June to November 2022
From summer to autumn, eleven events and some thirty guests in eight municipalities of Friuli: the European festival of performing arts in minority language renews itself once again.
UDINE – Art, fusion, talent, linguistic pluralism, creativity! Once again Suns Europe is all of this! The minority language arts festival – organized by Cooperativa Informazione Friulana, publisher of Radio Onde Furlane, with the financial support of Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, ARLeF – Agjenzie Regjonâl pe Lenghe Furlane, Municipaliy of Udine, and Fondazione Friuli, with the collaboration of the Etxepare Basque Institute and of other local and international public and private bodies, is ready to bring again to Friuli music, cinema, theatre and literature in the minority languages of the Old Continent. After a preview in collaboration with CEC (the screening at Cinema Visionario of Catalan film ‘Alcarràs’ – winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival – also in original language), the festival will start on 30 June, and will close on 26 November, as explained during the press conference held at the headquarters of the Autonomous Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in the presence of Pierpaolo Roberti, regional councillor in charge of minority languages; Fabrizio Cigolot, councillor for culture of the municipality of Udine; Eros Cisilino, chair of ARLeF – Regional Agency for Friulian Language; Carlo Puppo, chair of Cooperativa Informazione Friulana, and Leo Virgili, artistic director of the festival.
The eighth edition of Suns Europe will be a mash up of the original format, which used to take place between November and December, and the ‘new’, summer format required to face the pandemic. The festival will be touring again this year, involving eight municipalities of Friuli (Artegna, Cormons, Fagagna, Mortegliano, Moruzzo, Pozzuolo del Friuli, Romans d’Isonzo, Udine) in eleven events (and more to come in autumn!). At the moment some thirty guests are expected, but this is far from being the final number, as the lineup of artists performing at Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine on 26 November for the main concert has not been determined yet! The reason is simple: “We published the international call (https://www.sunseurope.com/it/suns-europe-bant-pe-sezion-musical-2022/) in the past few weeks and it will be open until 31 July,” explained Leo Virgili, “therefore we still need some patience to know the name of the artists and where they will come from”. However, there will be no shortage of international artists this summer, with guests coming from Occitania, Sardinia, Wales and the Basque Country.
“The Region supports the minority languages arts festival Suns Europe for its strategic value, with which it makes Friuli Venezia Giulia's identity recognizable beyond our borders,” stated the regional councillor for minority languages, Pierpaolo Roberti. “After two years of pandemic, the new formula combining events from June to November in a single programme is a sign of optimism and a sign of the high cultural value expressed by minority communities, which well explains the Region’s commitment to their valorisation and promotion”. The councillor also emphasised “the touristic value of the festival with which we will make our territory known beyond our borders and strengthen ties with linguistic communities from all over Europe in mutual understanding”.
ARLeF Chair, Eros Cisilino, recalled how “thanks to Suns Europe, this year again Friuli will become the centre of Europe” and how “we cannot but be proud of it”. “The Festival”, he continued, “is undoubtedly an artistic excellence at a European scale. For eight editions now, it has brought an enormous wealth of expression to our land and has made the values of multilingualism tangible in ways that are perhaps not considered ‘canonical’ – and for this very reason they are even more important. Thanks to the many forms of artistic expression that Suns Europe seeks to enhance, and thanks to the way in which it does so, this festival succeeds in speaking to the younger generations who can once again use their mother tongue in a perspective of exchange, creativity and modernity”.
“The city of Udine, in its role as the historical and cultural capital of Friuli and reference point for the second largest Italian minority language basin, is proud to host the opening act of the European Festival of minority languages Suns Europe,” said Fabrizio Cigolot, Councillor for Culture of the City of Udine. “The path of the recognition of these languages, which has always been particularly dear to this administration, and despite the great progress that has been made in recent decades, is still far from over. This is why I believe that an event of this kind, capable of involving dozens of artists and as many as eight municipalities in our territory, is an opportunity not to be missed to tackle again such a delicate issue as that of European regional languages and the right of speakers to use them even at an institutional level”.
“In a summer full of concerts and events, in addition to offering the public a taste of some of the best artistic productions in minority languages, we hope to also succeed in stimulating curiosity about the culture, history, and events of such communities” explained Carlo Puppo. “It is about opening a window on a plural, fascinating and lively Europe which is still too little-know and of which Friuli is also a fully-fledged part”.
"Over the past two years, halts and difficulties for cultural events have forced us to organize smaller events in cooperation with municipalities. Given the success of this formula, Cooperativa Informazione Friulana has decided to maintain a structure. We will reintroduce the “historic” winter concert at Teatro Giovanni da Udine” concluded Leo Virgili, “without giving up these important summer events”.
