that affected both their lives. It was selected in various Romanian and international film festivals, won Best Romanian Film Award at Astra Film Festival 2021, and it was also part of cultural initiatives that aim to fight against the stigmatization of mental illnesses.
Raluca DurbacăRaluca Durbacă (b. 1983) is a Romanian director and film critic. She is a graduate of the National Film and Theatre School in Bucharest (2015) with a degree in Film Studies and of the National School for Communication and Public Relations (2006) with a degree in Political Communication. She has been a contributing editor for well-known Romanian film magazine Film Menu from 2012 to 2016 and has published film studies essays in two editions of the collective volume The Politics of Film in 2014 and 2018. She has has over 10 years experience in film production and development and is an alumni of Talents Sarajevo 2014 and Torino FilmLab's 2012 AdaptLab programe. The Certainty of Probabilities is her first feature documentary.
Cecília FelmériCecília Felméri (b.1978) graduated from the Sapientia University of Cluj-Napoca and then at the Bucharest I. L. Caragiale National Film Academy finished masterclass of filmmaking. She is currently the Assistant Professor at the Sapientia University Film-Photography-Media School in Cluj-Napoca. She is a one of the founding member and vice-president of the Hungarian Film Association of Transylvania.

Filmography as a Director:
2012 The Pill of Happiness – short fiction film, 12 min
2011 Infinite Minutes – short fiction film, 19 min
2010 Matthias, Matthias – animated documentary, 13 min
2008 Cuckoo - short fiction film, 17 min
Monica Lăzurean-GorganMonica Lăzurean-Gorgan was the delegate producer of Adina Pintilie's Golden Bear Winner Touch Me Not. With her newly established company Manifest Film, she produced Acasă, My Home, recipient of the Special Jury Award for cinematography in the World Cinema Documentary at Sundance 2020. She also directed A Mere Breath (2016), which won Best Documentary at LET'S CEE Film Fest and in Sarajevo.

Filmography:

Free Dacians (2018), A Mere Breath (2016), My Vote (2011)
Michaela KirstMichaela Kirst worked for many years as a journalist in New York and has headed the Berlin office of Sagafilm since 2011. She creates documentaries for TV and cinema as director and/or producer. Her films like DISGUSTINGLY HEALTHY, BROWN BABIES – GERMANY'S LOST CHILDREN or CRIME SCENE RAIN FOREST have won many awards. Filmography: Darwin on Times Square (2020), Himmel über Peking (2013), Tatort Regenwald: Undercover gegen die Holzmafia (2012), Jesus Loves You (2011).
Mihai MincanMihai Mincan is a Philosophy graduate from the University of Bucharest. Between 2004 and 2016 he worked as a journalist, editing many articles and investigative materials for the most important newspapers in Romania. In 2008 we wrote the script for the short film "The Palm Lines", which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. Since then he wrote and directed the shorts The Comet (2017) and Idilă (2019) and the documentaries Bondoc (2015), Emigrant Blues (2019) and The Man who would be free (2019). In 2022 his feature film debut To the North had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti section, and received the Bisato d'Oro prize for best film.

George Chiper-LillemarkGeorge Chiper-Lillemark is a director of photography and director living in Copenhagen. He has photographed numerous feature and short films, including Touch Me Not (2018) by Adina Pintilie. He also co-directed the short The Sandpit #186 (2009) with Adina Pintilie and The Man who would be free (2019) with Mihai Mincan. His short The Palm Lines (2009) was screened by Locarno and Rotterdam IFF. The drama Immaculate, which he co-directed with Monica Stan, was selected as Romania's entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 2023 Oscars.
Ana DumitrașcuAna Dumitrașcu was born on December 5 1997 in Dragasani, Romania. She studied Acting at the National University of Theatre and Film "I.L.Caragiale" in Bucharest, Romania. Before graduating, she played her first leading part in Immaculate (2021), awarded the Lion of the Future Award for Best Debut at the 2021 Venice Film Festival. Ana Dumitrașcu's performance was praised in Cineuropa, ICSfilm along with several Romanian publications. Immaculate is Romania's Oscar entry for 2023, and it won the Lion of the Future Award for Best Debut at the Venice Film Festival in 2021, GdA Directors' Award in Giornate degli Autori Section, and the FIPRESCI award at TIFF Romania and a few other prizes and nominations. Ana is also a member of the Berlinale Talents community as she participated in Sarajevo Talents Program this year, in the Acting Studio Section. She is also known for several theatre shows and several short films including the musical "Crezi că-i grav" (2019), the queer drama "Our home" (2021), and the upcoming experimental,,Arcane/Anarhe’’. She started her career as a producer in 2021 by enrolling in the MA Program for film production at the same university, and she started producing several short films including Alin Duruian’s ,,Payday” and a feature, the upcoming ,,Loyal Customers’’ directed by Bogdan Balla. She is also a writer for the film publication ,,Film Menu’’ where she constantly challenges her vision upon cinema.
Alina GrigoreAlina Grigore has a bachelor degree at UNATC - Bucharest, Acting/Directing department, Adrian Titieni’s class. She is now a PhD student at the same university and an assistant researcher at CINETIC “International Research and Education Center for Innovative and Creative Technologies” in Bucharest.
While preparing the release of Blue Moon and its festival track for 2021, she is producing her second feature “Some Irrelevant Stories about Moms” (working title) having attached the Oscar winning actress Melissa Leo (The Fighter, Frozen River, 21 Grams, Prisoners) to star in it.

-Alumni Berlinale Talents 2018
-Best Actress, Subtitle Film Festival, Ireland 2016 for Illegitimate
-Best Script, Subtitle Film Festival, Ireland 2016 for Illegitimate
-Best Actress Europe, Autour De L’Europe Film Festival, France 2016 for Illegitimate
Luiza PârvuLuiza Pârvu is a filmmaker and educator based in Tempe, AZ. She is a member of the European Film Academy. She holds an MFA in Film Production from New York University - Tisch School of The Arts, New York, USA. She is an experienced media maker with professional working knowledge of all areas of production and post-production. Her directing and editing work covers a variety of genres, in both fiction and creative non-fiction: documentary, multimedia installation, and immersive media.

Her debut feature documentary, Ubi Bene Ibi Patria, is currently in post-production. Shot across Europe and the US, the film explores the theme of immigration and issues of ethnicity, gender and class in the form of an urgent and personal movie diary.

The award winning films she has directed or edited so far have been recognized in over 150 film festivals and events worldwide such as Karlovy Vary IFF, Sundance FF, BFI London, Busan IFF, Transilvania IFF, Tribeca FF or Abu Dhabi IFF. In 2012, she was a nominee in the Rising Star category at the GOPO Romanian Film Industry Awards for directing her short film Draft 7.
Alexandru BelcAlexandru Belc was born in 1980 in Romania. He graduated from the Bucharest Film School in 2007 and obtained a master’s degree in political sciences in 2012. During his studies, he made several short films and documentaries. He then worked as an Assistant Director for Corneliu Porumboiu and Cristian Mungiu. He worked as script supervisor on Cristian Mungiu's 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 1 DAY (Palme d'Or in 2007). His first feature documentary, MARCH 8th, about women in the workplace, screened in numerous international festivals in 2013. His second feature documentary, CINEMA MY LOVE, a portrait of a Romanian art-house exhibitor, was distributed by Outplay Films in France and released in theaters in May 2017. METRONOM, his first fiction film, is in the Official Selection Un Certain Regard at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
Mara BugarinMara Bugarin is a Romanian film and theatre actor, who was born in 2001 in Timisoara, Romania. She graduated from the German High School in 2020, and next year she will complete her studies at the National University of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography. Mara played the leading role of ‘Ana Stefan’ opposite Vlad Ivanov in Alexandru Belc’s feature film METRONOM, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and which won the director’s prize there. Mara also played the part of ‘Alice’ in the television series EXPORT ONLY, which was directed by Cristina Iliescu. She is a frequent collaborator with the German Theatre in Timisoara, and since 2012 she has performed in plays with SAS Theatre in Bucharest. Next year, Mara will star in two major new productions in Romania.
Robert HortonRobert Horton is the film critic for Seattle Weekly and the Everett Herald, and a longtime contributor to Film Comment. He curated the Magic Lantern film-discussion program at the Frye Art Museum for ten years, teaches film at Seattle University, and is a guest speaker for Smithsonian Journeys. His books include Frankenstein (Columbia University Press) and Billy Wilder: Interviews (University Press of Mississippi) as well as the zombie-Western graphic novel Rotten (Moonstone Books), and he blogs on movies at The Crop Duster (roberthorton.wordpress.com). He is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. In 2012 he curated the Museum of History & Industry's "Celluloid Seattle: A City at the Movies" exhibit.
Roman BondarchukRoman Bondarchuk graduated from the Kyiv state University of Theatre, Cinema and TV. His teacher was Yuriy Illenko – one of the founders of Ukrainian Poetic Cinema school. Roman has created a number of short films, documentaries and music videos. He's an author of the book of novels, photography and contemporary art exhibitions. He's also been an award-winner at national and international film festivals. Roman works as art director and member of Selection Committee of International Human Rights documentary film festival Doucdays UA. As a documentary director he collaborated with MDR, ZDF, Arte and other TV channels. Among his famous films "The taxi-driver", "Radunytsia", "Cafe "Voyage", "Euromaidan. Rough cut". "Ukrainian Sheriffs" is his first feature-length documentary.
Andrei DăscălescuAndrei Dăscălescu is an established Romanian documentary film director, cinematographer and editor. His first two feature documentaries, Planet Petrila (2016) and Constantin and Elena (2008) have won prestigious awards (including awards at IDFA and Sarajevo Film Festival), have been selected in major international film festivals across the world (IDFA, San Francisco, Vancouver, Krakow, DocLisboa, Docaviv, Sarajevo, Montpellier etc.). Andrei was nominated 4 times and won "Best Documentary Award" in 2018 at the Gopo Awards (the Romanian equivalent to Academy Awards) with his documentary, Planet Petrila. His third documentary, Holy Father (2020) premiered at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where it won the Jury Award. It also won the Audience Award at Astra Film Festival (Sibiu, Romania), the Best Director Award at Qara Film Festival (Almaty, Kazakhstan) and has been screened at festival such as Black Nights Tallinn, Magnificent 7 Belgrade, Go East Wiesbaden, Trieste Film Festival, Zagreb Dox and others). He is the founder and owner of FilmLab production company since 2007.
Kateryna RubanKateryna Ruban is a Ukrainian historian. In September 2022 she received a PhD from New York University. In her dissertation, Dr. Ruban explores the role of abortion in Soviet life. Earlier, she earned masters degrees in Central European University in Hungary and in Kyiv Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Before coming to the US, Kateryna was a part of the Visual Culture Research Center in Kyiv. Starting from December 2022, Dr. Ruban will be a Junior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at the George Washington University and will focus on turning her dissertation into a book. She will also continue her research on how Russian academia presents the war in Ukraine and its role in this war for the Western audience.

Supporters

Private donors

Supporting sponsor · $1,000 and more

Tracy Sharpe and Roxana Arama

Cedar River Animal Hospital

Adrian Potra

Festival ambassador · $500 and more

Ana and Radu Bacioiu

Gloria, Andrei, Stefi and Andra Marinescu

Dana and Catalin Cozmei

Gabriel and Teodora Ghizila

Betty and Jeff Gossett

Gabriel and Raluca Hera

Andreea Larhs

NW Family Dental - Daciana Buse, DDS, MSD

Cristi and Irina Salvan

Alexandrina Maicaneanu and Radu Simionescu

Mary Sherhart

Cosmin and Elena Catrinescu

Zaha Wolfe

Suren Aghajanyan

Jeff Colella

Festival benefactor · $250 and more

Marius and Alina Popa

Ciprian and Maria Gerea

Nick Voicu

Claudiu and Laura Diaconu

Ioana and Cristi Pop

Isabella Fu and Radu Palanca

Tudor and Otilia Baraboi

Roxana Teodorescu

Ioana and Doru Nica

Nicoleta and Andrei Zlati

James Augerot and Ileana Marin

Luana and Marian Stanescu

Irina and Iulian Calinov

Ionut Gusu

Festival supporter · $100 and more

Ligia Cicos

Smaranda Lieuallen

Cristian and Ana Maria Ilac

Alexandra Dorca - In memory of Alexandru Dorca

Monica Boris

Elena and Adrian Fanaru

Elizabeta and Adrian Iliescu

Elena Apreutesei

Valentina and Petru Moldovanu

Camelia and Ciprian Clinciu

The Schowengerdt-Kuzmany family

Liliana and Dragos Sambotin

Helene Kaplan

Gino and Cristina Sega

Ionela Popescu

Nora Chiran

Edward C. Blau

Steve Kaye

Tomasz Bialon

Nadia and Willy Schmieder

Katalin Molnar

Oana Zayic

Gina Popa

Festival friend · $50 and more

Carmen and Bogdan Rautu

Michele Anciaux Aoki

Claudia and Daniel Pravat

Anca and Catalin Zaharia

Tudor and Adina Trufinescu

Monica Ene-Pietrosanu

Georgiana Lucache

George Roth

Magda Nica

Andrew Heffron

Cristian Petculescu

Oana Stepan

Special thanks · $25 and more

Gigel Avram

Daniela Ivanova-Nyberg

Cristina Amaral

Mihai Lehene

Adriana Cordali

Tatiana Chihai

Marina Shadeck

Many thanks · $10 and more

Marius Ra

Sriram Krishnaswamy

Luciana Lallaizon

Lives, Not Grades
2022-11-04 16:30 - 17:30 | Online
Please join us for a Q&A about the award-winning documentary Lives, Not Grades, Nov. 4 at 4:30pm PST. We’ll be joined by director Daniel Druhora and cinematographer Teodora Totoiu. Moderated by Radu Smîntînă, ARCS board member.
About the documentary:
A team of USC college students travels to Moria Camp in Greece, known as “the worst refugee camp on earth,” to design and build innovations that can improve the lives of the refugees fleeing wars and natural disasters.
The film is available to stream on PBS for free. Sign up for the Q&A here.

