Alexander Bălănescu and Phil Mulloy to close Anim'est 2010!

Alexander Bălănescu, one of the best known Romanian born musicians of the last decades, is closing Anim’est 2010 with an extraordinary recital performed on the Patria Cinema stage, right after the festival’s Closing Gala, on Saturday, October 16th, from 8 p.m. Bălănescu and the violin that made him famous worldwide will be accompanying live the consistent programme of short films signed by the guest of the fifth  Anim’est edition and, also, jury member for the Short Film and Feature Film sections- Phil Mulloy, one of the most prominent European filmmakers in contemporary animation.

This is not the first collaboration between Bălănescu and Mulloy: the British animator is one of the important directors Alexander Bălănescu has worked with, along with Peter Greenaway, Michael Winterbottom or Jean-Luc Godard. If the British musician born in Romania needs no introduction to music lovers around the world, Romanian cinema lovers are acquainted to him mostly through his impressive contribution as the music composer for director Cătălin Mitulescu’s feature film, Cum mi-am petrecut sfârşitul lumii (How I celebrated the end of the world).

Phil Mulloy owns a colourful collection of over 30 films awarded at international festivals. The Ten Commandments series created between 1994 and 1996, where the 10 commandments are being satire, received the Jury Award at the Vila do Conde International Short Film Festival and the Special Prize at the Hiroshima Festival. The Chain was produced in 1998 as part of the 30 animated short films made especially to support the 30 articles of the Human Rights Universal Declaration, and it also won the Jury Award at the Zagreb Animated Film Festival. The Anim’est audience will get to know the British director’s style on Monday, October 11^th, starting 2 p.m. at Patria Cinema, as well as on Tuesday, October 12^th, from 6:30 p.m., and will have the chance to talk to Mulloy at the masterclass he will be hosting at Union Cinema, on Tuesday, October 12^th, from 12 a.m.

Alexander Bălănescu was born in 1955 and began studying the violin at 7 years old, at the Bucharest Music School. He emigrate to Israel in 1969, continues studying at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem then leaves for the famous Trinity College in London and also for one of the most important universities for music: Julliard School in New York. He becomes part of different formulas serving avant-garde: Capricorn, Music Projects, Gemini, and starting 1979, becomes the leader of the renowned musical group Michael Nyman Band, touring and recording for 15 years. He writes music for ballets, theatre, live action and animated film, and collaborated on different occasions with London Contemporary Dance Theatre. Wanting to speak to the widest audience possible, in 1987 he founds Bălănescu Quartet. The Quartet joins lead musicians of the British avant-garde like Michael Nyman, Gavin Bryars or Philip Glass. The great response from the audience and the unconventional presentations of the music get the Bălănescu Quartet chosen to open on the Pet Shop Boys 1989 tour. They perform on the Wembley Stadium in front of 10.000 people. After signing with the most important label, Mute Records, right next to the names of Depeche Mode or Einsturzende Neubauten, Bălănescu Quartet start recording classical arrangements of the Kraftwerk hits for the Possessed album.

The Luminitza album (1994) holds a tribute to Balkan and Romanian music in particular. In 1995, Alexander Bălănescu records the soundtrack for the film Angels and insects by Philip Haas, with an orchestra of 15 musicians and Claire Connors as producer. He works with important artists in the pop-rock-electro area the likes of Dagmar Krause, David Byrne, Kate Bush, Spiritualized, and Goldfrapp.

Alexander Bălănescu’s repertory includes the modern works of Bela Bartok, contemporary works by Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and also, some by Duke Ellington. In the recent years, the violin player has been studying Bach’s sonatas and partitas. One of the most popular albums by Alexander Bălănescu is dedicated to Maria Tănase and was released in 2005 with a live presentation supported by multimedia artist Klaus Obermaier. In 2006, Alexander Bălănescu wrote the music for Cătălin Mitulescu’s acclaimed film debut, Cum mi-am petrecut sfârşitul lumii (How I celebrated the end of the world).