PEOPLE AND GUNS

“GUN, guns, noun = a weapon incorporating a metal tube from which bullets, shells, or other missiles are propelled by explosive force, typically making a characteristic loud, sharp noise.” (Oxford English Disctionary)

How is a gun made? What are the working conditions, advantages and dangers of working in a gun factory? How much did people earn from weaponry production before 1989 and how much do they earn today? How do weaponry manufacturers integrate the contradictions inherent in this process, in the proximity of war and in the midst of an economic crisis?

Cugir, a town of 20,000 inhabitants in Transylvania, has been home to Romania’s largest guns factory since 1928. The town’s largest employer, a state-owned factory, which during the socialist period exported Kalashnikov machine guns to Eastern Europe and non-aligned countries and now produces guns for Western partners. In recent years, Cugir has seen several work accidents, some fatal, and a sustained protest against low wages, harsh working conditions and outdated technology.

In 2023, the project team researched the recent history of the factory through interviews, informal discussions and workshops with workers, both active and retired. The stories and experiences uncovered are fictionalised in an artistic brigade performance, combining past and present, documents and speculation, objective data and subjective opinions, personal memories, songs, poetry and choreographic moments.

The idea for the show was developed during the DocLab workshop, organized by Beykoz Kundura (Istanbul, 2023)

Project co-funded by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund and UNITER. ANCF is not responsible for the content of the project or how the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the grantee.