[liberty?]
Throughout history, the LGBTQIA+ community in Romania has been “displaced from history” and pushed into invisibility. We were made to feel ashamed, to be afraid, to question what we feel, who we love, who we want to be; but a past full of abuses has not managed to erase the strength we have when we love.
The community demands to know its own history, to understand how it got here, and to understand the traumas passed from generation to generation that they carry on their shoulders.
Photo Source: Museum of Queer History and Culture in Romania
Until 2001, our bodies were classified as offenses. Even though 30 years have passed since our country’s liberation and 22 years since the decriminalization of same-sex relationships, can we truly say that we live and speak freely in Romania? The 2018 referendum, the proposal to amend the education law in 2020, our victory at the European Court of Human Rights, and Romania’s hesitant reaction have shown us that we are not yet entirely safe or treated equally.
To continue the fight and education, it is crucial to know our collective past and to speak openly about our stories.
“Liberty?” is a production by Identity.Education, in premiere; a visual and audio representation of the last 30 years of queer movements in Romania in the form of a docu-concert projected on the Palace of Culture in downtown Timișoara, accompanied by live symphonic music specially composed for this occasion.
A project by Yann Verburgh, Bogdan Balla, Eugen Jebeleanu, and Ovidiu Zimcea. Based on a concept by Andre Rădulescu. Documentary: Diana Dragomir Composer: Conor Mitchell Videomapping: Les Ateliers Nomad With contributions and archival materials from: Amnesty International, Accept Association, Ark Association, MozaiQ Association, Pride Romania Association, RiseOUT Association, ECPI, H Brașov, Museum of Queer History and Culture, Brynjar Bandlien and Manuel Pelmus, Adrian Oncu and Sorin Oncu, Florin Buhuceanu.
The project is part of the Invisible Histories project, funded with a grant of 489,592 RON provided by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants.