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Handicraftsmen
have been a significant presence in the economic life of rural
settlements and later on in that of urban ones.Though nowadays
mostly anonymous, handicraftsmen were the ones to improve
ustensils, to invent toolsand work procedures which, for their
time, translated into real steps towards progress. As members
of guilds or independently, they succeeded in handing over,
from one generation to another, what we today call the know-how
of their crafts.
Meanwhile, their apprentices were not only getting accustomed
to the crafts' secrets but they were also learning a more
important rule: to be rigorous about the crafts' norms and
the specific requests of clients. It was due to this professionalism
that they succeeded in becoming a significant active part
of the work culture, which stood out in society through its
values.
At
the beginning of the twenty-first century, in a world where
the need for efficiency rules economy and society, where
globalisation is omnipotent, their number is continuously
decreasing and there is no young generation to consider
taking over the skills and secrets of the crafts. In many
European countries precious crafts have already disappeared.
In Romania, thanks to some passionate elder handicraftsmen,
one can still find several ancient crafts. Some of these
craftsmen are in fact the last ones to know the specifics
of their craft. These people are the symbol of a world that
is going to vanish forever. These so-called obsolete handicraftsmen
with their unusual tools are the main characters of our
documentary series. We want to pay tribute to their lives,
without any illusion of preventing their coming end. Moreover,
we hope that by recording the lifestyles and skills of the
few remaining handicraftsmen we will contribute to the preservation
of this patrimony for the future generations, who will thus
have access to the cultural treasury of their communities'
values and past.
download
movie (3.3MB)
PROGRAM
FORMAT
Each
documentary will be developed as a portrait of a handicraftsman,
although some episodes will involve more characters, hence
leading towards a collective portrait.There is no reconstruction,
it is real life captured on tape. This is not a museum, but
living history.The series will include more than 50 episodes.
Each documentary will be of approximately 24-26 minutes.
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