Daniel Druhora

Daniel has worked on the development and post-production of feature films The Land, Gangster Squad, and The Lego Movie. Following his own experience as an émigré to the U.S. in the aftermath of Romania’s 1989 Revolution, Daniel has been involved in humanitarian development work in several countries which influences his work. His screenplay “Climbers” about Rwanda’s Olympic cycling team has been optioned by Paris-based Forecast Pictures. Daniel is the co-founder of U.K.-based Safe Passage Films and is currently producing I Am Sarah about Olympic swimmer, humanitarian and accused “criminal mastermind” Sarah Mardini for European broadcasters ARD and ARTE. His short film “Elie’s Overcoat” won an MPSE Golden Reel Award. Daniel teaches “Innovation in Engineering and Design for Global Crises” – a course open to all majors – and serves as an advisor to student teams launching social innovation startups. He is also the creator and co-host of “Escape Velocity,” a podcast about the human side of engineering.

Teodora Totoiu

Teodora Totoiu is a Romanian-American cinematographer based in Seattle. Her background in anthropology and photography inspires her creative approach when shooting scripted narrative and documentary film. With a passion for visual storytelling, she enjoys collaborating and working creatively to echo each director’s vision through texture and movement that best supports story. Her recent work includes “Waterschool” (2017), which is currently streaming on Netflix, “Francesco” (2020) directed by Academy Award-nominated Evgeny Afineevsky and most recently, “Lady Cameraman” (2020) which premiered at EnergaCAMERIMAGE in November 2020. Her work spans internationally with projects in Brazil, Italy, Greece, Czech Republic, Austria, Romania, Uganda, India, China and across the U.S.

Radu Smîntînă

Radu was largely raised in Western Washington, alongside several Romanian families who immigrated approximately the same time as his own. Since moving to the States as a child, his Romanian community has become a second family that he is immensely proud of, and grateful for.
As a former English Language Learner and high school teacher, he is passionate about bettering outcomes for students in public education. After transitioning out of his teaching role with Denver Public Schools, Radu moved back to Washington to work at an education non-profit. He attended the University of Washington as an undergrad and graduate student, earning a Master’s in Public Administration with a focus on Education Policy. He currently works at OneAmerica as the education coalition manager where he partners with educators, families, and community members to move work that benefits immigrant and refugee students.
He is excited to join ARCS in promoting Romanian culture, particularly among second generation Romanian Americans.

Paris Chansons
2022-11-02 17:30 - 2022-11-05 22:00, 2022-04-30 17:30 | The Tripple Door, 216 Union St, Seattle, WA, 98101, United States
Paris Chansons returns to the beautiful Triple Door in Seattle on Saturday, November 5th, with a NEW, exciting show! Featuring original renditions of favorites from Aznavour, Dassin, Piaf, Brel, Macias, Adamo, Dalida to Zaz & Stromae PLUS some of the most beautiful Italian & Eastern European and Balkan classics!
TWO concerts: 5:30PM & 8:30PM
You can see video clips and get your tickets here:
https://tickets.thetripledoor.net/eventperformances.asp?evt=1602
Paris Chansons is an exciting French band with an international twist based in Los Angeles! They are known for their original renditions of French favorites from Aznavour, Dassin, Piaf, Macias, Adamo, Dalida, all the way to contemporary artists like Zaz. Their exhilarating performances are punctuated with gypsy jazz standards as well as classics in Russian, Italian, and other languages.
Three multilingual singers bring an unparalleled diversity to their shows. Julia Kantor, originally from the Ukraine, lived and studied in France where she discovered in French music a soul connection that still imbues every performance. She entrances from the stage with a sultry voice and dynamic presence. Together with her husband, Jacob, a Russian-born singer/songwriter, they launched Paris Chansons. Max Cohen grew up in Morocco steeped in French music, particularly the songs of Enrico Macias. Max’s rich velvety tone delivers beautifully nuanced renditions of his favorites, complete with a signature North African lilt.
Superb musicianship anchors the ensemble, effortlessly moving from jazzy improvisation to slow-burning balladry to blistering gypsy fervor. All seasoned pros, the musicians are Jeff Lams on piano, Adam Cohen on upright bass, Endre Balogh on violin, Sinclair Lott on drums and Jacob Kantor on guitar. Paris Chansons takes you an a journey without leaving your seat (except, of course, to dance!), a spectacular celebration of French and international music that brings the world that much closer.

ARCS Romanian Heritage Language and Culture School - Fall 2022
2022-10-03 - 2022-12-16 | WA
Are you interested in stimulating your children’s creativity, nourish their bicultural and bilingual heritage?
Our Romanian Heritage Language School offers innovative virtual classes and workshops for children, youth and adults with Romanian background or with an interest to learn Romanian, nationwide. Our teaching methods are based on the core principles of Heritage Language Education to nourish bilingualism and address holisitically the bi-cultural identity of our students through project-based activities, play, authentic sources, critical thinking, and meaningful interactions with their families and communities. Our students gain pride and confidence as heritage language speakers and learners of Romanian, while developing a global understanding of the world.
We are the first Romanian secular community-based school to have developed a teaching curriculum according to the priciples of HERITAGE EDUCATION, since 2016.
Our current students come from numerous regions in the US. We can accommodate to various time zones and have demonstrated experience teaching multiple levels and age groups.
Registration
REGISTRATION is now OPEN for ages 6+. Please REGISTER HERE. We will contact you to schedule a brief language evaluation, if necessary. Please see the payment options below after you register.
Payment Options
Most of our courses cost 25$/hour, $250 for 10 sessions in the winter quarter 2023.
We offer a 15% discount for students who have previously taken three classes with us.
Please scroll down to chose the payment option right for you. Thank you.
Scholarships
We offer scholarships to families in need. Please email us at contact@arcsproject.org if you would like to be considered.
Calendar & Holidays
We will work with parents and students to find the best times and days that work for you. The times indicated in the schedule are only orientative. Please fill out the registration form to let us know your availability.
Fall Quarter: October 3 – December 16

Thanksgiving break: November 21-25

Winter Quarter: January 9 – March 24

Mid-winter break: February 20-24

Spring Quarter: April 3 – June 16

Spring break: April 10-14

The Exquisite Gorge Project II: Fiber Arts with Magda Nica
2022-07-02 10:00 - 2022-08-06 18:00 | Maryhill Museum of Art
Seattle-based artist Magda Nica’s sculptural artwork is now on display at the Maryhill Museum of Art until August 4, 2022, in the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Education Center.
Her textile piece is part of Exquisite Gorge Project II: Fiber Arts, a collective artwork in collaboration with the local community and a designated community partner, among which ARCS.
Drawing inspiration from the people, the landscape and the river, artists have designed an original fiber-based artwork in collaboration with the local community and a designated community partner. The different sections, featuring 13 artists, will connect to create a large, 66-foot flowing sculpture with the Columbia River as a central element.
Developed by Curator of Education at Maryhill Museum of Art, Louise Palermo, The Exquisite Gorge Project II: Fiber Arts features 13 regional fiber artists working with communities along 220 miles of the Columbia River from the Willamette Confluence to the Snake River Confluence. Artistic Director for the project is artist Tammy Jo Wilson.
On Saturday, July 2, Magda Nica will be discussing her participation in The Exquisite Gorge Project II: Fiber Arts. Her sculptural textile artwork will be on display in the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Education Center at the Maryhill Museum of Art between July 2 to August 4, 2022.
Come find out at her project’s (and Maryhill Museum’s!) special link with Queen Marie of Romania!
On Saturday, August 6 all individual projects will be brought together at the Maryhill Museum of Art to reveal the continuous artwork. Save the date and come join us for this incredible event!
ARCS is proud be a partner for this multicultural project that features Magda Nica’s work. You can learn more about the project and see a map of installations here.
Make it a day trip and enjoy the beautiful drive along the Columbia River Gorge!

Romanian American National Heritage Award - 6th Edition
2022-06-30 08:00 - 2022-11-30 17:00 | WA
Romanian American National Heritage Awards 2022, 6th edition The Romanian American National Heritage Award is an annual competition for high school students with Romanian heritage or background. Applicants of non-Romanian descent may qualify, as long as their work and experience relate to Romania or the Romanian community in the US. The award recognizes exceptional contributions to the cohesion of the Romanian community and the preservation of its heritage, language, culture and traditions. The jury representing the three organizations involved based their decision on the national and international impact of the volunteering activity described, the candidate's academic achievements and leadership potential and tracked record, as well as their future vision for the benefit of the Romanian community, locally and beyond. Congratulations to the Winners of This Year's Edition : • Platinum, National - Andreas Miclea (Northside College Preparatory High School, IL) • Gold, National - Briana Feier (Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School, OH) & Alexandra Rîmbu (Highland Park Senior High School, MN) • Silver, National - Robert Alexandru Cusmir (French-American School of New York, NY) • Platinum, East Coast - Mircea Gruia Florescu (The Hudson School, NJ) • Gold, East Coast - Ian Saracila (Spring Valley High School, SC) • Silver, East Coast - Liam Alexe (Avon High School, CT) • Platinum, Mid-West- Vlad Lovin (Culver Military Academy, IN) & Alexandra Lehene (Glenbrook South High School, IL) • Gold, Mid-West- Erin Tamasi (Community District 99 Downers Grove North High School, IL) , Daniel Rîmbu (Highland Park Senior High School, MN) and Nicholas Moigradan (Maine South High School, IL) • Silver, Mid-West - Inara Zayic (Minnetonka High School, MN), Dan Haidău (Wheeling High School, IL) , and Petru Matei Busu (Maine South High School, IL) • Platinum, West Coast - Victor Ene (Sunset High School, OR) • Gold, West Coast - Ana Gîrniță (Portola High School, CA) • Silver, West Coast - Larisa Sâmbotin (Skyline High School, WA) Granted by the American Romanian Cultural Society and Romanian United Fund, with the endorsement of the Embassy of Romania to the United States. The Award Ceremony will be hosted at the Alianța Gala on November 30th. With the support or ARCS Arizona and ARCS Detroit. Community Partners: Casa Română Please email us at contact@arcsproject.org if you want to join us as a community partner. Recognition and Awards All eligible participants will receive the official recognition of the Romanian Embassy in the United States and the top winners will receive awards of up to $1000. In the past years the award has helped the recipients distinguish themselves in their admission process to top colleges and institutions, such as Dartmouth College, Wesleyan University, Pitzer College, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Whitman College, Purdue University, UW Honors, Harvard and many others. Timeline June 30 - Submission of Applications Opens October 15th - Submission of Applications Closes October 30 - Winners Announced Apply here. Eligibility: ​​Age and residence: For the 2022 edition, participants must be enrolled in High School in United States for the 2021-2022 academic year. Academic standing: Minimum unweighted High School GPA of 3.0 – or equivalent, running average for the last school year.Team work: Both individuals and teams can participate in the competition. Participation in teams is encouraged. To encourage leadership and simplify the evaluation process, the maximum team size is 5, including the leader. There are no Romanian or US citizenship requirements. There are no fees required, this competition is entirely free to participate for eligible students. ​Eligibility for national participantsThe top 5 winners of the regional competitions advance to the national competition. Evaluation criteria The following criteria will be used in the evaluation process (not all criteria are required, but they will strengthen your application): 1) Community work and leadershipThe number of volunteering hours and their visible outcome and results will be a strong factor in the evaluation. Where applicable and possible, volunteering and community work in Romania (e.g. groundbreaking projects with children, youth and seniors from underprivileged social backgrounds, or religious and ethnic minorities) will receive the jury's highest consideration. Please highlight this aspect in your application. Please provide a detailed description of your working experience, highlighting the ways in which your activity and leadership initiatives impacted the targeted community, strengthening its civic spirit and sense of unity. 2) Essay Please submit a short motivationalessay that will describe how your community work influenced your own personal growth and brought awarness to your bicultural and bilingual identity in the US. We strongly encourage applicants to model their essay from their college application essays, following a similar structure and attention to detail. The essay shall have no less than 200 words and no more than 650 words. 3) Recommendations from local community leadersYour essay and recommendations (up to 2) will play an important role in the evaluation process. A formal letter is not required, a name and contact info (email and/or phone number) will be sufficient. The contest organizers will reach out to confirm the recommendations. Romanian Heritage ConnectionApplicants of any cultural background may qualify, as long as they are able to prove their interest, work experience and connection to Romania. Examples of such proof: Passing an officially recognized Romanian language test – where availableAn essay in Romanian Volunteer work in Romania

Mail-Order Family
2022-05-14 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
Join us for a discussion with author Irina VanPatten about her latest book "Mail-Order Family".Moderator: Ileana Marin Register HERE. Mail-Order Family, a proud 2nd Place Award Winner at The Spring 2022 BookFest (Book Festival) in the Humor/Non-Fiction/True Stories/Memoir Category is an unlikely love story that doesn’t follow the usual rules, and even defies geography. It’s a story about difficult times but also one of triumph and hope, even when people are literally two worlds apart! Read more about Irina VanPatten's book on her website.Buy the book Here. Event organized by ARCS in partnership with Arizona American-Romanian Cultural Collaborative (ARCC), Immigration Research Forum, Bucharest Inside the Beltway, Romanian United Fund, and Romanians of DC, with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute in NY/USA GuestsIrina VanPattenIrina VanPatten is an American Pacific Northwest writer born in a small Eastern European country called Moldova. Her writing style marries the best of these two worlds. She draws from the rich roots of her culture but bakes her own American literary cake with a blended sense of humor: sharp yet warm; edgy yet tender. She brings her perspective of past life experiences from behind the Iron Curtain, creating a unique blend of East versus West points of view in her writing.

