Absinthe magazine and Oakland University will co-sponsor the Absinthe Festival of New European Film and Writing on May 9 and 10 on OU’s campus in Rochester. The festival will present several recent feature films from Europe, a selection of short-films from Europe that screened at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, and short films produced by Oakland University students, along with readings by European and Detroit-area writers and translators. A full schedule of events is available at the Absinthe Web site.
Friday’s events will begin in the Oakland Center Lake Rooms at 7 p.m. with a presentation of short films from Europe that were recently shown at the Ann Arbor Film Festival. The Irish poet Eamonn Wall will then read selections of his poetry, which has been published widely in Ireland and in the U.S. The Belarusian poet Valzyhna Mort will also read poems from her collection. Her work has been translated into many European languages and has appeared in various literary magazines and anthologies.
A silent auction will also take place on Friday evening with proceeds to benefit the festival. The first 100 guests will receive a free copy of the current issue of Absinthe: New European Writing. Free dessert and drinks will be provided, and door prizes will be raffled off throughout the evening.
Saturday’s events, held in the Oakland Center’s Gold Rooms, will begin with a 10 a.m. presentation of short films by Oakland University students, followed immediately by a screening of the German film “Yella.”
At 12:30 p.m., lunch will be provided for festival attendees. Following lunch will be readings by the Detroit-area writers and translators Doris Runey, Keith Taylor, and Marilynn Rashid. Runey is a professor at Oakland University who published her book “A Cinematic Translation of Ionel Teodoreanu’s ‘Lorelei’: Creating a Film Script from a Classic Romanian Novel” last year. Taylor coordinates the undergraduate program in creative writing at the University of Michigan and has published eleven volumes that include collections of poetry and short fiction, edited volumes, and translations. Rashid teaches Spanish at Wayne State University. Her poems and translations have appeared in Marlboro Review, Nimrod International Journal, and Runes.
At 2 p.m., a screening of the Romanian film “The Way I Spent the End of the World” will be screened. The film has appeared at several film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival, and the Cannes Film Festival.
At 4:30 p.m., Polish poet Piotr Sommer, who has published several dozen books of poetry, literary criticism and anthologies, will read from his collection of poetry. The festival will conclude with a screening of the Russian film “The Island” at 7 p.m.
The Absinthe Festival of New European Film and Writing is supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and Oakland County Arts & Culture. For more information on the festival, visit the Absinthe Web site.