THE SUMMER PROGRAMME – Pursuing its mission – ‘Right to language, right to diversity’, which means working to “promote contemporary artistic productions in European minority languages with the aim of supporting the building of a different Europe, united in diversity, founded on rights, pluralism, respect and collaboration” – this year the opening act of the festival will be in the heart of Udine, with a Suns Friûl concert by Loris Vescovo in Piazza Libertà (at Teatro Palamostre in the event of rain) at 9.00 pm! The following day, the Visio Garden (Visionario, Udine) will host a talk with Occitan singer and activist Alidé Sans at 7.00 pm. Alidé will perform as a singer on 2 and 3 July, at 9 pm, in Villalta di Fagagna at Cjase di Catine and in Lavariano at Corte di via Canonica 25 (S. Paolino town square music hall in the event of rain) respectively. A few days later, on 7 July, it will be the turn of the musical project Meigama formed by Mauro Palmas and Frantziscu Medda, (Sardinia) performing at 9.00 pm at Forte di Santa Margherita del Gruagno, in the municipality of Moruzzo. Suns Europe will continue under the sign of music on 8 July, with the Welsh star Carwyn Ellis performing at 9.00 pm on St Martin’s Hill, in Artegna (at Teatro Lavaroni in the event of rain). On 9 July, always at 9.00 pm, Azienda Agricola Gradnik (Cormons) will host a double concert by Sardinian duo Meigama and by Franco Giordani with Davide Tomasetig. Carwyn Ellis will perform again at Corte Casa della Musica in Pozzuolo del Friuli (indoors in the event of rain) on 10 July, at 9.00 pm. Space will be given to the Basque Country on 13 July, with the presentation of the book Bestaldean with Jaione Dorai and Ernesto Prat (at Libreria Tarantola, Udine, from 6.00 pm), and on 14 July with a concert by Sara Zozaya in the library courtyard of Romans d'Isonzo, at 9.00 pm. The closing event of the summer programme is scheduled for 15 July at 9.00 pm in Piazza Libertà, Udine (Teatro San Giorgio in the event of rain), with a double act by Sara Zozaya and part of the musicians involved in the project “ Lotte del Cormôr” (Friuli): Simone Piva, Alvise Nodale, Nicole Coceancig, Fabrizio Citossi, Devid Strussiat, Guido Carrara & Lussia di Uanis, and Coro La Tela.
SUNS EUROPE – Suns Europe is the European festival of performing arts in minoritized languages (term for languages that are denied the possibility of being used in a normal and equal manner in all areas of daily life). Started in 2009 in Friuli, the multilingual heart of Europe, Suns (Friulian: sounds) was a music contest for minority communities in Alpine-Mediterranean Europe. The festival subsequently developed into Suns Europe (Friulian: sounds of Europe), a place of encounter and exchange between artists of minoritized language groups in Europe and a chance for all European communities to become aware of their linguistic rights, as well as the importance of cultural pluralism as a heritage, right, and opportunity for all, in Friuli and beyond. The festival is organized by Cooperativa Informazione Friulana, publisher of Radio Onde Furlane, with the financial support of Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, ARLeF – Agjenzie Regjonâl pe Lenghe Furlane, Municipality of Udine, Fondazione Friuli, and with the contribution of the Etxepare Basque Institute, of the associations Amîs da Mont Quarine and Damatrà, and of CEC Centro Espressioni Cinematografiche. It also avails itself of the collaboration of other local and international public and private bodies, such as the Municipalities of Artegna, Mortegliano, Moruzzo, Pozzuolo del Friuli, and Romans d’Isonzo, the association Amici del Teatro of Artegna, the Philharmonic Society of Pozzuolo del Friuli, Liberatorio d’Arte “Fulvio Zonch” of Romans d’Isonzo, Cas*Aupa in Udine, and the cultural associations Inniò, Babel (Sardinia) and Stichting REUR (Lower Saxony). Suns Europe has the merit of transforming Friuli into a crossroad of cultures and artists, by giving the right relevance to artistic productions of absolute quality.
Full programme and further information on the website www.sunseurope.com and on Facebook | Instagram |
SUNS EUROPE 2022 SUMMER EVENTS (Free entry for all events)
30 JUNE, 9.00 pm,
Loris Vescovo (Friuli) – Suns Friûl concert
Piazza Libertà, Udine (Teatro Palamostre in caso di pioggia)
01 July, 7.00 pm,
«È begut de libertat…» with Alidé Sans (Occitania-Aran) – talk
Visio Garden, Visionario, Udine
02 July, 9.00 pm,
Alidé Sans (Occitania-Aran) – concert
Cjase di Catine, Villalta di Fagagna
03 July, 9.00 pm,
Alidé Sans (Occitania-Aran) – concert
Corte di via Canonica 25, Lavariano (In the event of rain: “S. Paolino” town squre music hall)
07 July, 9.00 pm,
Meigama (Sardinia) – concert
Forte di Santa Margherita del Gruagno, Moruzzo
08 July, 9.00 pm,
Carwyn Ellis (Wales) – concert
St. Martin’s Hill, Artegna (in the event of rain: Teatro Lavaroni)
09 July, 9.00 pm,
Meigama (Sardinia) + Franco Giordani and Davide Tomasetig (Friuli)
Azienda agricola Gradnik, Cormons
10 July, 9.00 pm,
Carwyn Ellis (Wales) – concert
Corte della Casa della Musica, Pozzuolo del Friuli (in the event of rain: indoors)
13 July, 6.00 pm,
«Bestaldean» with Jaione Dorai and Ernesto Prat (Basque Country) – presentation
Libreria Tarantola, Udine
14 July, 9.00 pm,
Sara Zozaya (Basque Country) – concert
Library couryard, Romans d’Isonzo
15 July, 9.00 pm,
Sara Zozaya (Basque Country) + Cjançons dal Cormôr (Friuli) – concert
Piazza Libertà, Udine (in the event of rain: Teatro San Giorgio)
Ufficio stampa “Suns Europe”: Eleonora Cuberli | 340.3546890 | press.cuberli@gmail.com |