Description
Brăila is considered the city of 13 ethnic groups. Over time the minorities tend to lose their identity, especially of the young generations. Here, the most numerous minorities in Romania were recorded in the inter-war period: Turks, Jews, Roma, Lipovan-Russians, Bulgarians, Armenians, Greeks, Hungarians, Germans, Ukrainians, Polish, Albanians and Italians lived “in good friendship” with Romanians, each having their well-established place in the community, each writing their own page in the history of Brăila. The image of the old citadel, but also the original traditions and customs of the ethnic groups are nearly lost and it is necessary for these traditions and customs to be collected, reconstituted and valorized in a modern manner such as holograms to be presented in public space. The project aims to increase cultural dialogue and to foster European identity through the innovative presentation of the local cultural diversity. Specific objectives: strengthening bilateral relations between cultural operators; increased access to culture for the general public by displaying the holographic projections with a relevant historical and multiethnical message; deeper understanding of cultural diversity and strengthening of inter-cultural dialogue, including the minorities including Roma population, attractive activities (holographic and quasi-holographic projections) implemented. Expected outputs: cultural education reaching a broader audience; cultural history of minorities enhanced and promoted; events/productions involving minorities (fairs, festivals). The partenership with Jazzmontør AS (Norway) which is specialized in the production of short movies and the organization of worskshop and training sessions in digital storytelling, aims at increasing cooperation and innovation in the field of art and culture, improving mutual understanding and knowledge and sharing the experience acquired as a result of the activities and projects developed.
Summary of project results
This project was generated mainly by the need to promote the history of the old fortress of Braila, to communicate to the local community the rich history of the local minorities – including the Roma minority – and their development together with the city’s evolution. By finishing the activities in the implementation period all the specific objectives set for the project were achieved. The cooperation with the Norwegian partner contributed to improving the partnership between Romanian film producers and European ones. By allowing access to the events organized through this project of a large number of people consolidated the public’s access to culture, the understanding of the specificity of the local communities in Braila, and last but not least, promoted education through art and culture to the public. The main products created in order to achieve the planed results are the 2 films made in partnership with Jazzmontor AS Norway, 2 films that project in the present 2 moments from the history of the old Braila fortress. The first film tells the story of the Russian – Turkish war of 1828 – 1829, after which the 300 years old Turkish domination on Braila ended. The second film presents the contribution of local communities to the city’s development from 1829 to 1945. The 2 films have been presented in 6 events organized by the Project Promoter between 15th and 17th of July. Other products created during this project consist of 2 historical documentations, 4 literary scripts, an original sound track for the 2 movies. By implementing this project PP and dpp succeeded in informing the target group, especially school children, of 2 remarkable events from the history of the local community. Now, the image of the fortress, and the unique traditions of the local ethnicities, lost through time, were “collected”, reconstructed, emphasized and shown to the public. Staging cultural events that combine culture and history creates an undeniable bridge between generations and cultures, and a unique form of perpetuating and supporting the cultural and artistic act, a constant support for the artists and professional of the multiethnic cultural field, a special form to promote them to new public categories, even beyond their countries of origin.
Summary of bilateral results
Through the experience gained in organizing actions to promote art and culture for a wider audience by using modern technology to produce short films, documentaries and digital films, as well as hosting workshops and training sessions on digital stories, the partner Norwegian Jazzmontor AS contributed both to the development of the concepts behind the production of short films and to the alignment of their message to the main purpose of the project. The Norwegian partner has facilitated an exchange of experience and best practices in making films, along with the Romanian producers succeeding in translating as closely as possible the moments in the history of Braila, chosen as themes for the two films. The Norwegian partner contributed to short films including the cinematographic reconstruction of Braila, a sequence of the Russian-Turkish war, as well as the presentation of the representative ethnic groups of Braila. Thus, the project was able to combine the elements of local history and culture with the imperative requirements of contemporary society that implies adaptation to new, flexibility, the use of state-of-the-art technology to promote education through culture and art for a wider audience as well as to promote local cultural history.