Her most recent book is Mail-Order Family - a Silver Award winner at the Spring 2022 BookFest book festival in a very tough category True Story/Memoir which had a lot of competition this year. Mail-Order Family is a humorous, charming and relatable tribute to Irina’s family’s resilience and a heartfelt love story about two misfits literally two worlds apart.

She also writes on immigration subjects. She is the author of the book Welcome to America, Welcome Home, which is based on multiple interviews with American immigrants of different backgrounds and cultures. Experts, lawyers, professors, activists, refugees, and asylum seekers share their personal stories and reveal the hardships of those who try to assimilate and succeed in America.

Her other passion is writing for the English-Romanian language magazine Hora in America, which focuses on stories from Romanian and Moldovan communities but lately included also the Ukrainian community, reporting on personal stories of the Ukrainians dealing with the war at home.

She volunteers as a translator for the Northwest Immigration Rights Project, collaborating with the division that takes on cases under the Violence Against Women Act and signed up with World Relief to host refugee families from Afghanistan and now is ready to host Ukrainian refugees too.

Irina VanPatten’s website: https://irinavanpatten.com/

Mail-Order Family can be purchased from the author directly from the author’s website at:

https://irinavanpatten.com/mail-order-family

Or on Amazon at:

https://www.amazon.com/Mail-Order-Family-Irina-VanPatten/dp/1598493108/ref=sr_1_1? Ileana Marin, Ph.D.Ileana Marin teaches interdisciplinary courses at the University of Washington in Seattle and at the Center of Excellence in Image Studies at the University of Bucharest. Her long-standing academic career on both sides of the ocean has given her the opportunity to establish contacts between Romanian and American scholars, artists, and institutions. She, thus, initiated the first UW Exploration Seminar to Romania, and to Eastern Europe, and opened the fund for Romanian Studies, hoping that Romanian language will be taught regularly in Seattle. With a BA in Romanian and a PhD. in Comparative Literature from the University of Bucharest (2000), and one in Textual Studies from the UW (2011), Ileana is a strong believer in the power of education and bilingualism. In ARCS, she advocates the expansion of the Romanian language programs in the US and for disseminating the most recent Romanian cultural achievements. On her agenda as president, Ileana Marin has two major tasks: board development and recruitment to ensure the successful implementation of ARCS mission through meaningful programs.

GiveBIG 2022
2022-05-03 - 2022-05-04 | WA
Give BIG 2022 supports WA-based non-profit organizations providing needed services, fighting for a better world, caring for the environment, and expanding our horizons through art, culture and learning. ARCS is proud to participate in this campaign for the fourth time. Encourage your friends, family, and co-workers to join you in supporting ARCS to offer access to Romanian heritage, education and culture locally, and at the national level through our virtual programs.
Donate here to support ARCS: https://www.wagives.org/organization/arcsproject
Thanks to your generosity, we would like to raise $3500 to partially cover the move-in costs in our new location at the MLK Community Center in Seattle, as well as our rebranding process that includes new logo to accommodate other locations in the US, and new web design for our education and film pages.
Stay tuned in May as we launch our amazing new logo and web design!

Tethered to the Unexpected
2022-04-16 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
Join us for a poetry reading and discussion with poet Roxana Cazan about her latest book "Tethered to the Unexpected".Guest speakers: Clara Burghelea and Domnica RădulescuModerator: Otilia Baraboi Register HERE. Tethered to the Unexpected is a lyrical treat despite its grim truth. Roxana Cazan offers a loving, lasting tribute to familial bonds though "some days the windows / don't withstand the rain." [...] Beyond a body in decline, Roxana's unassuming voice explores her grandmother's life, tethered to her own, attempting to close the "distance / between home and crib."– Ken Hada, author of Contour Feathers Read more about Roxana Cazan's book on her website.Buy the book HERE. Event organized by ARCS in partnership with Arizona American-Romanian Cultural Collaborative (ARCC), Immigration Research Forum, Bucharest Inside the Beltway, Romanian United Fund, and Romanians of DC, with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute in NY/USA GuestsRoxana CazanBefore teaching at the University of Oklahoma, Roxana L. Cazan taught literature, creative writing, and women's studies courses at Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania. She is an interpreter and translator of Romanian and a poet. Her poems have been featured in Poets Reading the News, The Windsor Review, Cold Creek Review, Construction Literary Magazine, Glass Lyre Press, Adanna Literary Journal, Watershed Review, The Portland Review, Harpur Palate and others. Her full-length poetry books are The Accident of Birth (Main Street Rag 2017) and Tethered to the Unexpected (Alien Buddha Press 2022).

Roxana’s scholarly work focuses on ethnic and postcolonial literature and women’s studies and has appeared in Neophilologus, Women’s Studies Quarterly, Comparative Literature Studies, Studies in American Jewish Literature, American Journal of Undergraduate Research, and Demeter Press. A chapter is forthcoming in Remembering Kahina: Women, Representation and Resistance in Post-Independence North Africa, Routledge.

She is the co-editor of the anthology, Voices on the Move: An Anthology by and about Refugees, Solis Press, 2020. Clara BurgheleaClara Burghelea is a Romanian-born poet with an MFA in Poetry from Adelphi University. Recipient of the Robert Muroff Poetry Award, her poems and translations appeared in Ambit, Waxwing, The Cortland Review, and elsewhere. Her second poetry collection, Praise the Unburied, was published with Chaffinch Press in 2021. She is Poetry Co-Editor of the museum of americana and Review Editor of Ezra, An Online Journal of Translation. Domnica RădulescuDomnica Rădulescu is an American writer of Romanian origin, living in the United States where she arrived in 1983 as a political refugee, having escaped the communist dictatorship of her native Romania. She settled in Chicago where she obtained a master’s degree in Comparative literature and a PhD in Romance Languages from the University of Chicago. She is the Edwin A. Morris Professor of Comparative Literature at Washington and Lee University.

Radulescu is the author of three critically acclaimed novels, Train to Trieste (Knopf 2008 &2009), Black Sea Twilight (Transworld 2011 & 2012) and Country of Red Azaleas (Hachette 2016) and of award-winning plays. Train to Trieste has been published in thirteen languages and is the winner of the 2009 Library of Virginia Fiction Award.

Radulescu received the 2011 Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and is twice a Fulbright scholar.

Radulescu also published fourteen non-fiction books, edited and co-edited collections on topics ranging from the tragic heroine in western literature to feminist comedy, to studies of exile literature to theater of war and exile, refugee art, and two collections of original plays. Two of her plays, Exile Is My Home and The Town with Very Nice People were runners up for the Jane Chambers Playwriting award in 2012 and 2013. Dream in a Suitcase. The Story of an immigrant Life is her first memoir and it has been released from Austin Macauley Publishers in December 2021.

College Admissions #5 - College Financial Aid Workshop
2022-04-02 10:00 - 11:00 | WA
Paying for college can be daunting, but in this workshop we’ll break down the process of applying for financial aid. We’ll look at what are the different options and outline what steps you need to take.
Our special guest, Dr. Diana Barbu, returns to our college admission series with more insightful infomation. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Ileana Marin.
-Understand college financial aid (how to apply and what you can get)
-Determine out of pocket costs and compare colleges
-Ask for more aid
Register HERE.

Diana Barbu

Dr. Barbu worked for more than 12 years in college and university administration in executive and senior-level positions. She served as the Associate Vice-Provost for Institutional Research and Effectiveness at St. Thomas University, Director of Research and Data Analytics at Miami Dade College, and Director of Academic Programs at the State University System of Florida – Board of Governors. Throughout this time, she learned a lot about college admissions and student success strategies.
She earned a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Florida State University, a Master in Communication from Rutgers University, and a Bachelor in Computer Science and Mathematics from the North University of Baia Mare.
She published a book on Financial Aid and is in the process of publishing the 2nd one on College Admissions. The Ultimate College Financial Aid Guide: Understand the Aid Offer & Ask for More Money is available on Amazon.com and was ranked in the top 5 in various categories. The second book will be available on Amazon soon.
She is committed to helping students graduate in 4 years with the least amount of debt.
She lives in Florida with her husband Adrian.
Connect with her on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-barbu-ph-d-4a65713/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CollegeTalk.Us
Email: diana.barbu@gmail.com

Ileana Marin, Ph.D.
ileana.marin@arcsproject.org

Ileana Marin teaches interdisciplinary courses at the University of Washington in Seattle and at the Center of Excellence in Image Studies at the University of Bucharest. Her long-standing academic career on both sides of the ocean has given her the opportunity to establish contacts between Romanian and American scholars, artists, and institutions. She, thus, initiated the first UW Exploration Seminar to Romania, and to Eastern Europe, and opened the fund for Romanian Studies, hoping that Romanian language will be taught regularly in Seattle. With a BA in Romanian and a PhD. in Comparative Literature from the University of Bucharest (2000), and one in Textual Studies from the UW (2011), Ileana is a strong believer in the power of education and bilingualism. In ARCS, she advocates the expansion of the Romanian language programs in the US and for disseminating the most recent Romanian cultural achievements. On her agenda as president, Ileana Marin has two major tasks: board development and recruitment to ensure the successful implementation of ARCS mission through meaningful programs.

Writing on the Walls at Night, A Journey from Romania to the US
2022-03-26 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
Join us for poetry reading and discussion with poet Claudia Serea about her latest book “Writing on the Walls at Night”Guest speakers: Clara Burghelea and Adina Dabija Moderator: Otilia Baraboi Register HERE In this new collection of prose poems, Claudia Serea uses surrealism, irony, and black humor to express her experiences, from growing up behind the Iron Curtain to immigrating to New York City. The first section of the book, “There Were No Magic Beans,” recalls her childhood in Romania under Nicolae Ceaușescu’s rule, a world in which terror mixes with fairy tales, nightmares, and dreams. The second section, “The Keepers of Moon Keys,” introduces a cast of peculiar characters, including folk tale protagonists, witches, ghosts, a collector of clouds, a bone music maker, a man who paints the time, and the Lord of Meanwhile. In “Dark Calligraphy,” the poet conjures history, remembering war and oppression through the eyes of a child. The reader is guided by a little girl and a museum custodian through the great traumas of recent history. In the last section of the book, “The Russian Hat,” Serea transports the reader into a metropolis as strange as the past she carries with her, to the “museum of our lives,” where “we are the curators, the visitors, and the paintings that paint themselves.” This astonishing place vaguely resembles New York City distorted by memories and dreams, but it might as well be Las Vegas where “what happens in the poem stays in the poem.” In this collection, Serea’s readers win “pound after pound of shiny poems,” the magical beans they will use to escape again and again, discovering hidden meanings with surprise and delight in each new reading. Event organized by ARCS in partnership with Arizona American-Romanian Cultural Collaborative (ARCC), Immigration Research Forum, Bucharest Inside the Beltway, and Romanians of DC, with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute in NY/USA GuestsClaudia SereaClaudia Serea’s poems and translations have been published in Field, New Letters, Prairie Schooner, The Malahat Review, The Puritan, Oxford Poetry, Asymptote, and elsewhere. She is the author of six poetry collections and four chapbooks, most recently Writing on the Walls at Night (Unsolicited Press, 2022). Serea’s poem My Father’s Quiet Friends in Prison, 1958-1962 received the New Letters Readers Award, and she was featured in the documentary Poetry of Witness (2015). Serea’s poems have been translated in French, Italian, Russian, Arabic, and Farsi, and have been featured in The Writer’s Almanac, as well as in several international festivals and anthologies. Her collection of selected poems translated into Arabic, Tonight I’ll Become a Lake into which You’ll Sink, was published in Cairo, Egypt, in 2021. Serea is a founding editor of National Translation Month, and she co-hosts The Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Readings in Rutherford, NJ. Clara BurgheleaClara Burghelea is a Romanian-born poet with an MFA in Poetry from Adelphi University. Recipient of the Robert Muroff Poetry Award, her poems and translations appeared in Ambit, Waxwing, The Cortland Review, and elsewhere. Her second poetry collection, Praise the Unburied, was published with Chaffinch Press in 2021. She is Poetry Co-Editor of the museum of americana and Review Editor of Ezra, An Online Journal of Translation. Adina DabijaAdina Dabija is a writer and philosopher born in Aiud, Romania. She now lives in New York, where she practices acupuncture and hypnosis. Her first book, poezia-papusa, was awarded the Bucharest Writers’ Association Guild Prize in 1998. She published Stare nediferentiata in 2010 for which she was awarded Tomis prize in Constanta, Romania. In 2011 she published Beautybeast (North Shore Press), her first collection of poetry translated into English by Claudia Serea, and in 2012 her first novel, Saman (Ed. Polirom). Adina is currently working on four books: Songs from My Garden, a poetry collection, Nine Seeds for Life, a practical self-help book which combines narrative medicine from her native Romania with gardening and bio cognition for anyone suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, Rumi’s Field, a novel on the mystical relationship between Rumi, the 12th century Sufi poet, and his spiritual companion Shams al Tabriz, and Wise and Wild in America, a book of interviews with exponents of the traditional American values such as self-reliance, individual freedom and equality of opportunity to inspire the young generations. Some of her recent writings and interviews can be found at www.sol.center

