14-07-2014

Romanian Minister of Culture Resigns

By
    Romanian Minister of Culture Resigns Kelemen Hunor

    BUCHAREST: The resignation of Kelemen Hunor, deputy prime minister and minister of Culture on 11 July 2014 has frozen activity of the Romanian Film Center which has been without a Council of Administration since 27 May 2014.

    Hunor was appointed in March 2014. His resignation was caused by political matters although his political party, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR/UDMR), will not leave the government.

    His resignation affects the activity of the Romanian Film Center because the minister of Culture appoints the Council of Administration, and the Council of Administration is responsible for almost everything in the Film Center, from granting money for film crews to attend festivals to signing the contracts for film production.

    “Without a Council of Administration we cannot do anything. I am waiting to sign the contract for Florin Piersic, Jr.’s The Summer Is Over/Vara s-a sfârşit, a feature which received a production grant in April 2014, I have a financing plan and everything, but without the Council of Administration I probably won’t be able to start shooting in August as planned,” producer Velvet Moraru from ICONProduction told FNE.

    Film production in Romania has already been delayed for more than a year due to the delayed grants contests. The last grants contest, the only one in 2013, announced its results in April 2014 and the producers cannot begin shooting without contracts signed with the Council of Administration of the CNC.a