My trip to Bucharest in September led me to an artist hub, filled with creatives seeking a positive change in Romania. A group of them took full advantage of their imaginative skill-set, to further the anti-government/ anti-corruption movement currently taking place in the country. The result was a giant puppet of the goddess, Justice, who joined the protestors during the mass August demonstrations, standing proudly with her people. Having initially seen the puppet on an Instagram post, I decided to contact the art hub and meet the masterminds behind its creation. Dreamt up by puppeteer Ana Lambru, and in the same vein as the politically radical movement, Bread And Puppet Theatre, Justice holds up a light to the country's corruption taking place in plain sight. She gave people hope and in many ways gave a face to the leaderless but obstinate crowd.
Instead of going down my normal comic route, I turned towards film to tell the story of Justice. It's my first attempt at documentary making, filming predominantly on a smart-phone, a tool which has thankfully allowed me to experiment with filmmaking. Although short, it captures the power of the puppet and offers up an insight into Romania's protests. I've deliberately left out gory, brutal footage as that seems to have become fetishised by the media, thus losing it's impact. However, you can still very much gauge the movement's intensity. If you want to follow the unfurling events in Romania, I recommend checking out this YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClGZaR_S_gc7SVhA5UxaIdA I plan to return to Romania in 2019 and report upon the changes that have taken place since my last visit and the continuing pressure the creative community is placing upon the government, |
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