With great sadness in our hearts, we announce the passing of Cristian Pepino. An interdisciplinary artist, professor, puppet theater director, researcher, playwright, and much more, he served as President of UNIMA Romania during the 1990s, after the re-establishment of the National Center.

The importance of Professor Cristian Pepino to Romania’s contemporary puppetry scene cannot be overstated. He exemplified the ideal artist, generous, loving, and profoundly playful and creative. His work is characterized by meticulous attention to detail and a warm sense of humor. He cherished every student who passed through his classes, and in return, he was deeply loved.

The establishment of the first Romanian higher-education program in puppetry is synonymous with his name. Since 1990, he taught generations of puppeteers, sharing with them his love and passion for the art. During his tenure at the National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest, he authored major works on nearly every aspect of puppetry, from building and manipulating puppets to directing for puppet theater. He also coordinated important archival publications, such as the Bibliography of Romanian Puppetry and The Dictionary of Romanian Puppet, Marionette, and Animation Theaters.

As a prolific and profound puppet theater director, his work became a landmark of the Romanian theater scene. Over the course of his career, he received numerous awards and pushed the aesthetic boundaries of the genre. His production The Conference of the Birds, after Farid Ud-Din Attar, remains a flagship of Romanian puppetry.

The memory of Cristian Pepino, of his unending kindness, outstanding theater and research work, daily drawings, and beautiful humanity will be forever cherished.

He will be greatly missed by us all.

— Octavian Szalad