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PRETTY DYANA
Filmed, edited, directed and produced by Boris Mitic
Serbia . 2005 . 45 minutes . Serbian (English subtitles)
An intimate look at Gypsy refugees in a Belgrade suburb who make a living by transforming Citroën’s classic 2cv and Dyana cars into Mad Max-like recycling vehicles, which they use to collect cardboard, bottles and scrap metal. These modern horses are much more efficient than the cart-pushing competition, but even more important -- they also mean freedom, hope and style for their crafty owners. Even the car batteries are used as power generators in order to get some light, watch TV and recharge mobiles! Almost an alchemist’s dream come true! But the police doesn’t always find these strange vehicles funny…
FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.dribblingpictures.com/index_lang.htm
Garlic And Watermelons
66 minutes.
Garlic and Watermelones By Cameron Hickey and Lauren Feeney
Editing Anne Barliant
The film Garlic and Watermelon chronicles the lives of Prokopis and his extended family in the year leading up to the Olympic Games. Their struggle to find a new home, to extract the subsidies that they were promised from the local municipality, and to rebuild their lives represents a humble battle against racism and poverty. But their story is bittersweet. While Prokopis deals with unresponsive bureaucrats, family disputes, and several evictions, his wife has a beautiful new baby girl, his sons learn to read and write, and the entire family savors a traditional Easter feast.
A discussion with the filmmaker follows the screening.
www.patternfilms.com/Garlic
EveryDay Life of Roma Children from Block 71
Film by : Ivana Todorovic
Americas Premiere
Serbia • 2006 • 22mins • Serbian (English subtitles)
[mailto:skarabej5@yahoo.com]
There are 600 squatter settlements in Serbia, the inhabitants of which are mostly of Roma origin. Of these, 105 are in Belgrade with a further 17 in New Belgrade. This young filmmaker has gained remarkable access to one of these settlements and shows the everyday life of the Stankovic family: A Roma family who live behind the skyscrapers of Block 71 in New Belgrade. This is a documentary full of optimism and warmth, and a strong counter to the negative images usually associated with the Roma population.
Porraimos
Europe’s Gypsies in the Holocaust
a documentary by director/producer Alexandra Isles
56 minutes
A discussion with the filmmaker follows the screening.
Gypsies…
the Most Persecuted Minority in Europe Today…
the Forgotten Victims of Nazi Oppression
Filmmaker Alexandra M. Isles made many visits to the Museum’s archives to research visual documentation of the experience of Roma and Sinti (Gypsies) under Nazi rule. Much of what she found ultimately became part of her film Porraimos, which means “the devouring” in Romani. Under the Nazis, Roma were forced to settle and were subjected to medical experiments, sterilization, and deportation to concentration camps.
Interviews, film and photographs from the Nazi Department of Racial Hygiene, and other archival material help tell the story of the tragic fate of the Gypsies during the Holocaust. Like the Jews, Gypsies were viewed as inherently tainted and were persecuted, in large part due to the pseudoscience of eugenics. Gypsies during the Nazi era lost their civil rights, were forced to register, and, in keeping with the Nazi strategy of liquidation, were then segregated into ghettoes and camps for ultimate extermination.
The Soul Has no Ethnic origin.
Vasko Vassilev Sculpture
Film by : Stoimen Vassilev. Music Youri Younakov.
World Premiere. Bulgaria &USA 13 mins .
“The Soul Has No Ethnic Origin” is a short story of the
Bulgarian sculptor Vasko Vassilev. During the summer of 2007 he
represented his art and Bulgaria on the Festival “Bulgarian Seasons in New York 2007”.The art of the sculptor is a path of the search of his Roma ethnic origin. Vasko is influenced by the wisdom and messages of many cultures; he has discovered the joy of creating. His sculptures turn intosymbols – signs of the eternal human values: Love, Wisdom, Truth, and Freedom. Here “the Soul” undresses its ethnic cover and reveals its real divine origin.
A discussion with the filmmaker follows the screening.
www.forevervideoproductions.com
www.myspace.com/Stoicho
Gypsy Summer .
World Premiere.
Film by : Kristina NIkolova
Producer : Jonathan Heidelberger
Bulgaria 13 mins . Bulgarian ( English Subtitle)
A discussion with the filmmaker follows the screening.
