Beyond Words
The first association of people with hearing disabilities in Romania turns 104 years this November
Ana-Maria Cononovici, 17.10.2023, 13:34
The first association of people with hearing
disabilities in Romania turns 104 years this November. The Romanian Deaf Mute Association
was founded on November 9th, 1919, under the patronage of Queen
Marie of Romania, through the voluntary association of a group of deaf people. Its
first president was Mr. Alexandru Clarnet, and the executive committee included
Prince Henry Ghica, the deaf son of the ruler Constantin Ghica. It is a
non-profit organisation aimed at helping integrate people with hearing
disabilities in society.
This autumn, the association implemented a
project entitled The Week of Deaf Community and Culture. Bogdan Anicescu,
cultural director of the ANSR, gave us more details about it:
Bogdan Anicescu:The Week of Deaf Community and Culture is a bilateral initiative,
implemented by the National Association of Deaf People in Romania in a
partnership with an organisation from Norway called the International Organisation
for Democracy and Human Rights. The goal of the project was to showcase a
cultural dimension of deafness, to shed light on the deaf person as a member of
a community, of a cultural and linguistic community sharing a different
language than Romanian, namely the Romanian sign language. Thanks to the
Norwegian grants and after winning a call for projects under the Timişoara -
European Capital of Culture programme, we sought to turn Timişoara into a
Capital of Deaf Culture as well, between September 11th and 24th,
when the city hosted a number of events devoted to deaf culture.
The events included a beauty and talent show,
Miss and Mister Silence, a dance and mime festival, a joint workshop with the
Norwegian partners on the cultural integration of deaf people, the premiere of
a short reel called Love without Words, a Silent March in which hundreds of
deaf people gathered in Timişoara’s Botanical Park and marched through the
centre of the city, as well as a sign language workshop in which people without
hearing disabilities were introduced to the basics of sign language.
Octavian Iacob, the director of the film Love
without Words, told us about working with deaf characters:
Octavian Iacob:We had an interpreter who had to stand in front of the actors.
Many times, this meant the interpreter was positioned next to the camera or
even inside the frame, so we needed time to adjust the image to what was
supposed to be in the movie. It was a challenge that we accepted, we loved it
and I have to praise these people who were so open, so transparent, so willing
to act. They received exceptional attention during the 4 days of shooting. It
was extraordinary, a truly new experience that one doesn’t usually find on set
and, let’s face it, one doesn’t usually find in one’s day to day life.
Octavian Iacob also gave us a few details about
the casting process:
Octavian Iacob:We travelled to Timişoara, we had one day scheduled for casting,
and several people with hearing disabilities showed up. We had several criteria
in selecting our cast: there were script-related criteria, the actors had to
match the description of the characters, then there was the talent these people
had to have with respect to acting, to learning a text and performing it in
sign language, we had to see what these signs looked like so as to adjust our
shooting methods.
Professional actors were also cast in the short
reel: Paul Diaconescu and Cristina Velciu guided the public towards the
original story, towards what the plot was seeking to convey. As for the actors
with hearing disabilities who took part in the project, the director Octavin
Iacob also said:
Octavian Iacob:Not only are they not professional actors, but they didn’t even
have time for one rehearsal, they only read the script for about two weeks, everything
was discussed online, via zoom, using an interpreter, which is quite difficult
in itself. But on the first day of shooting, when I had selected some easier
scenes, I was amazed to see that they all knew their lines perfectly. The
interpreter had the text and confirmed to me that almost every word is said,
and I say almost every word because in sign language the structure is
different.
Bogdan Anicescu, the cultural director of ANSR,
also added:
Bogdan Anicescu:Love without words is what we feel as well, because we managed to
implement this activity as part of our joint project, The Week of Deaf
Community and Culture. The idea goes way back and we wanted a chance to turn Timişoara,
as part of this project, into a special place able to host the first film of
this kind in Romania, in which deaf persons and sign language play a central
part. It is the outcome of the work completed by a small, but ambitious and
devoted team, and we are glad that we worked so well with the director Octavian
Iacob, the producer Mirela Muşat and their entire team. It all happened very
quickly, but the end result is wonderful, especially considering the positive
feedback from the public with or without hearing disabilities. The message the
film seeks to get across is that love goes beyond communication barriers, and
sign language is able to bring people together.
The project is intended to encourage
larger-scale support for the cultural movement of Romanian deaf people, beyond
the Association and beyond this minority as such. (AMP)
