Arts and culture

Totem and taboo in Greek documentary cinema

28/01/2010 -  Irene Dioli

Documentary cinema in Greece: the reality of a cinematographic genre limited by the lack of producers and by themes that are still taboo. Interview with Rea Apostolides, producer and researcher

Kosovo: Music riots in Mitrovica

22/01/2010 -  Tatjana Lazarević Mitrovica

“The music by emerging bands tells of young people's bitterness for the surrounding world. Words are brutal, lyrics are cruel, and music soaks rebellion". A journey through the music scene in North Mitrovica and its young protagonists

Profession: documentarist

20/01/2010 -  Irene Dioli

Documentary cinema in Greece: theoretical debates, material conditions, and relationships with institutions according to director Anneta Papathanassiou. Our interview

Amos Oz: the art of compromise

26/01/2010 -  Francesco Martino Sofia

Amos Oz is one of the best-known names in world literature. An Israeli novelist, essayist, and political activist, Oz is a fervent supporter of the need to reach compromise in order to overcome conflicts. Our correspondent met him in Sofia

Lexical cleansing: Slavic toponyms in Albania (or out of?)

01/12/2009 -  Marjola Rukaj

At first people in Albania thought it was a joke, but politicians in that country have proposed the creation of a government commission to "Albanize" all place names of Slavic origin...and there are many of those. A commentary

East of '89

10/11/2009 -  Andrea Rossini

The memory of the communist era in Romania, questions about the revolution and the end of the Ceauşescu regime. An interview with Corneliu Porumboiu, screenwriter and director of the critically-acclaimed film "12:08 East of Bucharest"

Andy Garcia plays Saakashvili

26/11/2009 -  Tengiz Ablotia Tbilisi

Film director Renny Harlin started filming his new movie on last August's conflict, in Georgia. Besides the army and aviation, Andy Garcia and Val Kilmer will also take part in the filming

Punk save Ljubljana

23/10/2009 -  Stefano Lusa Capodistria

At the end of the Seventies when Yugoslav society was calm and predictable, punk was born in Slovenia and young people began to mock communism. Then came the death of Tito, the economic crisis, and the road to independence. A new contribution to our dossier "The long lasting '89".

Kosovo's cinema, a new beginning

15/10/2009 -  Veton Kasapolli Pristina

Glamour and red carpets, together with international star Vanessa Redgrave, characterised Pristina's first film festival. The goal? To launch the Kosovo brand on the international scene

Between music and poetry

01/10/2009 -  Arzu Geybullayeva Baku

Mugham is a symbol of Azerbaijan's traditional culture. Much more than music played with traditional instruments following a precise style, it is also poetry, inspiration, and improvisation

In the shadow of the wall

09/11/2009 -  Melita Richter Malabotta

The process of European reunification as a clash of opposing utopias, the thrilling night of 9 November, 1989 when the East and the West shook hands on the rubble of the Wall, and the reality that followed. An essay by sociologist Melita Richter.

Pseudo-Emigrant Cabaret

28/09/2009 -  Risto Karajkov Skopje

With their passionate, non-conventional music, theatrical contaminations, and growing domestic and international success, "Foltin" looks like the next best thing in Macedonian music. Osservatorio interviewed the group's singer and front-man Branko Nikolov

The Saxons' fragile treasure

22/09/2009 -  Cornel Ban

Part of a fragile and precious heritage, the Saxon villages of Transylvania are undergoing a dramatic transformation; the product of Romanian emigrant remittances and lack of official regulation. But with this transformation comes the risk of destroying an irreplaceable source of touristic and cultural potential

Rocking and rapping in Azerbaijan

10/09/2009 -  Onnik Krikorian Yerevan

Music in all three republics continues to be dominated by those singers and musicians who are subordinate to nationalist or predominant political interests. But rock and rap bands are starting to speak out, especially in Azerbaijan

Not a matter of taste

02/09/2009 -  Arzu Geybullayeva Baku

Among those who voted for Armenia's representative on the Eurovision song contest, which took place in Moscow last May, there were 43 people from Azerbaijan. A few weeks ago, the Azeri police interrogated them about why they voted the way they did

The Wall, the Walls

04/06/2009 -  Marjola Rukaj

In 1989, Fatos Lubonja was in jail serving time as a political prisoner. It was there that he received the first news of what was going on in Eastern Europe. In the beginning, it seemed as if what was going on would not have any impact in Albania. An interview

Eurovision opens new wounds in the Caucasus

22/05/2009 -  Onnik Krikorian Yerevan

Already notorious more for its political block voting than even its kitsch and glitzy musical entries, nothing could have prepared anyone for the controversy surrounding the three countries of the South Caucasus in this year's Eurovision Song Contest

Grozny Dreaming

16/01/2009 -  Roberta Bertoldi

A multiethnic orchestra with artists from different parts of the Caucasus; their dreams of performing in the tormented region and of demonstrating the possibility of peaceful coexistence. Our interview.

Lips, eyes, ears

30/07/2009 -  Davide Sighele

Michael studies Indo-European languages. Gianni is Arbereshe and teaches Albanian at the Calabria University. Monica is the first in Italy to have obtained a PhD in Albanology. A group of linguists and a journey in Albania through words, stately peaks, and places of borders

Serbian-Albanian Honeymoon

29/07/2008 -  Marjola Rukaj

'Honeymoon' will be the first Serbian-Albanian film co-production using the internationally famous Serbian director, Goran Paskaljevic, and the promising Albanian screenwriter and producer, Genc Permeti. An excellent contribution to the cultural cooperation between the two countries

The Exception Belgrade didn't see

27/06/2008 -  André Cunha

Few real exchanges of experiences occur between Belgrade and Pristina. One of the few recent attempts to break the isolation was "Exception", a retrospective of the contemporary art scene in Pristina. The exhibition ran in Novi Sad, but not in Belgrade, where extremist protestors violently obstructed it

The Old Bazaar

08/05/2008 -  Risto Karajkov Skopje

The Old Bazaar is the ancient heart of Skopje. Today it's but a pale remnant of what it once was: a bit dirty and dusty, but still brisk and dynamic. The Old Bazaar, though, is waiting for its next rebirth, and to gain back it's central role in the economic and social life of the city

The Loss of an Icon

07/11/2007 -  Risto Karajkov Skopje

Toshe Proeski, Macedonia's greatest pop star died in a tragic car accident, near Nova Gradiska in Croatia, on 16 October 2007. Macedonia lost not merely a star, but a humanist and a unifier, someone who could unify people Macedonians with Albanians, and former Yugoslavs, too.