Kijk hoe we onszelf aanvullen (Uite cum ne mai rotunjim)

Earlier this year I had the chance to show my poetry shortfilm 'Cirkel/Circle' at the Felix Poetry Festival in Antwerp.
Organised by Antwerpen Boekenstad, the festival does not only showcase great Belgian poetry and writers, but also invites a great deal of international guests.





This time I was so lucky to see and hear poets like Daniel Banulescu, Claudiu Komartin, Tonnus Oosterhoff, Ilya Kaminsky and  Doina Ioanid.
I was especially taken by the beautiful (short) poems of Romanian poet Doina Ioanid.

After the festival I asked her and her translator Jan Mysjkin if I could make a video for one of my favourites of her performance;

 'Kijk hoe we onszelf aanvullen (Uite cum ne mai rotunjim)'

Kijk hoe we onszelf aanvullen met de levens van anderen, hoe we ons aan elkaar vastklampen en samendrommen als blinde egels. Kijk hoe al onze zuchten en narigheden in een en dezelfde vijzel worden verbrijzeld. Zullen we ooit echt alleen kunnen zijn, met enkel de zon boven ons hoofd?
(Translation into Dutch by Jan Mysjkin)

Uite cum ne mai rotunjim cu vieţile altora, cum ne agăţăm unul de celălalt şi ne înghesuim laolaltă ca nişte arici orbi. Uite cum se macină de-a valma toate suspinele şi nenorocirile noastre. Vom sta oare vreodată singuri, numai cu soarele deasupra creştetului?

There we go, rounding ourselves with each other’s lives, clinging one to the other and huddling together akin to blind hedgehogs. There go all of our sighs and misfortunes, grinding against each other in a jumble. Will we ever be standing all by ourselves, with nothing but the sun above our heads? (English translation by Florin Bican)

The Dutch version of this poem can be found in  'Oorbellen, buiken & eenzaamheid' (Uitgeverij Perdu, 2013)  I made a reading in Dutch myself and used the original text in Romania as subtitles. Music for this one came from this track:



The images of this piece were taken from 'Lost landscapes of Detroit' (Prelinger Archives) and I re-edited them, adding an extra layer of colour and light.
The result is a short (moody) piece.
Have a look and listen for yourself...


Words: Doina Ioanid
Translation: Jan Mysjkin
Concept, add. camera, editing, voice & music: Swoon
Footage: 'Lost landscapes of Detroit' (Prelinger Archives)