Space, New Technologies and Sustainability
2022-03-12 10:00 - 11:30 | WA
Celebrate International Women’s Month with us! Join us for this event honoring the work of women scientists and their pioneer spirit.
Our first workshop features Dr. Ioana Cozmuta, Romanian American world expert in materials, microgravity and space.
This event inaugurates a special Speakers Series as part of the Heritage Language Program Grant, awarded by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Migrant/Bilingual Department to the Wenatchee School District and other local organizations, ARCS among them, to develop a year-long remote learning program for Heritage Language speakers of Romanian, Russian, Spanish and Ukrainian. Other upcoming events will feature speakers representing the Ukrainian, Russian and Spanish-speaking communities included in the grant.
Register HERE.
Event organized in partnership with World Affairs Council -Global Classroom, the Ethnic Heritage Council, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Migrant/Bilingual Department and Wenatchee School District.
More about This Event:
Since 1961, when Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly to and successfully return from space, humanity has made unprecedented leaps in the exploration of space such as setting foot on the surface of the Moon through the Apollo missions and permanently inhabiting the International Space Station for the past two decades!
The year 2010 marked yet another important transformation with SpaceX’s first successful orbital flight operated by a commercial company set to increase the frequency, reduce the price and broadening opportunities to access space. Not only has space technology continued to advance rapidly; SpaceX’s success has laid the grounds for a wave of commercial companies and private investments currently building and expanding infrastructure in low earth orbit and beyond.
The benefits of space extend well beyond technological advancements. They impact every single aspect of our life on Earth from forecasting natural disasters and sustainable utilization of natural resources to enabling remote healthcare, climate change monitoring and disaster management to name a few. The United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) has captured how space is supporting the Sustainable Development Goals under the Space4SDG’s branding.
As the New Space movement continues to grow so does its reach and impact on our day-to-day life. Next on the horizon is a new wave of companies developing technologies and manufacturing processes that will ultimately result in moving Earth manufacturing into space. From designing superior materials and products without gravity to leveraging on direct access to space solar power, vacuum, and ultra-low temperatures such a shift will be a strong correcting force to counterbalance pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, severe degradation of Earth ecosystem services, loss of biodiversity, climate change, etc.
Enabling civil society the experience of flying into space it is foreseen that it will trigger a mass-scale shift in humanity’s own awareness and accelerate the path towards enlightenment through propagating the Overview effect – that miraculous sense of awe and deep respect towards the uniqueness of life on planet Earth, our only home amongst the stars.
Ioana Cozmuta

Dr. Ioana Cozmuța is the founder and CEO of G-space Inc (https://www.zerogspace.com), a women-owned B-corporations and a reflection of Ioana’s passions: to discover and build opportunities for socio-economic benefit at the confluence of Space and Earth and to mentor and inspire the new generation towards a more prosperous future for humanity. Ioana holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands and she is an alumnus of Caltech and Stanford University. During her career at NASA and in the industry spanning two decades, Ioana has built a legacy on transforming the status quo, opening new avenues for innovation, collaboration, space technology commercialization and public-private partnerships. The current fiber optics manufacturing in space has its origin in a paper published in 2017. Dr. Cozmuța is a TedEx Future Spoiler (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlsGhC3G1d8), a keynote/speaker and lecturer. She has co/authored over 200 scientific articles, technical reports and newspaper interviews; webinars and podcasts.

ARCS Heritage Language and Culture School - Spring 2022
2022-03-07 - 2022-06-17 | WA
Are you interested in stimulating your children’s creativity, nourish their bicultural and bilingual heritage?
Our Romanian Heritage Language School offers innovative virtual classes and workshops for children, youth and adults with Romanian background or with an interest to learn Romanian, nationwide. Our teaching methods are based on the core principles of Heritage Language Education to nourish bilingualism and address holisitically the bi-cultural identity of our students through project-based activities, play, authentic sources, critical thinking, and meaningful interactions with their families and communities. Our students gain pride and confidence as heritage language speakers and learners of Romanian, while developing a global understanding of the world.
We are the first Romanian secular community-based school to have developed a teaching curriculum according to the priciples of HERITAGE EDUCATION, since 2016. We are looking for partners and happy to share our methodology with other communities in the Romanian diaspora. Please write to Otilia Baraboi at otilia.baraboi@arcsproject.org to find out more about our programs and possible collaborations with your communities.
Our current students come from numerous regions in the US. We can accommodate to various time zones and have demonstrated experience teaching multiple levels and age groups.
Registration
REGISTRATION OPENS on February 4, 2022. Please REGISTER HERE.
We will contact you to schedule a brief language evaluation.
Scholarships
We offer scholarships to families in need. Please contact Otilia Baraboi at otilia.baraboi@arcsproject.org if you would like to be considered.
Payment Options
Most of our courses cost 25$/hour, 350 for 14 sessions in the spring semester 2022. Please scroll down to chose the payment option right for you. Thank you.
Calendar and Holidays
We will work with parents and students to find the best times and days that work for you. The times indicated in the schedule are only orientative. Please fill out the registration form to let us know your availability.
Instruction Weeks ( Mar 7- Jun 17):
•Week of March 7, 14, 21, 28
•Week of April 4, 18, 25
•Week of May 2, 9, 16, 23
• Week of June 1, 6, 13
Holidays:
• Spring Break: April 11-15
• Memorial Day: May 27, 30

Francophone Writers of Romanian Origin: Annie Lulu's Debut Novel
2022-03-05 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
Did you know that Romanian is the 5th most widely spoken Romance language in the world, after Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian? Also, there are strong historic links between Romania and France, dating back to the 18th century, and in 1991 Romania joined the International Organization of La Francophonie. In March we are thrilled to celebrate the month of Francophonie and the French-speaking world with Romanian Congolese writer Annie Lulu, and her special guest, Romanian American writer and scholar Domnica Rădulescu. Join us on March 5th at 10am PT| 1pm ET.Register here. You can buy the novel here. Event organized in partnership with Alliance Française de Seattle. Find out more about how the Alliance Française of Seattle celebrates the Month of Francophonie throughout March. GuestsAnnie LuluAnnie Lulu was born in Iasi, Romania. Her father is Congolese and her mother Romanian. She arrived in France at a young age, then studied philosophy. She devotes herself fully to writing. "La mer Noire dans les Grands Lacs" (The Black Sea in the African Great Lakes), her first novel, received the Senghor Prize, the Littérature de l'Exil Prize, and was a finalist for many prestigious literary prizes in the Francophone world (Prix Orange du Livre, Grand Prix du Roman Métis, Prix Ahmadou Kourouma, Prix des Étonnants Voyageurs. Domnica RădulescuDomnica Rădulescu is an American writer of Romanian origin, living in the United States where she arrived in 1983 as a political refugee, having escaped the communist dictatorship of her native Romania. She settled in Chicago where she obtained a master’s degree in Comparative literature and a PhD in Romance Languages from the University of Chicago. She is the Edwin A. Morris Professor of Comparative Literature at Washington and Lee University.

Radulescu is the author of three critically acclaimed novels, Train to Trieste (Knopf 2008 &2009), Black Sea Twilight (Transworld 2011 & 2012) and Country of Red Azaleas (Hachette 2016) and of award-winning plays. Train to Trieste has been published in thirteen languages and is the winner of the 2009 Library of Virginia Fiction Award.

Radulescu received the 2011 Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and is twice a Fulbright scholar.

Radulescu also published fourteen non-fiction books, edited and co-edited collections on topics ranging from the tragic heroine in western literature to feminist comedy, to studies of exile literature to theater of war and exile, refugee art, and two collections of original plays. Two of her plays, Exile Is My Home and The Town with Very Nice People were runners up for the Jane Chambers Playwriting award in 2012 and 2013. Dream in a Suitcase. The Story of an immigrant Life is her first memoir and it has been released from Austin Macauley Publishers in December 2021.

College Admissions # 4- Ask a Specialist
2022-02-27 10:00 - 11:00 | WA
Are you anxious about the college applications process? Come meet our special guest, Dr. Diana Barbu (see her bio below). She will cover the following aspects and answer any of your questions:
1. Building the Balanced College List (we’ll look at certain metrics to determine academic fit)
+ The Transfer Option (pros and cons)
2. Admission Models (ED, EA, RD, etc.) (what they mean and who should use them)
3. The Application (focus on materials, financial aid applications)
4. Types of Admission Decisions (conditional admit, waitlisted, deferred, etc.)
5. Next Steps
Register HERE
Diana Barbu

Dr. Barbu worked for more than 12 years in college and university administration in executive and senior-level positions. She served as the Associate Vice-Provost for Institutional Research and Effectiveness at St. Thomas University, Director of Research and Data Analytics at Miami Dade College, and Director of Academic Programs at the State University System of Florida – Board of Governors. Throughout this time, she learned a lot about college admissions and student success strategies.
She earned a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Florida State University, a Master in Communication from Rutgers University, and a Bachelor in Computer Science and Mathematics from the North University of Baia Mare.
She published a book on Financial Aid and is in the process of publishing the 2nd one on College Admissions. The Ultimate College Financial Aid Guide: Understand the Aid Offer & Ask for More Money is available on Amazon.com and was ranked in the top 5 in various categories. The second book will be available on Amazon soon.
She is committed to helping students graduate in 4 years with the least amount of debt.
She lives in Florida with her husband Adrian.
Connect with her on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-barbu-ph-d-4a65713/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CollegeTalk.Us
Email: diana.barbu@gmail.com

Mărțișoare Workshop 2022
2022-02-27 10:00 - 11:00 | WA
Join us for a spring celebration -Mărțișor, March 1st.
Mărțișor is an old tradition celebrated all over Romania every year, on March 1st, also widely spread in Bulgaria and the Balkans.
The name Mărțișor is a diminutive of March (Martie in Romanian).
It is believed that the person who wears the red and white string would enjoy a prosperous and healthy year. Read more HERE
Register HERE in advance for this meeting.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
The workshop is destined for kids ages 7+, or younger, supervised by a parent.
Romanian artist and musician Beatrice Iordan will lead the workshop.
Beatrice Iordan is a puppet artist, museum pedagogue at the Museum of the Romanian Peasant, and she plays the cobza in the band “Trei Parale”. She also does shadow theater with “Hopa Trop”, her theater company, paints angels and – more than that – she believes that power and inspiration lie in ourselves, that we are our own mentor.
You can find out more about her from this article in Romanian.
Event organized in partnership with the Romanian NGO – Cu Alte Cuvinte, and our community partners from Washington D.C. – Romanians of DC

Beatrice Iordan

Beatrice Iordan is a puppet artist, museum pedagogue at the Museum of the Romanian Peasant, and she plays the cobza in the band “Trei Parale”. She also does shadow theater with “Hopa Trop”, her theater company, paints angels and – more than that – she believes that power and inspiration lie in ourselves, that we are our own mentor.

Why Volunteer? How Can It Help Me for College Admissions?
2022-02-18 11:00 - 12:00 | WA
Join us for a live discussion with ARCS, RUF and Alianța volunteers about the importance of giving back to our communities and developing our civic spirit for the benefit of present and future generations.
This is a great opportunity to find out about the Romanian American National Heritage Award (5th edition) that recognizes the volunteering work of the Romanian American Youth. Come hear about how this award has helped our past recipients distinguish themselves in their admission process to top colleges and institutions, such as Dartmouth College, Wesleyan Univ, Pitzer College, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Whitman College, Purdue Univ, UW Honors, and many others.
Special Guests: Otilia Baraboi, Ph.D. (ARCS Execcutive Diretor, University of Washington Affiliate Faculty); Andreea Rebăltescu ( RUF Communications Director/CEO & Founder of Cora Phenix Digital Entrepreneur & Artist); Mihai Lehene (RUF President, Founder); Boby Constin (RUF Volunteer); Andreea Haidău (RUF Volunteer). Read their bios below.
Register HERE in advance.
Find out more about the Romanian American National Heritage Award (5th edition) HERE.
Program co-organized by ARCS, Alianța and RUF-Romanian United Fund.
Otilia Baraboi, Ph.D.
otilia.baraboi@arcsproject.org

Before coming to Seattle in 2000 from Romania, Otilia worked as a literary journalist and published short-fiction, translations and articles. She holds university degrees in French and English literatures from Romania, Switzerland, and the US. She has a Ph.D. on the politics of translation from the University of Washington, where she taught French language and literature for 17 years, and where she is currently co-teaching a course on Romanian literature and film. In 2013, she co-founded ARCS and was President of the Board for five years before becoming ARCS’ first Executive Director. For Otilia, ARCS has been a wonderful opportunity to remain connected with the vibrant culture of her birthplace, while contributing to the artistic and cultural vitality of the Pacific Northwest. As part of her work, Otilia has been managing the Romanian Film Festival in Seattle and ARCS community-based school for Romanian heritage students, as well as more than 300 cultural and educational events over the past 9 years. Her priorities are to create sustainable, community-building programs and partnerships, as well as develop ARCS’ brand identity in accordance with its mission and values. Most of all, Otilia hopes that her work will have a direct, long-lasting impact on the ways in which future generations will define, celebrate and pass on their heritage. Otilia is also the President of the Ethnic Heritage Council of the Pacific Northwest and a board member of Romanian United Fund.

Andreea Rebaltescu
Andreea is the CEO & Founder of Cora Phenix Digital Entrepreneur & Artist. She graduated Gheorghe Dima Music Academy in Cluj, Romania, and studied drama at the University Babes Bolyai in the same city. She is also an entertainer and published author.

Mihai Lehene
Mihai Lehene is a Founding Member and the President of RUF. Passionate and caring, Mihai’s goal is to inspire all around him to be better and help each other, especially his fellow Romanian Americans.

Andreea Haidau

Andreea Haidau is a current high school senior from the Chicago area. She may have been born in the U.S., but that has not stopped her from forming a pretty indestructible bond with her Romanian heritage. Her upbringing and passion for the Romanian language, culture, and people (and, of course, food) has, at present, culminated into the beginnings of a new youth organization dedicated to bringing local Romanian-American kids closer together. She is very much enthused to continue enkindling relationships between Romanian people of every age, generation, and location.

Bobby Costin

Bobby Costin is currently a sophmore in the Bay Area. He was born in Romania, and lived there until he was 10 years old, after which he and his family moved to the United States. He is extremely passionate about teaching others important skills, such as programming, and is especially excited about this opportunity to teach Romanian-Americans with a similar cultural background to his. Overall, he loves his Romanian heritage and cannot wait for the chance of creating more possible future career options for individuals from his own country.

