Blackmoll

A few years ago, when my grandmother developed medically unexplained hallucinations out of the blue, my family and I were suddenly overwhelmed and at a loss. Being a robust and amazingly stubborn 82-year-old Sicilian woman, she saw absolutely no reason to adjust her lifestyle to the new situation – which drove my father (her son) and my aunt (her daughter) crazy.

The stories I was told of her were difficult to reconcile with the image I had of my supposedly healthy grandmother. My opinion changed when, during one of my visits home, she was convinced that she had seen a black, furry animal under her walker and asked me to "go hunting". I didn't know it yet, but the idea for "Blackmoll" was born at that moment.

For me, the poetics of this story lie in Karla's desire to make the invisible visible and the sincere, unshakable childlike belief that she can save her grandmother by doing so; the focus is not on naming, or accurately portraying a neurodegenerative disease, but on how a young person deals with the confrontation of one. Karla's guileless openness to the illogical and her willingness to find creative solutions to exactly that makes her a fascinating and inspiring character for me.