The winners of Suns Europe 2018

JANSKY’s electroverse wins 2018 edition of Suns Europe

The Audience Award goes to Martina Iori. Basque film director Asier Altuna awarded with special prize


UDINE – Electroverse rather than electronic. With their futuristic music, Catalan band JANSKY won the 2018 edition of Suns Europe, the minoritized language arts festival that culminated last Saturday with its main musical event at Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine.

 

THE WINNERS The technical jury decided to award duo band JANSKY from Mallorca “for their originality and their ability to combine poetry and innovation” (awarded by Sabrina Rassom, vice-president of NPLD). The performance turned the theatre into a club, with electronic rhythms skillfully blended with Jaume’s flute and Laia’s voice. Runner-ups were Yr Ods, from the Welsh indie rock music scene and Martina Iori, from the Ladin community of the Fassa Valley. She received the Audience Award from the hands of Pietro Fontanini, Mayor of Udine. In a packed theatre (that demonstrated how musical production in minority languages is a real and powerful attraction for the city of Udine and beyond), Fontanini pointed out that “the success of Suns Europe really made some noise among those who don’t believe in regional languages. This project, that Radio Onde Furlane has been driving forward in Friuli to raise awareness of European minority languages and their music production, is something unique that must continue”.

 

THE BANDS – It was a fun and lively event staged at Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine, where the bands showed all their passion and their enthusiasm to perform in their native language. Among the artists on stage: Luna e un Quarto from Friuli, Dario Hess from Grisons, Laura Hoo from the Swedish minority of Finland, Espiño from Galicia, Rodeo from the Basque Country and Melissa Meewisse from Lower Saxony.

«The event has been fantastic, and the musical level of the performances as incredible as always – commented Leo Virgili, artistic director of the festival –. I’m not going to give any artistic opinion on the winner, I’d rather emphasize that all participants demonstrated to fully understood the spirit of Suns Europe: establishing relations, promoting exchange and sharing ideas».

 

SPECIAL AWARD – During the event organized by Cooperativa Informazione Friulana with the financial support of ARLeF – Agjenzie Regjonâl pe Lenghe Furlane, the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Municipality of Udine and Fondazione Friuli, Basque director Asier Altuna was awarded a special recognition. The award was presented by William Cisilino, the director of ARLeF, for Altuna’s outstanding 25-year career in audiovisual and cinema productions in which he used his ability to tell the stories of the Basque world with communicative strength, skill and originality. “It’s amazing to see how this Festival is going further and further, getting closer to the concept of Europe as a homeland that we all have in our hearts,” commented Cisilino. Once again, Suns Europe demonstrated how music is a common language among very different people who are brought together by a shared desire to express themselves in their native languages, yet in a modern, innovative and engaging way.

 

THE FESTIVALSuns Europe is a project of Cooperativa Informazione Friulana, with the sponsorship of ARLeF (Agjenzie Regjonâl pe Lenghe Furlane – Regional Agency for Friulian language), Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, Municipality of Udine, Fondazione Friuli and the Etxepare Basque Instituteù, in collaboration with Cooperativa Puntozero and other local and international organizations and under the auspices of the Council of Europe and NPLD – Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity.

For more information and the full programme of the event, please visit our website www.sunseurope.com and our Facebook page ‘SUNS Europe’.