RAN – Immersive installation

The story treats the ordeals of a widow accused of infant slaughter in the mid 1850. Its about survival and becoming the object of hate and is set in a kind of Gabriel García Márquez magical realism on the West Coast of Sweden. I think the ordeals of mothers that has to face taking care of their children alone is still somewhat economically unfair. I was thinking about how I could tell a story for as many mothers as possible as we are of such different backgrounds both culturally and spiritually in Sweden. When I was researching my story of RAN I was handed a court transcript from that age and it described the fate of a mother of four children that was sentenced to death after first serving a torturous time in the Marstrand Prison. When reading in between the lines a story about a mother that secretly had to become a sex worker and because of this became the object of hatred. Although no evidence could be found of her having killed her infant she still had to pay with her life. I like the fact that this happened in Sweden and in fact it is not so long ago – I just believe the story could offer identification for many of us mothers and lone care takers.

Narrative summary

Set on the Swedish west coast in the 1760s, RAN tells the story of Anna, a young Finnish woman accused of infanticide. The narrative unfolds through court records, shifting testimonies, and subtle mythological echoes. RAN is a story about survival, justice, superstition, and the silence surrounding women’s experiences in history.

Transmedia vision

RAN is envisioned as a multi-format project. It is both a personal narrative and a broader fictional world that can be accessed through several artistic modes. These formats mutually inform one another and build toward a larger, participatory engagement with the story.

Planned or in-progress formats include:

• An immersive installation where the audience navigates the courtroom and moral landscape
• A novel exploring the inner lives and suppressed memories of key characters
• A feature film adapted from the narrative arc of the novel
• A game prototype and community platform exploring collective storytelling and alternative justice models

Creative partners

Tottemo Production is currently collaborating with Visual Arena and is in conversation with game designers, writers, historians, and Nordic co-producers to develop the different aspects of RAN’s world.

Download PDF here.