Dream in a Suitcase: The Story of an Immigrant Life by Domnica Rădulescu
2022-02-05 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
What is in the suitcase of a refugee escaping from a politically oppressive regime? Drawing on Domnica Rădulescu's recent memoir Dream in a Suitcase: The Story of an Immigrant Life, this event is an invitation to explore the multifaceted fabric of dreams and cherished memories immigrants bring to the US. Join us for a dialogue between the author, and her special guests who share similar stories of exile, uprootedness and resilience. Register for the event HERE. About the book:Dream in a Suitcase unravels a fast-paced journey of survival, resilience, and the power of love. The story offers a rich multicultural mosaic of a life divided not only between two cultures and languages, that of the heroine's native Romania and her adoptive US but also between Chicago's urban culture and that of a small town in Virginia marked by a heavy confederate history. This book is deeply relevant for our times as it offers an opportunity for American-born audiences to develop a deeper understanding for all those who arrived in this country as refugees in search of freedom, peace, and different versions of the American Dream. Buy the book HERE. Endorsements: "An extraordinary memoir of fortitude and freedom, a narrative that is vibrant and lyrical. Rădulescu takes us from Romania's dark dictatorial past to the world of literature and beauty, back to the landscapes of her beloved native country, then to her new home in America, and always to the geography of the earth. This is an extraordinary read and a covenant to the power of truth and words." Marjorie Agosin, award-winning author of I Lived on Butterfly Hill. "Domnica Radulescu is a courageous writer. Dream in a Suitcase, like her other novels, is a breathless read." Andrei Codrescu, NPR commentator, award-winning poet, and filmmaker. Find out more about Domnica Rădulescu's work:http://www.domnicaradulescu.com Event organized by ARCS in partnership with Immigration Research Forum, Arizona American-Romanian Cultural Collaborative (ARCC), Bucharest Inside the Beltway, Romanians of DC, Romanian United Fund, and ARCHER, with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute in NY/USA GuestsDomnica RădulescuDomnica Rădulescu is an American writer of Romanian origin, living in the United States where she arrived in 1983 as a political refugee, having escaped the communist dictatorship of her native Romania. She settled in Chicago where she obtained a master’s degree in Comparative literature and a PhD in Romance Languages from the University of Chicago. She is the Edwin A. Morris Professor of Comparative Literature at Washington and Lee University.

Radulescu is the author of three critically acclaimed novels, Train to Trieste (Knopf 2008 &2009), Black Sea Twilight (Transworld 2011 & 2012) and Country of Red Azaleas (Hachette 2016) and of award-winning plays. Train to Trieste has been published in thirteen languages and is the winner of the 2009 Library of Virginia Fiction Award.

Radulescu received the 2011 Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and is twice a Fulbright scholar.

Radulescu also published fourteen non-fiction books, edited and co-edited collections on topics ranging from the tragic heroine in western literature to feminist comedy, to studies of exile literature to theater of war and exile, refugee art, and two collections of original plays. Two of her plays, Exile Is My Home and The Town with Very Nice People were runners up for the Jane Chambers Playwriting award in 2012 and 2013. Dream in a Suitcase. The Story of an immigrant Life is her first memoir and it has been released from Austin Macauley Publishers in December 2021.

Roxana CazanBefore teaching at the University of Oklahoma, Roxana L. Cazan taught literature, creative writing, and women's studies courses at Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania. She is an interpreter and translator of Romanian and a poet. Her poems have been featured in Poets Reading the News, The Windsor Review, Cold Creek Review, Construction Literary Magazine, Glass Lyre Press, Adanna Literary Journal, Watershed Review, The Portland Review, Harpur Palate and others. Her full-length poetry books are The Accident of Birth (Main Street Rag 2017) and Tethered to the Unexpected (Alien Buddha Press 2022).

Roxana’s scholarly work focuses on ethnic and postcolonial literature and women’s studies and has appeared in Neophilologus, Women’s Studies Quarterly, Comparative Literature Studies, Studies in American Jewish Literature, American Journal of Undergraduate Research, and Demeter Press. A chapter is forthcoming in Remembering Kahina: Women, Representation and Resistance in Post-Independence North Africa, Routledge.

She is the co-editor of the anthology, Voices on the Move: An Anthology by and about Refugees, Solis Press, 2020. Alina ȘtefănescuAlina Ștefănescu was born in Romania and lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her partner and several intense mammals. Recent books include a creative nonfiction chapbook, Ribald (Bull City Press Inch Series, Nov. 2020) and Dor, which won the Wandering Aengus Press Prize (September, 2021). Her debut fiction collection, Every Mask I Tried On, won the Brighthorse Books Prize (April 2018). Alina's poems, essays, and fiction can be found in Prairie Schooner, North American Review, World Literature Today, Pleiades, Poetry, BOMB, Crab Creek Review, and others. She serves as poetry editor for several journals, reviewer and critic for others, and Co-Director of PEN America's Birmingham Chapter. She is currently working on a novel-like creature. More online at www.alinastefanescuwriter.com. Otilia Baraboi, Ph.D.Before coming to Seattle in 2000 from Romania, Otilia worked as a literary journalist and published short-fiction, translations and articles. She holds university degrees in French and English literatures from Romania, Switzerland, and the US. She has a Ph.D. on the politics of translation from the University of Washington, where she taught French language and literature for 17 years, and where she is currently co-teaching a course on Romanian literature and film. In 2013, she co-founded ARCS and was President of the Board for five years before becoming ARCS’ first Executive Director. For Otilia, ARCS has been a wonderful opportunity to remain connected with the vibrant culture of her birthplace, while contributing to the artistic and cultural vitality of the Pacific Northwest. As part of her work, Otilia has been managing the Romanian Film Festival in Seattle and ARCS community-based school for Romanian heritage students, as well as more than 300 cultural and educational events over the past 9 years. Her priorities are to create sustainable, community-building programs and partnerships, as well as develop ARCS' brand identity in accordance with its mission and values. Most of all, Otilia hopes that her work will have a direct, long-lasting impact on the ways in which future generations will define, celebrate and pass on their heritage. Otilia is also the President of the Ethnic Heritage Council of the Pacific Northwest and a board member of Romanian United Fund.

Dor: A Mode in Translation
2022-01-22 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
Join us for a conversation about dor, a Romanian word that some find untranslatable, and the complex relationships it acquires in exilic relations. What does dor carry as baggage? How does dor change when looking back towards a homeland in an Ovidian gaze? Is there an intentionality in exilic dor that shapes the various Romanian diaspora groups? Why and how do we re-cognize ourselves in longing? How is nostalgia politicized, and how do translators deal with the larger context of so-called untranslatable concepts? Our discussion will draw from Alina Ștefănescu's book "DOR" (order HERE https://www.alinastefanescuwriter.com/dor) establishing a dialogue between the author and the personal experiences, reflections and writings of our special guests Adriana Oniță, Cristiana Grigore and Andrew Davidson-Novosivschei. Read more details about our guests in their bios below. Register for the event HERE. Watch the recording of this event HERE. A Few Things on the Word Dor, from The Dictionary of Unstranslatables, A Philosophical Lexicon (edited by Barbara Cassin (translated into English by Emily Apter, Jaques Lezra & Michael Wood) Event organized by ARCS in partnership with Immigration Research Forum, Arizona American-Romanian Cultural Collaborative (ARCC), Romanians of DC and Bucharest Inside the Beltway, with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute. GuestsAlina ȘtefănescuAlina Ștefănescu was born in Romania and lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her partner and several intense mammals. Recent books include a creative nonfiction chapbook, Ribald (Bull City Press Inch Series, Nov. 2020) and Dor, which won the Wandering Aengus Press Prize (September, 2021). Her debut fiction collection, Every Mask I Tried On, won the Brighthorse Books Prize (April 2018). Alina's poems, essays, and fiction can be found in Prairie Schooner, North American Review, World Literature Today, Pleiades, Poetry, BOMB, Crab Creek Review, and others. She serves as poetry editor for several journals, reviewer and critic for others, and Co-Director of PEN America's Birmingham Chapter. She is currently working on a novel-like creature. More online at www.alinastefanescuwriter.com. Person not found Cristiana GrigoreCristiana Grigore is a writer, research scholar and the founder of the Roma Peoples Project at Columbia University, an initiative that spotlights Roma peoples and expands Roma studies by examining topics such as identity and stigma, mobility and displacement. Herself a Roma—a member of Europe's largest minority with approximately one million Roma living in the US— she has firsthand experience with internalized stigma and concealing one's ethnicity.

Upon arriving in the United States in 2006, Cristiana found a more conducive environment in which to express her Roma identity. She is writing a book that explores how her immersion in American culture enabled her to grapple more fully with her Roma/Gypsy ethnicity. Her writing was published by the New York Times and she writes periodic op-eds for Newsweek and other media channels. Her work has been featured by Vogue, CNN, Al Jazeera America, PRI, and Voice of America, among other outlets.

A Fulbright Scholar from Romania, Cristiana graduated from Vanderbilt University with an MA in International Education Policy and Management in December 2012. She earned her BA in Psychology from the University of Bucharest in 2007. Most recently she is part of an advisory group for the National Gallery of Art on a topic related to Roma in the Arts.

Andrew Davidson-NovosivscheiAndrew Davidson-Novosivschei (b. 1987) is a teacher, poet, and translator from Arizona, currently based in Bucharest. His Romanian-language poems have appeared in Poesis International, Tribuna, Poetic Stand, and others. His English-language poems have most recently appeared in Apricity Press, and his poem “the taste of freedom” was nominated for the 2021 Pushcart Prize. He has been invited to read his poems at festivals such as Poezia e la Bistrița, 2021, Bucharest International Poetry Festival (FIPB), Iași International Festival of Literature and Translation (FILIT), and reading groups such as Republica and the Blecher Institute. His translations have appeared in Asymptote Journal, Trafika Europe, and others, and have been awarded grants from the Romanian Cultural Institute and FILIT. Otilia Baraboi, Ph.D.Before coming to Seattle in 2000 from Romania, Otilia worked as a literary journalist and published short-fiction, translations and articles. She holds university degrees in French and English literatures from Romania, Switzerland, and the US. She has a Ph.D. on the politics of translation from the University of Washington, where she taught French language and literature for 17 years, and where she is currently co-teaching a course on Romanian literature and film. In 2013, she co-founded ARCS and was President of the Board for five years before becoming ARCS’ first Executive Director. For Otilia, ARCS has been a wonderful opportunity to remain connected with the vibrant culture of her birthplace, while contributing to the artistic and cultural vitality of the Pacific Northwest. As part of her work, Otilia has been managing the Romanian Film Festival in Seattle and ARCS community-based school for Romanian heritage students, as well as more than 300 cultural and educational events over the past 9 years. Her priorities are to create sustainable, community-building programs and partnerships, as well as develop ARCS' brand identity in accordance with its mission and values. Most of all, Otilia hopes that her work will have a direct, long-lasting impact on the ways in which future generations will define, celebrate and pass on their heritage. Otilia is also the President of the Ethnic Heritage Council of the Pacific Northwest and a board member of Romanian United Fund.

Archetypal Symbols In Romania and Worldwide with Artist Magda Nica
2022-01-15 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
Symbols are graphic metaphors that help us understand the invisible world. Their meaning is magical, although few are those who know how to read, decode and translate their secret language. This workshop is an invitation to discover how symbols unite us at a subtle level, in mysterious and profound ways.
“To symbolize means, in a way and at a certain level, to live together” (Jean Chevalier)
Register Here for the event.
You can watch the recording of this event HERE.
This event is the first from a series under the umbrella of a larger collective project “THE EXQUISITE GORGE PROJECT II: Fiber Arts”, developed by Curator of Education at Maryhill Museum of Art, Louise Palermo. It features 13 regional fiber artists working with communities along 220 miles of the Columbia River from the Willamette Confluence to the Snake River Confluence. ARCS is proud to be one of the partner organizations in this majestic cross-cultural enterprise by supporting the participation of Seattle-based Romanian born artist Magda Nica. You can find out more details about this collaborative project here: https://www.maryhillmuseum.org/exquisite-gorge-project-2022

ARCS Romanian Heritage Language and Culture School - Fall 2022
2022-01-01 15:00 - 2022-05-13 16:00 | Online
Course Description
This class is tailored for students of Romanian origin nationwide who do not understand, nor speak the language, but who have been exposed to Romanian culture and are curious to find out more about their heritage. They will learn basic conversational skills in Romanian and will develop their pronunciation, vocabulary, writing and reading knowledge.They will gain confidence and will be able to connect with their Romanian family in meaningful ways. No knowledge of Romanian required. Groups of 4-5 students / 60 min, weekly. Tuition: 14 sessions for $ 350 (25$/h) – please scroll down for payment options.
We arre thrilled to partner with the Romanian United Fund to offer this class to children living in the Chicago area.
Calendar and Holidays
Spring Semestrer Dates: Jan 28, 5pm – 6pm CST, May 13, 2022 (our website posts the Pacific Time)
Instruction Days:
• Jan 28
• Feb 4, 11,18
• Mar 4, 11,18, 25
• April 1, 8, 22, 29
• May 6, 13
Holidays:
• Mid-winter break: Feb 25
• Spring break: April 15
About Our School
ARCS Romanian Heritage Language School offers innovative virtual classes and workshops for children, youth and adults with Romanian background or with an interest to learn Romanian, nationwide. Our teaching methods are based on the core principles of Heritage Language Education to nourish bilingualism and address holisitically the bi-cultural identity of our students through project-based activities, play, authentic sources, critical thinking, and meaningful interactions with their families and communities. Our students gain pride and confidence as heritage language speakers and learners of Romanian, while developing a global understanding of the world.
We are the first Romanian secular community-based school to have developed a teaching curriculum according to the priciples of HERITAGE EDUCATION, since 2016. We are looking for partners and happy to share our methodology with other communities in the Romanian diaspora. Our current students come from numerous regions in the US. We can accommodate to various time zones and have demonstrated experience teaching multiple levels and age groups.
Please write to Otilia Baraboi at otilia.baraboi@arcsproject.org to find out more about our programs and possible collaborations with your communities.