We follow a gypsy family living on the black sea in Bulgaria.
Everyday they pick up the trash left by the visitors of the beach,
barely making enough money to survive. But they make the best of the
situation and enjoy everyday to it's fullest, dancing, singing,
praying, swimming, playing. This is life, short life.
Email of producer : jsheidel@gmail.com
Email of director: kristina.nik@gmail.com
Virtuosi from Nowhere
Film by : Zlatina Rous
Americas Premiere. Bulgarian (English subtitles)
Bulgaria . 2005 . 78 mins .
A group of gypsy musicians who play in weddings, have been chosen to participate a big musical concert in Brussels. This gives a good reason for the filmmaker to explore the group’s musicians, their backrounds and musical roots. The film includes plenty of unique, skilfully improvised “gypsy jazz”.
Mundi Romani-The First Roma Pavilion-Venice Biennale-2007
World Premiere. Hungary . 2007 . 25 mins . Hungarian (English subtitles).
Directed by Sándor Cs. Nagy . Senior editor Kata Bársony .
Director of photography Sándor Cs. Nagy , Nándor Hevesi
By introducing the first Roma Pavilion of the Venice Biennale, the documentary bears witness to an event of historical significance in which Roma artists present to the world, through the power of art, a picture that challenges stereotypes and introduces the specificity and diversity of contemporary Roma cultural representations.
Featured Artists :
Daniel Baker, Tibor Balogh, Mihaela Ionela Cimpeanu, Gabi Jimenez, András Kállai, Damian Le Bas, Delaine Le Bas, Kiba Lumberg, Omara, Marian Petre, Nihad Nino Pušija, Jen? André Raatzsch, Dusan Ristic, István Szentandrássy, Norbert Szirmai & János Révész
http://www.dunatv.hu/mundiromani
Human Heart Explodes
Directed by Helder Mira. Produced by Matt Orefice and Paul A. McDonald.
A discussion with the filmmaker follows the screening.
Documentary about Safet Tairov's struggles to help his disadvantaged and ostracized Roma (Gypsy) community in a small village in Eastern Europe.
PRINCIPAL CAST:
Safet Tairov, President of the non-profit Napredok-Anglipe …….…
himself
Catherine Walker, UNDP ……………………………………………
herself
Dr. Erudan Iseni, Mayor of Suto Orizari ……………………………
himself
“King” Naat Veliov, musician ………………………………………
himself
DIRECTOR:
Portuguese-American
Helder Mira co-founded the Hartford International Film Festival, the Connecticut
24-hour Lo-Res Fest and co-hosts the culture review program Minimum Wage.
His previous work includes the feature Still Life and the short Devil’s
Hopyard.
A discussion with the filmmaker follows the screening.
www.HumanHeartExplodes.com
info@matt-o.com
www.mirahartford.net/2007/09/human-heart-explodes-at-ny-gypsy-film.html
American Gypsy
Film by : Jasmine Dellal
USA . 80 mins .
There are one million Gypsies, or Rom, in America, who most people know nothing about. Never before has a camera been allowed in to explore their world. Shot over the course of five years, this feature documentary tells the lyrical tale of one Romani family in the United States who have broken the wall of secrecy surrounding their people. "AMERICAN GYPSY" follows the story of Jimmy Marks, a flamboyant community leader who becomes passionately obsessed with fighting a civil rights battle to defend his family, his history and his honor. His journey carries us into the Romani culture with scenes of Gypsies from around the world celebrating New Year in Las Vegas; the arranged marriage of teenagers; and car salesmen in Stetson hats driving Cadillacs.
AMERICAN GYPSY is a glimpse of an immigrant world that is either on the verge of extinction or at a critical turning point for survival. It is a world that most of us have never had the chance to visit because this is the first time it is being presented on screen.
The Gypsy Caravan.
Director/Producer/Writer:
Jasmine Dellal - Little Dust Productions
109 minutes
Part concert film and part sociological study, this documentary travels
between concert venues and cultures to give a rare insider look at Gypsy
music. With Macedonian diva Esma Redzepova, traditional Indian troupe
Maharaja, Romanian groups Fanfare Ciocarlia and Taraf de Haïdouks
and the Antonio El Pipa Flamenco Ensemble.
A discussion with the filmmaker follows the screening..