The first edition of Handpicked in Telciu was organized between July and November 2018. The project consisted of a program of cultural activities that brought together young people from Telciu commune (Bistrița-Năsăud), a writer – Vasile Ernu, an illustrator – Veronica Neacșu, a theater director – Claudiu Lorand Maxim, a playwright / sociologist – Alexandra Voivozeanu, a film director – Vlad Petri, an anthropologist / historian – Valer Simion Cosma and an ethnomusicologist – Theodor Constantiniu. This collaboration that supported the first local artistic productions resulted in an illustrated book for children, the text of a theater play and a documentary short in which the young people and the Telcean community in general are not only the subject of an outside view, but also co-authors.
Children’s Book: “People and Jobs”
Vero Neacșu (illustrations) – Vasile Ernu (text)
This book includes the stories of three people whose jobs are on the verge of
disappearing: the Shepherd, the Midwife and the Postman.
The stories about these three special people are addressed to children, to whom these jobs are presented, once indispensable to the community life, but nowadays are rarely encountered. The book talks about the role of these people in the community, the personality, qualities and skills that are required to practice these jobs.
Theatre-play reading: “First Money”
Alexandra Voivozeanu (text) & Lorand Maxim (concept)
The text of the theatre-play is based on interviews with young people from Bistrița- Năsăud county and it aims to reveal their incipient relationship with work.
‘What infuriated me most it was when he/she was laying into some girls, I mean he/she was laying into some girls …. they didn’t do anything wrong, but he/she used to treat them badly. He/she asked them to work both in the same night shift and in the same night he/she told them that the next day will be a hygiene inspection, and the place must be squeaky clean, everything spotless, and he/she also asked to clean on top of the refrigerator. No one, never cleaned up on the top of the refrigerator.
**
‘They cleaned up the place and they were dead-tired in the morning, they weren’t able to do anything else, they were also scared, because of this important inspection. And in the morning he/she told them BYE, I mean he/she fired them … “It is over; you won’t work here anymore”. “But, we still need to be paid” he/she owed them money. Then he/she said “We will talk about the money.”
In a context always doubtful, with limited options and vulnerable people in front of the employers, four young people from rural Romania report their work experiences and actions of solidarity against the abuse, reflecting on the role of work in their lives.
The documentary film: “Telciu”
Vlad Petri (film director), Valer Simion Cosma (historical / anthropological research) & Theodor Constantiniu (ethnomusicological research)
The documentary is based on the exploration of the aspects of rural life from the perspective of three coordinates: money, work and entertainment.
Based on the elements from the historical, anthropological and ethnomusicological research, the documentary presents a series of vivid paintings from Telciu village – a space where urban and rural areas intersect, where modernity and tradition cohabitate and shape in different degrees the local reality and the life of the villagers. Thus, the documentary proposes an alternative to the reductions and clichés descriptions of the Romanian post-communist village.
Handpicked in Telciu is a project co-funded by the National Cultural Fund Administration (AFCN). The project does not necessarily represent the position of AFCN. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or the way the project results can be used. This is entirely the responsibility of the beneficiary of the funding.
