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City of the Roma

City of the Roma

(La Cité des Roms), Frédéric Castaignede / F, 2008
original version / Czech and English subtitles, 97 min

A railway underpass on the edge of a Roma ghetto in the Bulgarian town of Sliven. Every morning Angel Yichaliev, an activist and teaching student, passes through here, rounding up boys and girls and taking them to a school in the centre. A desegregation scheme envisages the gradual integration of Roma children into classes alongside other Bulgarian children, because the special school in the Roma district doesn't stretch much further than drawing lessons and singing. In this documentary we observe the life of Elen, a schoolgirl, and the obstinate efforts of Angel to integrate the Roma community into the majority society. The film also presents the thoughts of a bar owner and her husband on life in the ghetto, and depicts the co-existence of two ethnic groups in a manner that is both calm and passionate. Bending the current system in such a way as to make it also friendly to groups hitherto regarded as 'unable to adapt' is reminiscent of the situation in today's Czech Republic. That includes the way politicians court popularity by listing 'dealing with the living standard of the Roma minority' in their election manifestos.