Dimitré Dinev Explained

Dimitré Dinev (Bulgarian: Димитър Динев) (born 1968 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian-born Austrian writer. He is best known for his play Kozha i nebe (Skin and sky), which controversially won the Askeer prize in 2007.[1]

Although he was born in Plovdiv, Dinev grew up and spent his childhood in the city of Pazardzhik. He attended the Bertold Brecht school of German language until his graduation in 1987. It was here that he discovered and cultivated his love of writing and German literature.

Dinev left Bulgaria in 1990 due to the poor economic situation that arose in the country after the fall of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. At this time he migrated to Austria, where he began his new life in Traiskirchen; a city just south of Vienna that served as a registration point for many immigrants to the country. In Vienna, Dinev studied philosophy and Russian language, which he financed by doing part-time work.

Since 1991, Dinev has built his career as an author, poet and screenwriter, working almost exclusively in the German language; a departure from his previous works, which had been written in his native Bulgarian.[2]

Dinev is also an outspoken advocate for immigrants and refugees in Austria.[3] A popular theme with Dinev is the experience and plight of transnational migrants, which he expresses in his stories. These are often based on his own experience fleeing from poverty in his native land and adapting to life in a foreign country.

Literary works

Dimitré's first publications were published in the Bulgarian, German and Russian languages in 1986.[4] [5] Since 1992 German-language screenplays, translations, plays and prose have been regularly published. Most of his literary works are short stories, some of which are published in books like "Ein Licht über dem Kopf" (A Light Over the Head)[6] and some in newspapers or magazines. After various short stories and essays (for example "Barmherzigkeit", a collection of four essays about the German term Barmherzigkeit ("mercy"), he had his international literary breakthrough with the publication of the Familienroman "Engelszungen" (Angel's Tongues),[7] first published by Franz Deuticke in 2003.

"Engelszungen" tells the story of two Bulgarian families throughout most of the 20th Century, the Mladenovs and the Apostolovs. Both families are (mostly) from a little town in Bulgaria and while the various family members try to live their lives, their stories cover much the same ground over three generations, with almost no moments of face-to-face encounters, maybe two in the entire book; for example when Iskren and Svetljo bump into each other at the central cemetery in Vienna after escaping from Bulgaria, where the "Engel der Flüchtlinge" (angel of refugees) is waiting for them…

The novel was critically acclaimed. Works by Dimitré Dinev have now been translated into fifteen languages[8] and his films have been very successful. In 2011, his screenplay "Spanien" (Spain) was adapted as a motion picture directed by Anja Salomonowitz starring Tatjana Alexander, Gregoire Colin, Lukas Miko and Cornelius Obanya. It was released in Austria on 23 March 2012 after being the opening movie at the Berlin International Film Festival 2012 .[9]

Dinev has received numerous awards and literary prizes.

Themes and style

Source:[10]

Against the background of his own past, Dinev writes about people who suffer under communism and capitalism (Bulgaria), about those who try to escape, those who live on the margins of society, those who sail close to the wind: refugees, emigrants, immigrants, unemployed and homeless people, those who just want to live their dream one day: "to live (Austria), love and to be loved by others" ("Spas sleeps", in: Vienna tales, first edition. Contributors: Constantine, Helen; Holmes, Deborah. 2014)[11] [12]

Dinev's stories are filled with grief, sadness, distress and pain but never without his particular sense of humour and hope. According to an article in the German newspaper Die Welt, he has a special talent for connecting the most different emotions and life stories. He writes with a dry but hilarious tone. "He is probably the most important and funny ambassador of Bulgarian humour that exists at present".

His sense of humour extends into the microstructure of his texts, often to the names of his characters like Spas (engl.: fun) Christov in the short story "Spas sleeps", whose only German word is "Arbeit" (engl.: work). Spas searches for work in Vienna, not for love or hope. Work is the dream and the reality for immigrants like him.[13]

Theater productions

Film production

Novels

Short Novels

Third-Party Published Works

Awards

[14]

Literature about Dinev

Notes and References

  1. Book: Agoston-Nikolova, Elka. Shoreless Bridges: South East European Writing in Diaspora. 2010. 978-90-420-3020-6. 79.
  2. Web site: Buchkritik.at – Interview mit Dimitré Dinev . 2015-11-12 . 2016-02-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160215171409/http://www.buchkritik.at/autoren/dinev.htm . dead .
  3. Web site: Dimitré Dinev spricht über das Problem der Eliten | dasbiber.
  4. Web site: Dimitré Dinev – Autoren – Hanser Literaturverlage.
  5. Web site: Literaturhaus Wien: Dinev Dimitré.
  6. Web site: Ein Licht über dem Kopf.
  7. Web site: Engelszungen.
  8. Web site: Jury | drehbuchverband.at . 2015-11-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150923220404/http://www.drehbuchverband.at/deutsch/pluch-drehbuchpreis/jury.html . 2015-09-23 . dead .
  9. Web site: SPANIEN. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130115211707/http://www.spanien-derfilm.at/en/ . 2013-01-15 .
  10. News: Wer viel wandert, hört auch viel. Die Welt. 2005-03-04. Krause. Tilman.
  11. Book: Vienna tales.
  12. Web site: Die Immigranten Dimitré Dinevs träumen nicht von Liebe, sondern von Arbeit: Das Leuchten der Müllmänner. 2005-07-20.
  13. Book: Vienna tales.
  14. Web site: Literaturhaus Wien: Dinev Dimitré.

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