Paul Barbă Neagră (or Barbăneagră) (11 February 1929 – 13 October 2009) was a Romanian film director and writer who, starting in 1957, has directed short and medium-length documentaries on topics related to culture and the arts. In 1964, he defected and settled in France, where he also worked in the media (for

France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming. France 3 is structured as a Region ...

, and

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

Biography

Born in

Isaccea Isaccea () is a small town in Tulcea County, in Northern Dobruja, Romania, on the right bank of the Danube, 35 km north-west of Tulcea. According to the 2021 census, it has a population of 4,408. The town has been inhabited for thousands o ...

, he studied medicine and cinematography in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, graduating from the I. L. Caragiale Institute for Theater and Film Arts. Between 1957 and 1964, he worked for the film studios of

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

, and, during a visit to

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

(where he was attending the local film festival), sought

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

. He was awarded a first prize for the scenario of his film ''Versailles Palais-Temple du Roi Soleil'' ("

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, Temple of the

Sun King LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monar ...

") at the ''Festival International du Film d'Art'' (International Festival for Art Films). The film was the first in his series ''Architecture et Géographie sacrée'' ("Sacred Architecture and Geography"). To the same series belongs the documentary ''Mircea Eliade et la Redécouverte du Sacré'' ("

Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian History of religion, historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. One of the most influential scholars of religion of the 20th century and in ...

and the Rediscovery of the Sacred"). In 1990, he was awarded The French Grand Prix for Audiovisual Arts for his entire activity.Romania literara, no. 42, 23 October 2009 In 2004, he published with Félix Schwarz ''Symbolique de Paris: Paris sacré, Paris mythique'' (Les Éditions du Huitième Jour, 2004).

Footnotes

External links

FES festival – film agenda

Short bio

Paul Barbăneagră at Poliron.ro
* 1929 births 2009 deaths People from Isaccea Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people Romanian expatriates in France Romanian defectors Romanian film directors Romanian male screenwriters 20th-century Romanian essayists 20th-century Romanian screenwriters 20th-century Romanian journalists Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film alumni {{Romania-film-director-stub

Biography

See also

Footnotes

External links