The genocide carried out by the German National Socialists on the Sinti and Roma more than left its mark on the following generations. Those who survived the killing were persecuted once again following the liberations, denied both their dignity by a judiciary and police characterized by racism and in many cases any compensation for their suffering. It was only in the 80s that the state sanctioned discrimination stopped, yet it persists in society to this day. A film series in several parts asks how the Roma and Sinti might be able to move away from external attributions and find their own identity as well as creating both distance to the traumatic events and independence and optimism at the same time. AND-EK GHES … (Philip Scheffner, Coloradu Velcu, Germany 2016, 20.10., screening attended by the directors) When the Velcu family left Romania to resettle in Germany, their filmmaker friends from Berlin were on hand. A first Velcu is born in Berlin, there are painful farewells, and the parks of Berlin become a bucolic setting. How this Velcu saga came into being is a frequent topic of discussion among the participants, making this sometimes melancholy, sometimes hugely funny and charming film into an intelligent meta-movie about ethnographic filmmaking, about media images and stereotypes about Roma families today. BRASS ON FIRE – IAG BARI (Ralf Marschalleck, Germany 2002, 27.10., screening attended by the director) A film about the search for happiness: a furious Roma band from the remote Romanian village of Zece Prajini travels the world, fills auditoria, and inspires audiences. With a mixture of fast-paced playing and Balkan poetry, the musicians celebrate a party at every single appearance. The film tells the story of how they headed out into the world, their amazing meetings on the road, and leads back to the origins of the rural Roma's vital musical culture on Europe's eastern margins. (dr).
An event by the Evangelische Akademie zu Berlin and the Landesrat der Roma und Sinti, RomnoKher Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.