Support ARCS Educational Partner Roma Peoples Project at Columbia University
2021-12-04 - 2021-12-22 | Online
On Roma Resilience: A Scholarship Fund for Students & Scholars (Roma Peoples Project in partnership with American Romanian Cultural Society)
Please support the RPP and American Romanian Cultural Society to launch an educational program for the Spring of 2022. Our goal is to develop a pilot project in which we involve a minimum of 10 students and scholars to receive knowledge and mentorship in Roma studies. The knowledge they will access is a combination of existing materials produced by the RPP over the past four years and customized lessons that provide an introduction to key ideas in Roma studies.
The global situation of Roma is one of the most neglected human rights issues of our time, yet the topic remains largely absent or misunderstood within academia and society. Today’s students do not have access to the knowledge they need to include Roma in the decisions they will make as future professionals and leaders. While we are working to address this in a systemic, structural maner, and have universities teach Roma Studies in the classroom and cultural institutions provide knowledge on the topic, we believe it is urgent to create these learning spaces now. For that we need to mobilize, partner and be that solution ourselves by being involved and contributing to making this possibility a reality. To build a future where knowledge of Roma is part of mainstream academia, let’s create pathways for today’s students to be agents of change and access nuanced, accurate and rigorously researched knowledge of Roma.
Together with the Roma Peoples Project at Columbia University, we will select students and scholars, Roma and non-Roma, from a variety of universities and other community-based educational programs, and will provide opportunities for one semester with the Roma Peoples Project team to gain an introduction to Roma studies and receive mentorship in undertaking their own research projects in Roma studies. Our fundraising goal of $5,000 will support 10 students to access this program, although additional funds raised will provide the capacity to work with a larger group of students and scholars.
Throughout this program, ARCS will work closely with our partners at Roma Peoples Project to create educational opportunities for ARCS Romanian heritage students enrolled in the OSPI Heritage Language Grant, a program developed in partnership with the Ethnic Heritage Council and World Affairs Council.
ABOUT THE ROMA PEOPLES PROJECT
The Roma Peoples Project at Columbia University is a platform for Roma and their allies to share knowledge and stories, to understand the Roma peoples in a global context, to develop kinship with other marginalized groups, and to reflect on Roma experiences of survival and resilience. The Project has a track record of delivering educational content in Roma studies through public events, seminars and campaigns to raise visibility of the Roma cause.
Find out more HERE.
Support ARCS fundraiser for Roma Peoplese Project on Facebook.

Romanian Film Festival - 8th Edition
2021-11-12 - 2021-11-21 | Online
THE ROMANIAN FILM FESTIVAL, 8TH EDITION: “One Eye Laughing, One Eye Crying: Back to Wonderland” WHEN: NOVEMBER 12-21, 2021WHERE: Northwest Film Forum (online platform)
BUY TICKETSBUY PASSES
After a successful virtual edition in 2020, the Romanian Film Festival in Seattle brings you back to Wonderland, this time with exclusively new film productions from Romania and Europe, showcasing the creative spirit and resilience of young, or more established directors. Moreover, the festival expands with a new branch in Detroit and a partnership with Arizona Romanian Film Festival. More details will be shared soon.
Daniel Ursache has worked his magic again designing the visual concept of the 8th edition of the festival. Get comfortable under the dim light of your home screen or projector for a two-week feast of films that you can watch together with your loved ones between November 12-21, 2021.
We will offer you virtual opportunities to interact with local, national and international special guests. Stay tuned to find out about our exciting partnerships, line-up, guest list, and schedule.
In the meantime, please support our fundraising efforts. Let’s keep the story going for the 8th time!
If you have a business or reprezent an organization, please check out our sponsorhip package and let us know if you would like to benefit from our advertising opportunities.
Festival Official Partners and Co-Organizers:

Festival Institutional Partners:

Culture & Politics Program (SFS) Georgetown University

Community Partners - Thank you for helping us spread the word about the film festival:

FILM FORMATS AND WATCH PARTIES:
All film programs in the 2021 festival will take place online between Nov. 12–21, and are available to view ONLY in the U.S. You can purchase our films and watch them when it is most convenient for you, during the period of the festival. You have between 2-5 days to finish watching a film after you start playing it. Few restrictions may apply to certain films, please read the instructions carefully.
**All screenings in Romanian Film Festival in Seattle 2021 include a live discussion or filmmaker Q&A, available on zoom and livestreamed on FB. All panels and talks take place over Zoom, and will be automatically recorded and added to the end of the film playlist on Northwest Film Forum's Eventive virtual cinema for viewing throughout the fest. (Please note: all festival programs, but the opening, closing night mixers and other talks, are available only to viewers in the U.S.) ** FilmsÎntregaldeby Radu Muntean
2021, Drama, 104 min

In Radu Munean’s latest feature film, well-meaning urban professionals drive up muddy unpaved mountain roads on their annual humanitarian trip bringing aid to the remote village of Intregalde. As night...
In Radu Munean’s latest feature film, well-meaning urban professionals drive up muddy unpaved mountain roads on their annual humanitarian trip bringing aid to the remote village of Intregalde. As night falls and temperatures drop they take shelter in an abandoned sawmill with a jabbering senile old man. It tests their altruism in the face of having reached their own limits and questions the ethics of their motivations as benefactors. This film was recently selected in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs section at Cannes.
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The Campaignby Marian Crișan
2020, Comedy, 93 min

The Campaign, also known as Berliner, is Marian Crișan’s most recent feature, a political comedy, starring Ovidiu Crisan, Ion Sapdaru, and Ioana Chitu, among excellent young actors. Inspired by Gabriel...
The Campaign, also known as Berliner, is Marian Crișan’s most recent feature, a political comedy, starring Ovidiu Crisan, Ion Sapdaru, and Ioana Chitu, among excellent young actors. Inspired by Gabriel Andronache’s novel Ich bin ein Berliner, the famous quote from President J.F. Kennedy, the film follows the mishaps of a Romanian politician (Ion Sapdaru) running for the European Parliament in hopes to escape charges of corruption once elected and given immunity. His car breaks down near a farm. He immediately sees the opportunity to make the villagers into his voters by adopting the façade of a commoner, the “old friend” of the farmer. Compromise doesn’t pay very well, but well enough for Viorel (Ovidiu Crisan). Filmed in Crisan’s native Salonta, under the mater cinematographer Oleg Mutu, The Campaign / Berliner was nominated for several “Best Film” awards at international festivals and won the main competition at the Moscow International Film Festival in 2020. Crisan had previously won the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film with Megatron at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. In 2010, he won the Special Jury Prize at the 63rd Edition of the Locarno Film Festival with his first feature film Morgen, which was also the Romanian entry for the 84th Academy Awards.
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No Rest for the Old Lady by Andrei Gruzsniczki
2021, Comedy drama, 99 min

No Rest for the Old Lady is Andrei Gruzsniczki’s drama which was premiered at the Moscow International Film Festival earlier this year. Tackling fundamental issues of life—friendship, faith, respect for...
No Rest for the Old Lady is Andrei Gruzsniczki’s drama which was premiered at the Moscow International Film Festival earlier this year. Tackling fundamental issues of life—friendship, faith, respect for the dead, religious rituals, as well as the routine of everyday life— Gruzsniczki’s film tells the story of Emil (Mircea Andreescu), a nonbeliever, who is challenged by the faith of his best friend Titi (Valer Dellakeza) and his confession: Emil’s late wife has moved in with Titi and haunts him. This delicate, impeccably acted comedy-drama gives viewers an honest glimpse into the life of the elderly. Nominated for the Tiatan Award at the Beijing International Film Festival, No Rest for the Old Lady adds to Gruzsniczki’s list of awards, among which is the 2008 Main Award, FIPRESCI Award at CinePecs Moveast IFF, and the 2009 Best Romanian Film at Transylvania IFF for The Other Irene; and the 2013 Special Jury Award at Rome IFF for Quod Erat Demonstrandum.
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Occasional Spiesby Oana Giurgiu
2020, Documentary, 119 min

Occasional Spies follows newly recruited young Jews living in Palestine return to their home countries of Romania, Yugoslavia, Slovakia and Austria, helping the local resistance to fight the German invaders...
Occasional Spies follows newly recruited young Jews living in Palestine return to their home countries of Romania, Yugoslavia, Slovakia and Austria, helping the local resistance to fight the German invaders during World War Two. The film highlights the little known history of these heroic acts, not through grand gestures, but through the voices of genuine people. By using both genuine archival and recreated photos based on retellings,the film amplifies the fears and hopes of these young Jewish heroes navigating an increasingly hostile and violent Europe- one they used to call home.
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Mia Misses Her Revengeby Bogdan Theodor Olteanu
2020, Comedy, 82 min

Mia, a young actress, finds herself back at her parent’s home after her boyfriend slaps her on the face. She struggles with her own feelings and trauma surrounding the event,...
Mia, a young actress, finds herself back at her parent’s home after her boyfriend slaps her on the face. She struggles with her own feelings and trauma surrounding the event, turning to friends and family to process her feelings, as well as developing her own plan for revenge. Mia Misses Her Revenge tackles the complicated intersection of personal turmoil and uncertainty in a world full of strong opinions and the inherent need to broadcast them.
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Unidentifiedby Bogdan George Apetri
2020, Drama, 123 min

Detective Florin Iespas, despite facing his own personal issues, decides to take on a seemingly dead-end case. While making progress and even finding a suspect, Florin faces more obstacles as...
Detective Florin Iespas, despite facing his own personal issues, decides to take on a seemingly dead-end case. While making progress and even finding a suspect, Florin faces more obstacles as his colleagues dismiss his work and persist that he give up. He is forced to take his own measures, and the case ends up putting up much more than just one suspect on trial.
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Servants by Ivan Ostrochovský
2020, Drama, 80 min

This chilling drama set in a seminary explores the tortuous choice students must make in 1980 totalitarian Czechoslovakia. Will Michael and Juraj choose to capitulate to the Communist Party-approved program...
This chilling drama set in a seminary explores the tortuous choice students must make in 1980 totalitarian Czechoslovakia. Will Michael and Juraj choose to capitulate to the Communist Party-approved program the seminary tutors try to shape them into or endure draconian surveillance by the secret police?
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Poppy Field by Eugen Jebeleanu
2020, Drama, 81 min

Poppy Fields follows the life of gendarme Cristi as he tries to navigate his pluralistic identity as a gay man in a macho, hierarchal workplace and increasingly religious society. While...
Poppy Fields follows the life of gendarme Cristi as he tries to navigate his pluralistic identity as a gay man in a macho, hierarchal workplace and increasingly religious society. While his long-distance boyfriend visits Bucharest, Cristi is ordered to deescalate a homophobic protest at a local movie theater. In turn, Cristi struggles with his own inner demons and how his largely secretive double-life affects those he loves most.
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Holy Fatherby Andrei Dăscălescu
2020, Documentary, 85 min

Andrei and his girlfriend, soon to be parents, are both looking for role-models they have never had in their own lives. Holy Father presents a story of reconciliation, taking care...
Andrei and his girlfriend, soon to be parents, are both looking for role-models they have never had in their own lives. Holy Father presents a story of reconciliation, taking care of unfinished business, parenthood, healing wounds from growing up in a broken family to rewrite the history and break the pattern. The documentary is emotional, powerful, insightful and inspiring, capturing Andrei’s search for his long-lost father who became a monk on Mount Athos in Greece.
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Kids Rockby Claudiu Mitcu
2021, Documentary, 88 min

Claudiu Mitcu’s documentary Blană Bombă (Kids Rock) follows four boys between 11 and 13 years old, members of the rock band Blană Bombă for an entire year. In this coming-of-age film, the brave Nicholas...
Claudiu Mitcu’s documentary Blană Bombă (Kids Rock) follows four boys between 11 and 13 years old, members of the rock band Blană Bombă for an entire year. In this coming-of-age film, the brave Nicholas Butacu (drums), Rareș Stănescu (guitar), Rareș Rădulescu (bass guitar), and Zoran Ion Stănescu (lead singer) are observed both on the path of artistic transformations and on the road from childhood to adolescence. Warmly received by adolescents as well as by the public at large, the documentary was invited to Transylvania IFF and to Alba Iulia Music and Film Festivals as well as to prominent concert halls in Romania.
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Wild Romaniaby Dan Dinu & Cosmin Dumitrache
2021, Documentary, 123 min

This exquisitely filmed award-winning documentary, 10 years in the making, shares the abundance and beauty of Romania’s natural diversity above and below water, in forests and wetlands, through the seasons,...
This exquisitely filmed award-winning documentary, 10 years in the making, shares the abundance and beauty of Romania’s natural diversity above and below water, in forests and wetlands, through the seasons, in day and night. It focuses on the Carpathian Mountains and Danube Delta enhanced by a sweeping musical score. We are challenged to preserve and steward this treasure for future generations.
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Salix Capreaby Valeriu Andriuță
2018, Short, 30 min

Salix Caprea (“Goat Willow” tree) is the type of tree that was supposed to cover a large meadow area in a small village in the Republic of Moldova. As part...
Salix Caprea (“Goat Willow” tree) is the type of tree that was supposed to cover a large meadow area in a small village in the Republic of Moldova. As part of a donation from foreign investors, a couple of thousands of trees were planted by the Americans. After a couple of years, during a visit along with delegation from the state, they wanted to see the growth of the trees. In a comedic investigation, the mayor and the police officer discovered the area all empty and the “goat willow” trees were all gone, eaten by…the goats.
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The Dead Nation by Radu Jude
2017, Documentary, 83 min

