14th edition of the International Literature Festival in Timisoara to kick off on October 16

The 14th edition of the International Literature Festival in Timisoara (FILTM) will take place between October 16 and 18, 2025, according to the filtm.ro website.Over the three days, 12 events are scheduled, to be attended by 23 guests from the country and abroad. Among the venues are the National Museum of Arts Timisoara (MNART), Iulius Mall, the Water Museum and the National Banatean Collegiate High School.The theme of this year's edition is "On the Edge of Fiction - Reality?" and it was chosen because "it seems unreal that in the 21st century, in Europe, Russia invaded Ukraine and kills innocent civilians, hits apartment blocks and historic buildings," says the chairmna of FILTM, writer Robert Erban.On the first day of the festival, Mihnea Maruta and communication specialist Oana Marinescu will talk about the future that scares and the past that seduces. On October 17, the topic will be "Europe. What awaits us? The Frontiers of Solidarity," a debate in which two renowned political commentators participate historian and professor Armand Gosu, along with Polish diplomat and writer Bogumil Luft. On October 18, at the National Museum of Artsin Timisoara, Robert Erban, as moderator, proposes a third debate between writers: "Where does the spark come from? Literary and Real Conflicts", about which the Ukrainian poet Iya Kiva, Timisoara prose writer Cosmin Leucuta and cultural journalist Victoria Cusnir from Moldova will have a conversation.The literature evenings, two of which are dedicated to prose and one to poetry, bring together 15 writers. On October 16, at the National Museum of Arts, the public has the opportunity to attend the meeting of well-known Icelandic author Sjon and Mircea Cartarescu, the most famous Romanian author internationally. Moderating the event will be journalist Victoria Cusnir, a journalist with Radio Chisinau. On October 17, at MNART, prose writers Ioana Nicolaie, Vlad Zografi and Iulia Gherasim will be the guests of writer and journalist Marius Chivu. Also on October 17, the poetry evening will take place, for the first time, at Czeck In-Iulius Mall Timisoara. "Fiction that gives value to reality" featuring Mircea Cartarescu and the invited poets of FILTM25 is the title suggested by the host of the evening, poet Razvan Tupa.FILTM is a project organized by the Aquatim Foundation in Timisoara, being financed by the City of Timisoara via the Project Centre.Founded in 2011, FILTM brings together writers from Timisoara and other areas of Romania, as well as important names in European and world literature. Guesting along the years have been Mircea Cartarescu, Gabriela Adamesteanu, Ana Blandiana, Andrei Plesu, Cristian Tudor Popescu, Attila Bartis (Hungary), Jan Koneffke (Germany), Wladimir Arsenjiewich (Serbia), Yuri Andruchowich, (Ukraine) or Ornela Vorspi (Albania).