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Roma Culture Illuminated in World Premier of Documentary

The project, produced by Roma and non-Roma artists from Serbia, Hungary, Romania and Germany, aims to highlight Roma identity and culture today

October 19th, 2016
Giulia Lombardo, News from Berlin
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On October 27th, it will be possible to attend the premiere of the collaborative work entitled ‘The Journey / DROM’, a collection of different stories and interviews of Roma asylum seekers on the so-called Balkan Route. The result is an unusual form of performance: a satirical TV show, full of satire and black humour.

For one year the team behind ‘The Journey / DROM’ conducted interviews in Novi Sad, Budapest and Berlin, giving many Roma people the chance to tell their personal stories and contribute to this project, previews of which will be held both in Germany and Serbia. The recent political developments in Europe have also been integrated into the show.

The Roma people portrayed in the project deal with many different issues, from integration while keeping the own culture, to the fight against prejudices and racism, which are issues that the Roma population in Europe still face in almost every social, political and economic sphere.

The project as a whole focuses on themes of persecution, fear and failure, hope for a better life, desire for change, and asylum; in particular the circumstances from which people escape and the difficulties faced during the journey to Germany.

The goal of the project is to increase mutual understanding, improve the reputation of the Roma people, and contribute to a peaceful coexistence of the Roma population in our increasingly globalized and multicultural world today.

The project was initiated by the Berlin Per Aspera e.V.,in collaboration with the Roma Trial e.V. in Berlin, Kultura Nova in Novi Sad, and Pro Progressione in Budapest. It was funded by ‘Change of Scene’, a program by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the International Theatre Institute, the Allianz Cultural Foundation, and the Freudenberg Stiftung. Support comes from the Collegium Hungaricum Berlin and the Hungarian Embassy.

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News from Berlin