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Projects
Marriage by Abduction
Luisa and Fred’s decision to marry becomes a bitter test for their seemingly equal relationship.
Luisa is from Buenos Aires and Fred from rural Germany. In their small flat in Berlin they have created their own universe and invented a third language in which they understand each other silently across language barriers. Bureaucratic immigration constraints and Luisa’s deepening insecurity, moves Fred to propose. The pragmatic decision to marry comes at a price. The expectations on their relationship changes as they are increasingly confronted with social norms. The never wanted Argentinean white wedding dress is placed in Luisa’s car like a coffin. In the German countryside, Luisa and Fred are accommodated in the vacant house of his grandparents. In the supposed retreat, visions of the future are projected, which Luisa fends off and Fred begins to fantasize. Luisa sees their original plans for the future shift. Cultural differences become contentious as both families lovingly interfere in the wedding planning. Luisa and Fred navigate a labyrinth of languages and misunderstandings. At their wedding, they no longer know what they want or where they belong. In the maelstrom of the night, Luisa loses her sovereignty and her connection with Fred. The German tradition of bride theft turns their relationship upside down. In the dawn lies the hope of a confrontation with their roles.
My parents’ German-Argentinian wedding, in which a traditional “kidnapping of the bride” took place, serves as inspiration for this story. How would someone in their mid-30s behave and feel in such a situation today? Can such a tradition exist despite supposed enlightenment and emancipation? I discovered that the custom of abducting the bride is still widely, and unquestioningly, practiced as a playful part of many German weddings. In Marriage by Abduction, I explore the concept of traditional marriage and relationship models and critically examine those, through two groups of people from different cultural backgrounds. Luisa and Fred are mainly getting married for the legal papers, but their new status as future husband and wife, changes their dynamic. With a mix of absurd drama and dark comedy I want to illuminate how deep old structures ultimately run, how quickly one finds oneself back on wellworn paths, meant to be left behind long ago. Their wedding, which begins as an emancipation from traditional structures, turns out to be proof of how difficult it is to create new ones.
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