In this documentary essay, Radu Jude juxtaposes Romania’s fascist past via the experience of Legionnares, as well as the country’s increased anti-Semitism during the WWII. Using excerpts of Jewish doctor...
In this documentary essay, Radu Jude juxtaposes Romania’s fascist past via the experience of Legionnares, as well as the country’s increased anti-Semitism during the WWII. Using excerpts of Jewish doctor Emil Dorian’s diary written during the same period, Dead Nation highlights the disparity between the Jewish experience during the war as a victim, and the political propaganda of the war’s perpetrators.
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Cradleby Paul Mureșan
2020, Animated Short, 4 min

The young director Paul Mureșan’s short animation Cradle touches people’s hearts as it reveals how much damage long-lasting wounds can do if left unaddressed. The powerful, darkened graphic, accompanied by...
The young director Paul Mureșan’s short animation Cradle touches people’s hearts as it reveals how much damage long-lasting wounds can do if left unaddressed. The powerful, darkened graphic, accompanied by the suave, almost whispering music of a lullaby, depict the consequences of domestic abuse and alcoholism. Launched in 2020, Muresan’s animation has already won three major awards: in 2020 it was selected at Warsaw IFF and at Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, and in 2021 received the Special Mention and the Best Short Film award at Transylvania IFF.
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I Am Dorinby Valeriu Andriuță
2020, Short, 23 min

Morale battle, dilemmas in assuming someone else’s identity to take the final exam in earning a bachelor’s degree, this is Dorin’s ethical struggle. The night before the exam is filled...
Morale battle, dilemmas in assuming someone else’s identity to take the final exam in earning a bachelor’s degree, this is Dorin’s ethical struggle. The night before the exam is filled with twists and turns, negotiations, losing sleep and getting into promiscuous situations as a preamble of the day of the exam.
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Waiting for Augustby Teodora Ana Mihai
2014, Documentary, 88 min

Georgiana assumed a mother figure role for her six siblings, while their mother was in Italy as a migrant worker to provide financially for the family. Fifteen and the head...
Georgiana assumed a mother figure role for her six siblings, while their mother was in Italy as a migrant worker to provide financially for the family. Fifteen and the head of the household, that is one of the real stories of many others caught up in making life work, captured beautifully by Teodora Ana Mihai, who wished to tell “the story behind the story”.
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31 Hoursby Claudiu Mitch
2021, Short, 21 min

Ștefan, the only surgeon available, takes on one final patient after working a 31-hour shift. In what should have been a simple procedure the 8-year old boy dies on the...
Ștefan, the only surgeon available, takes on one final patient after working a 31-hour shift. In what should have been a simple procedure the 8-year old boy dies on the table. In this powerful short, the corrupt Romanian healthcare system is put under close scrutiny upon the backdrop of sorrow, payoffs and threats.
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Fragileby Ioana Mischie
2021, Documentary Shorts, 60 min

Fragile, Oana Mischie’s creative documentary, gives voice through the amazing interpretation of actress Ioana Flora, to several Romanian women who suffered abuse and trauma. Written by Ioana Flora in collaboration...
Fragile, Oana Mischie’s creative documentary, gives voice through the amazing interpretation of actress Ioana Flora, to several Romanian women who suffered abuse and trauma. Written by Ioana Flora in collaboration with Rucsandra Pop, the script compiled real stories under one theme: “women are not made to be broken.” An accomplished actress and gifted creator, Ioana Flora impersonates different characters with kindness and respect, understanding and empathy. Conceived both as a mini-series and as a feature film in the form of an anthology, this ingeniously created gem won the Fulbright Alumni Grant and was co-financed by the US Embassy in Bucharest and 8 nonprofit associations in Romania.
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The Exit of the Trainsby Radu Jude & Adrian Cioflâncă
2020, Documentary, 175 min

In Radu Jude’s latest documentary film, he explores the history of the Iasi pogrom through written testimonials and images of the Iasi Jewish community. Given that this event has often been...
In Radu Jude’s latest documentary film, he explores the history of the Iasi pogrom through written testimonials and images of the Iasi Jewish community. Given that this event has often been minimized or denied altogether, recollecting the horrific violent acts during the pogrom and the actions of both civilians and the Romanian military is no small feat. However, the film is not as straight-forward as it may seem- as the images are not necessarily of the victim or their family of the voice-over. In collaboration with historian Adrian Cioflâncă, Jude explores how collective memory is shaped and can also be distorted.
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Chers Amisby Valeriu Andriuță
2017, Short, 20 min

A school age child is waiting anxiously outside the school in the cold weather. He is waiting for his mother to pick him up and he is waiting for his...
A school age child is waiting anxiously outside the school in the cold weather. He is waiting for his mother to pick him up and he is waiting for his “verdict”. Inside, the staff and teachers, in a school council meeting, are discussing issues concerning operations and preparation for the winter holidays. Real issue of a poor small village school, low budget, mother struggling to pay for food, embarrassed by her son’s actions.
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No Singing After 8by Alex Pintică
2021, Musical Short, 20 min

In this delightful short musical, Andrei and Roxana yearn for some spice in their romantic lives so invite another attractive couple over for dinner. A disgruntled neighbor returns throughout the...
In this delightful short musical, Andrei and Roxana yearn for some spice in their romantic lives so invite another attractive couple over for dinner. A disgruntled neighbor returns throughout the evening to enforce the “no singing after 8” rule in their apartment block.
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The Pastor's Womenby Oana Tenter
2019, Documentary Short, 27 min

The vibrant world of Pentacostal Roma in Romania is seldom seen outside that community. This short documentary explores the life of a pastor’s wife as she works tirelessly for her...
The vibrant world of Pentacostal Roma in Romania is seldom seen outside that community. This short documentary explores the life of a pastor’s wife as she works tirelessly for her family and to improve her Roma community. She supports them all as a pillar of courage, love and hope. We see, too, this life from her six daughters’ perspectives.
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The B Mouseby Ioachim Strobe
2021, Animated Short

In the quiet city of Genopolis, Dr. Fronius, a professor of psychology, begins a series of experiments, intending to overturn Darwin's theory.
In the quiet city of Genopolis, Dr. Fronius, a professor of psychology, begins a series of experiments, intending to overturn Darwin's theory.
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GuestsRadu MunteanRadu Muntean graduated from the Theater and Film Academy in Bucharest in 1994.

Filmography:
-2001 - FURIA / THE RAGE Best Film Debut Award by The Romanian Cineastes Union and the award for the Best Cinematography at the Transilvania International Film Festival.
-2006 - HÎRTIA VA FI ALBASTRĂ / THE PAPER WILL BE BLUE In Competition, Locarno International Film festival, Awards at festivals like Sarajevo IFF, Eurasia, Las Palmas IFF, Cottbus IFF and Festival International de Film Francophone de Namur.
-2008 - BOOGIE was selected for the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes -2010 - MARȚI, DUPĂ CRĂCIUN/ TUESDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS Official Selection of Cannes Film Festival, in Un Certain Regard section. The film was then sold in more than 30 countries and received awards in festivals in Sarajevo, Mar Del Plata, Gijon, Namur, Essone, Bastia.
-2011 - VORBITOR / VISITING ROOM, a documentary produced by HBO Romania and co-directed with Alexandru Baciu. -2015 - UN ETAJ MAI JOS/ ONE FLOOR BELOW Official Selection of Cannes Film Festival, Un Certain Regard section. The film was then selected in other important film festivals like TIFF Toronto, London BFI, Karlovy Vary, Viennale, Rio IFF, Melbourne IFF, Seville European Film Festival(Best Actor and Best Screenplay).
-2018 - ALICE.T - In Competition, Locarno International Film festival. Award for Best Actress
-2021 - ÎNTREGALDE - Director’s Fortnight in Cannes, Toronto International Film Festival, New York Film Festival, Busan IFF
Vlad IvanovInternationally acclaimed actor Vlad Ivanov will be one of our special guests on November 13, at 10 am PDT on zoom. Winner of the LA Critics Award for his brilliant portrayal of Dr. Bebe in 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (Cristi Mungiu), Vlad Ivanov’s versatility has established him as one of Europe’s great character actors. It’s his ability to portray both the kindly neighbour-next-door character and the deceptively evil one that marks him out as a special actor. In 2005, Vlad was awarded a Medal For Cultural Merit, presented by the President of Romania.

Other notable films include Police, Adjective (Corneliu Porumboiu), Tales From The Golden Age (Hanno Hofer); The Concert (Radu Mihaileanu); The Whistleblower (Larysa Kondracki) and Principles of Life (Emilian Velicanu). He featured in three films in the 2016 Cannes Film Festival: Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann, Graduation (Cristi Mungiu) and playing the role of Samir in Dogs (Bogdan Mirică). Vlad recently appeared as Cristi in Palme D’Or-nominated film The Whistlers.
Valeriu AndriuțăValeriu Andriuță is a Romanian director, actor and script writer. In 2016 Valeriu embarked on his directorial project, a trilogy of shorts inspired by Moldova, his birthplace. His directorial debut was Chers Amis in 2017, a short film selected for a large number of festivals. It won numerous awards including ADAMI Media Prize for diversity and was Nominated for Best Short Film at GOPO Awards. The second part of his trilogy, Salix Caprea, followed and won The Moldavian Film Union Award. I am Dorin, his latest project, brings his Moldavian trilogy to an end, this short was premiered at 42th International Moscow Film Festival in 2020. Last but not least, Valeriu is best-known for his part as the priest in Cristian Mungiu's Beyond the Hills (2012). He appeared in most of Cristian Mungiu's films, whilst also being cast in projects for important directors such as Sergei Loznitsa, Florin Serban, Ercan Kesal, Pavel Lungin, Marian Crisan and Daniel Sandu (HBO Series - Tuff Money).

Filmography as director:

Chers amis | 20 MIN, short (2017) | Romania

Salix Caprea | 30 MIN, short (2017) | Moldova

Just one more | 15 MIN, short | Romania

I am Dorin | 23 MIN, short | Moldova/Romania

Selective filmography as actor:

Love 1, Dog - by Florin Serban, Sarajevo IFF 2018

Donbass - Sergei Loznitsa, Un certain regard, Cannes 2018

A Gentle Creature - by Sergei Loznitsa, Official Selection/ Cannes 2018

Graduation by Cristian Mungiu, Cannes 2018

Orizont by Marian Crisan, Locarno IFF 2015

Beyond the Hills by Cristian Mungiu, Cannes 2012

Occident by Cristian Mungiu, Cannes 2002
Marian CrișanMarian Crișan was born on the 8th of September, 1976, in Salonta, West Romania. He received his bachelor Degree in Film and TV Directing at UNATC Bucharest in 1999. He directed the short films “Family Portrait” - 2006, “Amateur” - 2007 and “Megatron” - 2008. The latter, “Megatron”, won the Palme d’OR for Best Short Film at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, 61th edition. In 2010, his first feature film “Morgen” won the Special Jury Prize at the 63rd Edition of the Locarno Film Festival, Best Director and FIPRESCI award at the 51st Thessaloniki Film Festival and was the Romanian entry for the 84th Academy Awards®. In 2012, his second feature film “Rocker” was premiered at the 60th edition of San Sebastian IFF. "Orizont", was screened in competition at Tallin Black Nights IFF., 2015 In 2016, he directed the TV mminiseries "Valea Muta/ The Valley of Silence" for HBO Europe. His last feature The Campaign (2020), premiered in Competition at Moscoww IFF, 42th edition and received the KeenEye Prize for Best film.
Andrei DăscălescuAndrei Dăscălescu is an established Romanian documentary film director, cinematographer and editor. His first two feature documentaries, Planet Petrila (2016) and Constantin and Elena (2008) have won prestigious awards (including awards at IDFA and Sarajevo Film Festival), have been selected in major international film festivals across the world (IDFA, San Francisco, Vancouver, Krakow, DocLisboa, Docaviv, Sarajevo, Montpellier etc.). Andrei was nominated 4 times and won "Best Documentary Award" in 2018 at the Gopo Awards (the Romanian equivalent to Academy Awards) with his documentary, Planet Petrila. His third documentary, Holy Father (2020) premiered at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where it won the Jury Award. It also won the Audience Award at Astra Film Festival (Sibiu, Romania), the Best Director Award at Qara Film Festival (Almaty, Kazakhstan) and has been screened at festival such as Black Nights Tallinn, Magnificent 7 Belgrade, Go East Wiesbaden, Trieste Film Festival, Zagreb Dox and others). He is the founder and owner of FilmLab production company since 2007.
Oana GiurgiuA law and journalism graduate, Oana Giurgiu directed television documentaries before working in film on Cristi Puiu’s 2005 Cannes Un certain regard winner, “The Death of Mr Lăzărescu” and then on Kornél Mundruczó’s 2008 Cannes FIPRESCI winner, “Delta”.

She produced three of Tudor Giurgiu’s films: “Love Sick” (Berlinale 2006, Panorama); the 2012 Romanian box office hit “Of Snails and Men” (Warsaw IFF); and “Why Me?” (Berlinale 2015, Panorama). She also produced Peter Strickland’s “Katalin Varga” (Berlinale 2009, Silver Bear, European Discovery of the year at European Film Academy Awards) and Cristi Puiu’s “Sieranevada” (Cannes 2016). Oana co-produced Hungarian titles “Eden”, dir. Agnes Kocsis (Rotterdam IFF 2020) and “Spiral” (in post-production), dir. Cecilia Felmeri and the Slovak “The Servants”, dir. Ivan Ostrochovsky (Berlinale 2020, Encounters), and the Turkish “Before two Dawns” (in post-production), dir. Selman Nacar (working progress awards at Meetings on the bridge, Istanbul IFF 2020, and Antalia 2019), produced the greatest Romanian box office hit in recent years, “Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time”, which received ten Gopo Awards in 2019.

