Archaeology of children's memories

Author: Marija Ćirić

A radiophonic essay focusing on a bilingual girl’s speech experience and childhood memories. The author used selected fragments of audio material collected over the past years.

About the Archaeology of Children’s Memories

In her latest scientific and artistic works, Marija Ćirić, PhD, the author of the pieces from the series Sound Workshop and Documentary-drama programme, focuses on childhood and the phenomenon of children’s memories. For this radio essay, she used selected fragments of audio material collected over the past years. Whenever she had the chance, she recorded her niece who grows up in a bilingual environment, where both Serbian and Dutch are spoken (a part of the documentary material was provided by her sister, the girl’s mother). Archaeology of Children’s Memories is “a view” of a childhood, maybe just like the one we experienced long time ago. Childhood is given as a fantasy, reverie with sound images of children’s world, presented through the study of expressive qualities of a child’s voice. Memories arise from the period (of development) of articulated vocal expression of the girl named Julia (her speech, babbling, humming). Stages of childhood reveries are combined with contemplations - “archaeological” findings - about the territory of childhood, which are pronounced by the narrator (author). These fragments of text were written for the purpose of theoretical research the author had conducted before she commenced work on the radio project Archaeology of Children’s Memories.

Complete text (English version, in pdf)

Music Cue Sheet - Archaeology of children's memories


Credits

Programme • Documentary-drama programme

Author • Marija Ćirić

Editor • Vesna Perić

Voices • Julia Langendorff, Marija Ćirić

Proofreader • Olga Babić

Production Sound Mixer • Milan Filipović

Coordinator of the project Creative Europe for RTS, Radio Belgrade • Nikoleta Dojčinović

Premiere • 26/06/2021

Duration • 14' 12''

Biographies

Marija Ćirić, PhD, full professor, head of the Department of Music in the Media at the Faculty of Philology and Arts at the University of Kragujevac.

She obtained her PhD degree in Theory of Arts and Media and the title of Doctor of Arts in Polymedia Art at Interdisciplinary studies of the University of Arts in Belgrade. Her rich experience in the field of media – cooperation with the Serbian Public Broadcasting Service RTS (Drama Department of Radio Belgrade and Television) ‒ has resulted in participation in international festivals (Prix Italia, Prix Europa, Premios Ondas, Birds Eye View, Balkan Music and Art, Prix Marulic, Grand Prix Nova, Prix Bohemia, Rose D’or...). She is the author of numerous radiophonic works and the winner of Vitomir Bogić award for exceptional contribution to the art of radiophony (given by RTS, the Drama Department of Radio Belgrade). Ms. Ćirić is one of (two) screenwriters for a cycle of four television films dedicated to Serbian/ Yugoslav composers (produced by RTS, 2015‒2020): the film Binički was awarded in the category of Music Programme at the international festival Prix Circom in 2016. She published a number of theoretical papers in Serbia and abroad. She is the author of the book Visible Spaces of Music, the first published scientific monograph on film music written in Serbian.

Vesna Perić, PhD, dramatist, screenplay writer, Radio Belgrade Drama Programme Department Editor-in-Chief
Graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade in 2003, Dramaturgy Department, where she obtained Magister’s degree and then defended her PhD thesis on "Theory of narrative constructions in post-Yugoslav film" at the Department of Film and Media Studies in 2016.
As of 2002, she works as a film critic at the Second channel of Radio Belgrade, and as of 2010 as editor in Drama Programme Department. As a representative of Radio Belgrade in PRIX ITALIA festival, she was a member of the Jury in the Radio Drama Category in 2010 and 2019, and in 2021 in the category Documentary Drama and Feature Story.
She is the author of 13 radio dramas produced by Radio Belgrade Drama Programme Department.
She published film reviews and essays in Culture Column of Politika daily paper (2007 – 2012). She writes screenplays for sitcoms, theatre plays, and short stories which are published in Serbian and foreign magazines. Her play “It’s not her fault” was awarded at the regional contest of the Hartefact Foundation in 2012 and performed for the first time at Bitef Theatre in 2015.
As editor-in-chief of Drama Programme Department, she is in charge of producing about 60 radio dramas that are broadcasted by Radio Belgrade each year.

Milan Filipović, sound designer
Started working at Radio Belgrade in 1983 as a sound designer and works for Radio Belgrade Drama Department from 1996 till now. He is a chief coordinator of Radio Drama sound studio.
His work covers over 400 radio pieces which took part in various international festivals among which stands radio dramatization of Ivo Andrić's prose „Letter from 1920“ directed by Nađa Janjetović which won a special prize at Tehran Radio Festival in 2008.
He also took part in regional sound design festival „Taktons“ in Novi Sad, winning several awards in radio drama category.