“…the narratives evolved from personal anecdotes into complex stories enriched with interpersonal tension.”
For children and teenagers, having to go through the pandemic was a very traumatizing life event. Schools were closed, their care givers were anxious, and they had to face the sickness and even death of their loved ones. In response, The Fragile Society, a non-profit organization based in Romania, created a COVID-19 project intended to facilitate a space for a group of youngsters to process all of these complicated emotions through storytelling and film making. The team of facilitators was composed of one writer (Rucsandra Pop), one anthropologist (Iuliana Dumitru, the author of this piece) and one actress (Ioana Flora) – all women and mothers.
Narrative Vulnerability
The first part of the project was focused on writing original scripts starting from the personal experience of a group of 18 students, the second part involved turning these scripts into short movies where the students were also the actors. Our initial interactions, mine and Rucsandra’s, with the students, were marked by anxiety, especially when introducing the COVID-19 theme. We were concerned about the willingness of the students to engage and share intimate narratives about such a challenging period. Contrary to our apprehensions, they delivered 18 outstanding submissions: 15 exceptionally written stories and 3 short films depicting life during the pandemic.
The inaugural writing session was a mix of storytelling, laughter, and tears as both the high school students and we, the facilitators, shared our COVID-19 experiences. We introduced the concept of autoethnography, elucidating the nuanced distinction between recounting and narrating personal stories. The writing process was demanding, necessitating extensive feedback, primarily conducted in group settings. The resilience and openness exhibited by these 17-year-olds were particularly commendable. They not only allowed themselves to be vulnerable but also welcomed constructive feedback from their peers on how to enhance their texts.
The Four Stories
During this phase, Ioana’s acting and directing experience contributed significantly by discussing the dynamic nature of writing, she introduced them to “the conflict”. Her insights profoundly influenced the scripts, affecting character development, actions, and dialogue. Consequently, the narratives evolved from personal anecdotes into complex stories enriched with interpersonal tension. Initially, our objective was to develop two scripts; however, we ultimately worked on and completed the four below.
- “The Dove” narrates the story of a small wounded dove that enters a girl’s room during lockdown, profoundly impacting her life and her family’s for a few days. This contemplative text delves into themes of confinement, familial responsibility, and hope for a better future.
- “The Grandmother” explores the strained relationship between a doctor, who is also a mother, and her two children as they strive to protect their grandmother from infection during the pandemic. The narrative culminates in the grandmother’s death, leaving the family grappling with guilt.
- “Vaping” examines the development of old friendships during COVID-19, the emergence of new romance, and the protagonist’s struggle with the desire to live a normal life devoid of constant justifications.
- “The Tree” depicts the evolving relationship between a girl and her father as they plant a tree together, learning to establish healthy boundaries amid his fear of COVID-19 and her desire to visit a friend.
By the end of the academic year, we succeeded in filming three of these narratives. Collaborating with such young talents was a profoundly rewarding experience, observing them navigate and complete the project, thereby transforming their challenging experiences into art.
Dr. Iuliana Dumitru
Dr. Iuliana Dumitru is a cultural manager and museographer at the Romanian National Peasant Museum. She obtained her doctorate this year at the Center of Excellence in Image Studies, with interdisciplinary and auto-ethnographic research entitled Narrative Cartographies in 2 Mai and Vama Veche villages. Currently, together with tranzit.ro/Bucharest, she is part of the collective of the Experimental Research Station for Art and Life from Siliștea Snagovului. Iuliana is a founding member of the Fragile Society alongside Ioana Flora and Rucsandra Pop, the facilitators of the writing workshops
About The Fragile Society
We know that behind silence there are untold stories and that in every story there are the seeds of other stories. The Fragile Society was founded with the belief that behind fragility and vulnerability, there is strength and resilience and that, when they are together, women can manifest this strength and grow together. More about us here: https://fragile-society.org/en/our-story/.
Media and Epidemics (MEDEP) 