cafebabel.com

Lowdown on Bulgarian cinema in 2011

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:28:09 -0000

Of the at least dozen films released in Bulgaria this year, two were screened at the Cannes film festival whilst seven were backed by the national film council. Here’s hoping for a better 2012

Post-communist underground: Budapest 'ruin pubs' threatened with closure

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:00:00 -0000

For two decades the Hungarian capital's delapidated yards have become its hottest alternative venues in the form of retro gardens and pubs. That's about to come to an end thanks to a stricter law set in place after a tragic episode at the beginning of 2011 by local right-wing authorities, and dutifully followed by conformist residents

Party burnout in Paris, so go to Berlin

('Ellie Banks',) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:30:16 -0000

'Sssssh, go in quickly,' whispers the bouncer of the electro bar 4Elements on the Place de la Republique. The lights are out in the flat above. It is 11pm, a Saturday evening in Paris. The one-time nightlife mecca of Europe is turning into a sleepy little town, a trend that threatens to continue

Phil Stumpf: anaesthetist by day, DJ by night

('Alexandra Baxter',) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:29:45 -0000

Living in France for the last decade has allowed the German, 35, to be more 'exotic'. But the capital is too expensive to allow an underground culture to manifest itself, he says

Gianluca Costantini: 'the main topic of the comic underground was sex - now it's politics'

('Michelle Williams',) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:47:50 -0000

Gianluca Costantini, 37, is one of the focal points of the Italian and European comic world. He is also both an artist and an editorial director; with his Inguine Mah!gazine, created in collaboration with Electra Stamboulis, he is at the heart of all things 'underground comic'

Subculture: sexes, hairdos and jeans in Iran

('Andrew Christie',) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:00:00 -0000

1 April is Islamic Republic Day, a national holiday in Iran. Thirty years after the Islamic revolution, an unpopular government is once again struggling with a dissatisfied young population. However, the Iranian resistance against its own regime has no strategy behind it, only tactics. A portrait of the mood in the land of the red squares

Richard Adams, Britain's father of fair trade

('Anna Patton',) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:26:34 -0000

The Fairtrade movement has come a long way since its humble beginnings, when two students began importing fruit and vegetables from India. As Fairtrade Fortnight sees over 10, 000 events held across the UK, we speak to one of its founding fathers

David Cerny: 'president Klaus is a d**k'

('Hanna Sankowska',) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0000

We met the politically engaged sculptor, 40, in 2007. Labelled by many as 'the scandal maker', he is back in 2009 to pinpoint the Czech presidency of the EU with his installation of national stereotypes at the European parliament, alleged to be a hoax

Counter-culture: Sonic Youth tour Europe

('Susannah Readett-Bayley',) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:22:25 -0000

The Sonic Youth etc.: Sensational Fix exhibition has been in France since 18 June. The European museum tour brings with it the chance to experience the non conformist experimental rock group's multidisciplinary pursuits first-hand

Photos: metro culture in Budapest

('Pedro Pic\xc3\xb3n',) — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:00:00 -0000

You can’t evade the underground in everyday life in Budapest, which has the second oldest metro system in Europe after London

4x4s: urban penis substitutes

('John Smith',) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0000

As night falls across cities in Europe, including here in Lyon, 'eco-guerillas' deflate four-wheeler car tyres in a revolt against a lifestyle which they find scandalous

Traffic jams go on in Vilnius

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Cities are home to more than half the world's population, whilst EU urban congestion causes 40% of CO2 emissions, according to the European parliament ...

Situationism: ideas in conflict

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0000

Rue de Seine, Paris 1952. ‘Never work’ is chalked on a wall. Two words about the philosophy of the 'Situationists' who transformed May 1968 and who still inspire activists today

Tecktonik - arm-splaying, mullet hair dance craze

('Annika Thornton',) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0000

TCK. Three letters that stand for a phenomenon: tecktonik. Similar in style to electro, it has been a sensation amongst teenagers in France, Belgium and Holland over the last six months - and is also a registered trademark

Hitch-hiking from Brussels to Berlin

Wed, 09 May 2007 04:34:00 -0000

A journey through Belgium, Germany and their citizens image of Europe

Beer over Gaudi

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 12:00:00 -0000

In Barcelona, unlicensed street performers, sleeping on park benches and drinking and urinating on its streets is illegal. How has the civic by-law affected society one year on?

Digging deeper on line M4 in Budapest's metro

('Nils Elzenga',) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 12:00:00 -0000

In 1896, Budapest welcomed the first metro line on the European mainland. Well over a century later, and the Hungarian capital’s public transport network desperately needs upgrading.

Eco-marketing in a shrinking global economy

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 12:00:00 -0000

Europeans politicians are catching onto the voters’ awakening interest in the environment. Is ecology compatible with politics?

Meeting Middle Eastern challenges

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 12:00:00 -0000

Water shortages and technological underdevelopment are ruffling feathers in Arab countries. The Euro-Arab Conference on Environment, from November 27 - 29 in Kuwait, tries to smooth them out

Squabbles and wrangles in the Muslim world

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 07:29:00 -0000

Despite a population of 15 million Muslims in Europe, stereotypes are still strong: Islam = terrorism. Muslim organisations fail to tackle the identity crises that destabilise their communities