In the Danube Delta, in Periprava, the old ones die and the traditions are lost. The Lipovan community, made up of old-rite believers, has remained without a priest. The priest has ever since been chosen from the community and he did not need to have theological studies. Now, the old priest is ill, bound to the bed for some time, and the new one cannot take care of his duties because he is unmarried and there is no girl willing to become a priest’s wife. The villagers are desperate – funerals are performed by the deacon, and the Easter and Christmas services are also held without a priest. The films follows three years from the community life, where recent changes and modernization unveil the fragility and vulnerability of a traditional society.
Directors
Klara Trencsenyi
Klara Trencsenyi is a freelance director and filmmaker doing creative social documentaries. In 2005 she graduated from the Hungarian Film Academy, Budapest as Director of Photography. She directed two mid-length documentaries (A Chance, 2007 and Birds’ Way, 2009) and a short documentary (3Weddings – Elena & Leo, 2009).
Vlad Naumescu
Vlad Naumescu is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Central European University, Hungary. He has carried out extensive fieldwork in Ukraine and Romania and he has recently started fieldwork in India. His research focuses on religion and cultural transmission, on which he published two books and various articles.
Gallery