After working on several television documentary productions, she made her directorial debut with a feature-length historical documentary, “Aliyah DaDa”, screened in Astra Sibiu, Jerusalem Jewish IFF, alongside other Jewish festivals and screenings worldwide, and recognized as Best Romanian Documentary at the Gopo Awards 2015, now she just launched her new documentary “Occasional Spies”, Special mention of the Jury at Astra Film Festival 2021.
Adrian CioflâncăAdrian Cioflâncă is a historian, director of the „Wilhelm Filderman” Center for the Study of Jewish History in Romania and a member of the Collegium of the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives. He is also a researcher with the "A. D. Xenopol” Institute of History (belonging to the Romanian Academy). He was a member of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania (2003-2004) and expert in The Presidential Commission for the Analysis of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania (2006), and a co-author of the Final Reports of the two commissions. Since 2005, he is a member of the Romanian Delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. A “Tziporah Wiesel” Fellow of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington (2009), between 2010-2012, he was a department director in The Institute for the Investigation of the Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile. Adrian Cioflâncă edited, in collaboration, eight volumes; the last one: “Discurs și violență antisemită în România modern” (Discourse and Antisemitic Violence in Modern Romania), Hasefer, București, 2020. He also authored studies in fields like the history of the Holocaust, history of communism, political violence, cultural history, the theory of history. Consultant for several movies and theatrical plays; co-director with Radu Jude of the documentary The Exit of the Trains (2020).

Cristina A. BejanCristina A. Bejan is an award-winning Romanian-American historian, theatre artist, and poet. A Rhodes and Fulbright scholar, she currently teaches history at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Bejan received her Masters and DPhil (PhD) in Modern History from the University of Oxford and her BA in Philosophy (Honors) from Northwestern. A playwright and spoken word poet (Lady Godiva), her creative work has appeared in the US, UK, Romania, and Vanuatu. Bejan runs the arts group Bucharest Inside the Beltway. She has published two books (history and poetry), a play in the anthology "Voices on the Move" (eds. Domnica Radulescu and Roxana Cazan), and 64 articles and the African continent introduction for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's "Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos Vol. 3."
Ivan OstrochovskýThe Slovak director Ivan Ostrochovský was born in 1972 in Zilina. After several documentary shorts and series, Ivan directed his feature documentary debut Velvet Terrorists (2013), which premiered at Berlinale 2014, where it won the Taggespiegel Reader's Award.

Ivan's feature debut, Koza (2015), celebrated its world premiere at Berlinale 2015. It was selected by the festival director to be a nominee for the Best First Feature Award. It was also shortlisted for the 2015 European Film Awards and was the Slovak Oscar Entry for 2016.

Ivan is also the co-writer of Censor, the latest project by Peter Kerekes, which was presented in the Works in Progress sections of Karlovy Vary IFF and Odessa IFF, winning awards for best project at both. His latest film Servants (2020) was presented in a World Premiere at the brand new Berlinale competition section Encounters. He is also a co-owner and producer at sentimentalfilm and Punkchart films.
Andrei GruzsniczkiGraduate of the National Film University in Bucharest in 1994, he became first AD of Romania's most acclaimed director Lucian Pintilie, for his Next stop Paradise and Niki and Flo. Also, he wrote and directed feature films, short films, and TV productions. His debut "The Other Irene" won The Main Award and FIPRESCI Award at CinePecs Moveast IFF 2008; was The Best Romanian Feature at Transylvania IFF 2009; Best Actor at the Festival International du Film d'Amour de Mons 2010. The second feature film, "Quod Erat Demonstrandum" got the Special Jury Award at Rome IFF in 2013. Andrei's third feature film "Zavera" was released in competition at Cairo IFF (2019). "No Rest for the Old Lady" – was selected at Glocal in Progress (2019) and presented at MIA Film Co-production market (2018); world premiere at Moscow IFF (2021).

“După 40 de zile” / “No Rest for the Old Lady” (2021)
“Zavera" (2019)
short film “O faptă bună” / “A Random Act of Kindness" (2015) “Quod Erat Demonstrandum" (2013)
“Cealaltă Irina” / “The Other Irene" (2008)
Ioana FloraOne of the most appreciated Romanian actresses, appearing in films, television, on stage, also having been awarded for many roles. Being a mother of two, Ioana has been actively involved in children’s performances, personal development workshops for both children and adults and training programs in film and theatre.
Ioana Mischie Ioana Mischie is a Romanian-born transmedia artist (screenwriter/director) and transmedia futurist, awarded for filmmaking, cinematic virtual reality, and innovative concepts. She has successfully collaborated as a writer/director with Channel 4 in the UK (for two doc webseries with a record of views in the UK) and with the Oscars-awarded Legende Films (for the short fiction 237 Years). Her short film, Cumulonimbus, was nominated at the Gopo Awards 2018 for Best Short Film and was selected by Gus Van Sant as a finalist of the Coppola Shorts. Co-founder and Head of Storyscapes, an NGO focusing transmedia storytelling and expanded narratives initiated in 2012. In between 2015 and 2020 collaborated as an arts-based research collaborator of CINETIc , an Eastern European center focusing on the interaction between neuroscience and groundbreaking audio-visual paths. Starting with 2020, the protagonist of this bio took a leap of faith to design a fresh transmedia initiative conceived as a transdisciplinary, trans-generational and trans-real hub.
Bogdan FarcașBogdan Farcaș is a film and theater actor. He starred in the film Malmkrog by renowned director Cristi Puiu, which won many awards at various film festivals. You can also see him in international productions such as Walking with the enemy, Backdraft 2, The Hard way. Bogdan received the Special Jury Award for Best Actor (which he shares with co-star Dragoș Dumitru) when Unidentified premiered at the Warsaw International Film Festival.
Bogdan George ApetriA former lawyer in Romania, Bogdan George Apetri moved to New York where he graduated from Columbia University's Film Program with an MFA degree in Film Directing. His student films screened and won awards at prominent short film festivals across the world (Clermont-Ferrand, Rotterdam, Palm Springs, Cottbus, Montreal, Aarhus, Rhode Island, Woodstock, etc). He was a National Finalist at the Student Academy Awards in 2006.

In 2010, he directed and wrote the feature film Periferic (Outbound). Funded in part by Romania's National Center for Cinema, the film was shown at some of the best festivals across the world (Locarno, Toronto, Rotterdam, New Directors/New Films) and won numerous international awards (Thessaloniki, Warsaw, Viennale) including the FIPRESCI Award (The International Federation of Film Critics Award) twice. It was picked up by MK2 in France.

In 2020 he directed his second feature film, Neidentificat (Unidentified). Awarded a special Jury Prize in Warsaw, it went on to gather a FIPRESCI Award at the TIFF Transylvania International Film Festival and the Grand Prize at the Anonimul Film Festival in Romania.

In 2021 he released his third feature film, Miracol (Miracle). It premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and was picked up by the prestigious Memento International Sales film company.
Cosmin DumitracheCosmin Dumitrache, videographer with over 15 years of experience, joined the project Wild Romania in 2014 and along with Dan Dinu founded NTD Film, under whose direction he produced several films, some of which were selected or won at film festivals around the world. Over time he also filmed for large productions which aired on NatGeo Wild. He is a frequent collaborator of environmental NGOs that he worked alongside with on various conservation and education projects.
Dan DinuDan Dinu has been photographing nature for over 20 years, having dedicated half of this period on the project Wild Romania. He is the founding member and president of Forona (Nature Photographers’ Organization in Romania) and a collaborator with many nature conservation NGOs. In 2013 he started working on documentary films, being part in local productions as well as large projects for NatGeo Wild and BBC.
Bogdan Theodor OlteanuWithout any formal education, Bogdan Theodor Olteanu followed a convoluted path to filmmaking. He was a rugby player at a top club in Romania, an investigation journalist at a leading daily newspaper, a sports marketing consultant, a political communication consultant. Meanwhile, he wrote short stories and founded a cultural magazine – SUB25.
His film and theatre work deals mainly with the ever-changing landscape of urban youth. He observes generations of young people in search of identity, caught between extreme libertarian values and a Balkan background. Born and raised in Bucharest, Bogdan places all of his stories in that city, the country capital and a melting pot of Russian, Oriental and Western European influences. His first feature, Several Coversations about a Very Tall Girl, was nominated four times for GOPO – Romanian Film Industry Awards:
Best Debut, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Silvana Mihai), Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Florentina Năstase), Young Talent (Tudor D. Popescu, editor).

Filmography:
2018, Câteva conversații despre o fată foarte înaltă / Several Conversations about a Very Tall Girl, feature film
2015, Dumneavoastră, tu / I do not know which Maria, short film
2015, Lampioane chinezești / Chinese Lanterns, short film
2014, Duminică dimineața / Sunday Morning, short film
Claudiu MitcuClaudiu Mitcu, born 1976 in Romania, graduated The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies. He worked as a editor for the public television station in Romania for 8 years, and in 2004 started with friends a production and post-production company, We are basca. He directed several documentaries, The Merry Circus and Australia produced by HBO Romania, The Network co-produced by Parada Film and HBO Romania, The Village called Sands, Two of us, Maria, Easter Memorial and produced documentary films Party and Contest in Ciupelnita, Dream Images, short films, Tie, Bad Penny, My Name is Costin, and co-produced the short film Kowalski and Ramona by Andrei Cretulescu awarded in Cannes 2015 at Semain de la Critique with the Canal + Award. He is also the director for Kids Rock (2021) and 31 Hours (2021).
Alina ȘerbanAlina Șerban is an independent Roma artist – award-winning actress, playwright, director and activist. After acquiring a drama degree at the Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in Bucharest, Serban attended the Tisch School of the Arts in New York and The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Some of her most important artistic achievements are: pioneering Roma feminist political theatre in Romania and becoming the first Roma woman director to have a play included in the permanent repertoire of a state theatre in Romania. For her main role in Gipsy Queen, Alina Serban earned the Best Actress Award at the Actors Guild Awards in Germany in 2020. She also starred in Alone at My Wedding and she became the first Romanian Roma actress to participate at the Cannes International Film Festival. She won several international awards, including Best Actress. As far as her film work is concerned, she made her debut in filmmaking with the short Letter of Forgiveness, the first film project about the Roma slavery, directed by a Roma. The film received a Special Mention at Transilvania International Film Festival and it is now in the international festival circuit. She also took part in the artistic decision making process as a script consultant for three European film projects focusing on the experiences of Roma women.
Raluca Negulescu-Balaci Raluca Negulescu-Balaci is the Executive Director of UiPath Foundation, a global non-profit organization, founded by UiPath in January 2019, to empower underprivileged children from Romania and India to reach their potential through equal access to quality education. Previously, Raluca coordinated comprehensive educational programs under the umbrella of the Policy Center for Roma and Minorities for 9 years. In 2007, she worked as a Junior Consultant in a World Bank-supported national program, focused on enabling 250 disadvantaged communities in Romania to keep up with fast-technological challenges. In 2013, Raluca was a Legislative Fellow in the US Department of State professional program “Building grassroots democracy in minority communities” and she received the Annual Human Rights Award of the Embassy of France in Romania, for her local women empowerment initiative – Mothers' Club. Raluca is a fellow of Aspen Institute Romania’s Young Leaders Program and a member of the Global Shapers Community, an initiative of the World Economic Forum.
Eugen JebeleanuEugen Sergiu Jebeleanu is a Romanian film and theatre actor, director. He was born in 1989 in Timisoara, Romania. He graduated from National University of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography. In 2007, he plays first role in the movie Cu un pas inainte. He works in Romania, Germany and France. Since 2010, he has been staging fables that deal with social issues, political and social subjects, in order to question the notions of social norms, identity and freedom. In 2010, he founded Compania 28 with Yann Verburgh. Within this company, between 2010 and 2015, he wrote and directed several shows. Since 2016, he has been associated with the National Theater of Sibiu. He recently took his first steps in cinema, in directing his first feature POPPY FIELD (2020). He currently also works with the Théâtre de la Ville for the Chantiers d'Europe and with the Actoral Festival.
Alina HaliliucAlina Haliliuc is Associate Professor of Communication at Denison University, where she teaches in the areas of public persuasion, rhetorical criticism, and cultural studies. Her scholarship examines how public language is implicated in subject-formation under conditions of socio-political change, such as post-communist Romania. She analyzes cultural texts ranging from public debates to museums and memorials, film, and popular music. Her work can be found in Text and Performance Quarterly; The Journal of Popular Culture; Communication, Culture & Critique; Film Criticism; Media and Culture Journal; Review of Communication; Gender Forum, as well as anthologies in rhetorical and cultural studies.
Mariangela Mihai Mariangela Mihai is a Romanian anthropologist and filmmaker whose work builds on decolonial, feminist, and sensory ethnographic methods to understand Indigenous resistance on the India-Bangladesh-Myanmar-China borderlands. Her research, filmmaking, and pedagogy, explore the challenges and promises collaborative mediamaking, poetry, autoethnography, and feminist filmmaking offer to epistemic and social justice. She is co-founder of Ethnocine, a feminist ethnographic filmmaking collective committed to an intersectional, decolonial, feminist lens that pushes the boundaries of non-fiction cinema. With Ethnocine, Mariangela co-produces Bad Feminists Making Films, a podcast featuring feminist filmmakers from around the world; and hosts academic panels, workshops, Webinars, and film symposia for students, faculty, artists and activists interested in using filmmaking for research and social justice. Her films have screened at international film festivals, universities, museums, and other public and art institutions in Athens, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Paris, New York, Yangon, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and San Jose. Select films include Nobel Nok Dah (2015), an intimate view into the lives of three refugee women from Burma, whose migratory paths cross in Thailand and eventually meet as they resettle in New York; and For My Art (2016), a two-channel video installation exploring the sensorial landscape of transition-era Burma through the figures three generations of women performance artists, and I Am A Whisper, My Dear (2021), an experimental documentary exploring Indigenous LGBTQ activism on the South/Southeast Asia borderlands. Mariangela holds a BA in Anthropology from Emory University, as well as a Master and PhD in Anthropology from Cornell University. Currently, she serves as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Global Media and Film Studies in the Culture and Politics Program at Georgetown University, where she teaches courses in Transnational Queer Mediamaking and Transborder Feminist and Indigenous Resistance.
