BukFeszt Returns to Bucharest

Following the opening remarks by Aura Corbeanu, Vice President of UNITER, the floor was taken by István Gedő Bessenyei, Artistic Director of the Harag György Company of the Northern Theatre of Satu Mare and the newly elected president of the association. He introduced László Zsolt Lung, director of the Udvartér Theatre of Târgu Secuiesc, which recently joined MASZÍN, as well as Hunor Horváth, the newly appointed interim director of the Csiky Gergely Hungarian State Theatre of Timișoara. He also thanked the Romanian Theatre Association (UNITER) for supporting the event and hosting the press conference.

The president of MASZÍN emphasized that this year’s festival takes place during a special season, as the founders of the theatre association decided to establish the organization nearly ten years ago. According to Bessenyei, although BukFeszt is the youngest among the association’s festivals (following IFeszt and MAFeszt), it has become MASZÍN’s flagship event because it creates connections with the professional theatre community and festival audiences in the Romanian capital.

Pál Nagy, director of the Tomcsa Sándor Theatre of Odorheiu Secuiesc, highlighted the importance of the support offered by Romanian critics and AICT.ro, particularly the partnership through which they have undertaken the moderation of audience discussions following the performances. He expressed special thanks to Oana Cristea Grigorescu, president of the critics’ association, who for the second time has coordinated moderators from among the organization’s members for these important professional discussions.

Hunor Horváth spoke about the significance of overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers and praised the exploration and implementation of modern technical solutions. He underlined the “bridge” role played by Hungarian theatres in Romania between the two theatrical cultures and emphasized their importance in promoting interethnic dialogue.

According to the vision of Katalin Czvikker, manager of the Szigligeti Theatre of Oradea, the festival goes beyond being merely a Bucharest showcase of performances important to Hungarian cultural institutions. The space created by the festival can — and should — also become a platform for presenting the work and careers of young artists in the Romanian capital. This is an important objective for the MASZÍN association: the established framework must be capable both of communicating the professional development of member theatres and of introducing young talents and their creations to the Romanian theatre community.
Albert Veress, director of the Csíki Playhouse, spoke about the experiences of the previous three editions of BukFeszt, while László Zsolt Lung, representing the newly admitted member institution, the Udvartér Theatre of Târgu Secuiesc, shared both the joy and the organizational challenges connected to the theatre’s first participation in the festival.
Representing MASZÍN as executive director, Péter Stier, General Director of the Northern Theatre of Satu Mare, concluded the series of speeches by presenting the logistical and financial aspects of organizing the festival. He also provided information about ticket prices — audiences can expect ticket prices ranging from 60 to 80 lei, depending on seating — and about the progress of ticket sales. As he explained, the level of interest generated so far, despite the festival having been promoted almost exclusively through social media and only minimally in the press, demonstrates a growing demand for the festival, with audiences already eagerly anticipating the new edition.

The press conference concluded with remarks from Aura Corbeanu, Vice President of UNITER and host of the event, who praised the BukFeszt initiative in her capacity as supporter and partner and wished the organizers every success for the upcoming festival.

At the end of the event, Péter Stier personally thanked the partners and supporters of BukFeszt, while Aura Corbeanu presented the festival’s media partners.
The press conference ended with an informal discussion attended by the participating theatre directors and members of the press.