Flames of God

The TV biopic maps the fate of Roma writer Elena Lackova in an intimately personal way. As viewers, thanks to the author's authentic voiceover and preserved archive footage, we delve into her memories of the Holocaust and the communist dictatorship in the context of the play Burning Gypsy Camp. We uncover the circumstances of growing up in a gypsy settlement, her first literary achievements, and her struggle to combine her personal and professional life. We also get to know her life story through her great-granddaughter and actress Alžbeta Ferencova, known as Zea or the serial Iveta (dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2022). The parallel between the life of the writer and that of her great-granddaughter, who also embarked on an artistic career and broke down stereotypes about the role of Roma women in society, creates a timely and transferable story. A crucial motif of the poetic film is also the unprecedented emancipation of the writer for the time.

Otherness in otherness. What does it mean to be different in a community that is itself excluded from society? The documentary follows the fate of Roma who have become a minority in a minority society. Roma gays and transvestite search for their living space and dream of working abroad. A legless father of five longs for a wheelchair. A Roma grandmother sacrifices her life for the health of her beloved grandson. Will Emil, a Roma man who has found faith in God, be able to save his son from alcohol? Four stories from the poorest Roma settlements in Slovakia aim to break down prejudices between the Roma community and the white majority.

The protagonist of Dajori (mother in Romani) is forty-five-year-old Marie Hučková, who lives with her husband in Varnsdorf. After her younger sister Iveta ends up on the streets with her nine children, she decides to take her own fate and theirs firmly into her own hands and attempts to break out of the vicious circle of poverty that characterises their hometown. This sensitive film, which captures three years of a newly formed family's life together, follows the small joys and daily challenges of caring for others and asks whether a mother's love can overcome the dysfunctional system in which socially excluded localities find themselves.

A Roma beggar on his knees raises many extreme emotions: guilt, rage, sympathy and frustration. Most people just walk on by, but there is always someone willing to help. In this film, the director follows the confrontations between the Roma beggars from Romania and Finnish people, and is forced to question, over and over again, her own ideas about helping.

The film explores the taboo subject of homosexuality within the Roma community through the personal story of a Roma activist who happens to be gay. Though his job has earned him respect among his peers, by coming out his status is in jeopardy. However, the desire to share his complex story prompted him to write a screenplay based on his life. Partly a documentary about his autobiographical script, the film switches between documentary and narrative storytelling. Owing to its distinctive style, the film offers a glimpse into the protagonist's world as he faces triple discrimination: as a Roma, as a gay man, and as a gay man in the Roma community.

Hermanovce, Slovak Republic. A Romani village located deep down in the valley, with old shacks and newer concrete ones. Four Romani women tell us about their day-to-day life through ancient habits, along with words that travel near borders with different worlds...

In the wilderness of the Bucharest Delta, nine children and their parents lived in perfect harmony with nature for 20 years – until they are chased out and forced to adapt to life in the big city.

Haida Gwaii, an archipelago off the west coast of Canada, is home to Skil Jaadee and her family. They live in harmony with nature and have made it their mission to save their language and preserve their history.

Miko is a truck driver, his father is Romani, and above all he is a man who wanted to help those in need. When the Czech government was looking for reasons not to take in a few dozen children from Greek refugee camps after the chemical attacks on Syrian civilians in 2018, Miko took justice into his own hands and, together with the Czechs Helping initiative, prepared facilities for child refugees. However, government officials gave priority to political interests. Will parliamentary elections and a change of ministries save the situation? An unflattering but accurately portrayal of the Czech Republic as a country that will only offer a helping hand when it is worthwhile.

With the UK’s hardening immigration policy in the background, director Mira Erdevički follows the lives of three Roma: Petr Torák, Denisa Gannon and Ondrej Oláh. Settled in the UK over 20 years ago, the trio still feel attached to their native Slovakia and the Czech Republic. As the country goes into lockdown, they film their lives throughout the Covid pandemic and the aftermath of Brexit.

In the suburbs of Montpellier, France, in the spring of 2024, a Roma wedding celebration is about to begin. In the bedroom of a small apartment, Luisa and her cousins meet up to talk about their dreams, their traditions, and their desire for emancipation. The ritual of flamenco dancing became for Luisa a space of freedom.

The young director Tomas Vynikal arrives at the Roma ghetto in search of humanity. With an authentic approach, he finds true friendship, but also human corruption. Everything is kept in the dark when the city of Prerov sells the ghetto together with its inhabitants to a private company for the purpose of new housing construction. This company will only go so far to demolish part of the houses and end up insolvent. The work is also a picture of current social problems in the Czech Republic, where human dwellings are meaninglessly devastated. These inhabitants receive new rental flats from the state, thus another ghetto is being created and society is moving in a catch 22 circle. The film contains time spent from September 2010 to September 2020.