The director, writer, screenwriter, scenographer and graphic designer Cristian Pepino died, actor Ştefan Craiu announced on Sunday, February 22.
“If you say puppet theater, you say Cristian Pepino. Director, teacher, friend, parent for many generations, lover of art, with a good soul and a lot of humor. That’s how I met him, surrounded by people and disinterested in everything that is petty in our profession.
Do you remember when a student confessed that he had never seen the sea, then you got your hands on the phone and called Alifantis to go to the sea with all of us that night, luckily Alifantis had a concert in another city and we stayed at the “library”.
This was Mr. Professor, he gave everything for his students. Have a nice day, Mr. Professor, I’m glad to meet you”wrote Ştefan Craiu on his Facebook page, according to Agerpres.
And the writer Ana Barton sent a farewell message.
“And it was Cristi. Cristian Pepino. Cristi, the great artist, was born with us. The director, the writer, the screenwriter, the scenographer, the graphic designer, the good friend and a lot of people. Cristi, the man who laughed to see his own laugh. The man who shared his art with all those who loved art.
Today, Cristi ascended to the Lord, with his goodness, with his light. He is home now. Thank you for the gifts, Cristi, we keep them in our hearts, as well as your memory. See you later, good soul“, wrote Ana Barton on the social media page.
On October 21, Cristian Pepino was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus by the UNATC Senate.
Cristian Pepino was an important personality of the puppet and marionette theater in Romania, former university professor at the Puppet – Marionette Section of UNATC, known for his activity as a director in the animation theater.
He directed over 120 animated theater shows, and for most of them he collaborated with his wife, scenographer Cristina Pepino (1951 – 2013).
Among the awards and distinctions obtained are:
- The Grand Prize at the PIF International Festival in Zagreb for the show “Metamorphoses according to Ovid“, Puppet Theater from Constanta;
- The directing award and the excellence award for the best puppet show – at the Golden Magnolia Festival in Shanghai, for the show “Pinocchio” – Colibri Theatre, Craiova;
- The prize for the entire activity, Gulliver Festival, Galaţi; Knight’s Order of Merit – 2002;
- The excellence award for the entire activity conferred by the Ministry of Culture – 2003;
- UNITER special prize for puppet theater – 2004;
- Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Arts in Târgu-Mureş – 2009.
