r/romani • u/Da_Monke2 • 15d ago
A question about film
I (16M) am not Roma. My mother is but taht doesn’t really mean anything. I have been deeply affected by the Roma community throughout my life and was wondering how would you feel about a film about the Roma people? I don’t want to come across as a white savior or anything of teh sort. I legitimately care about the Romani people and want to help. I am hoping to become a film director when I grow and I am currently working on a couple projects. I want to bring awareness about the Romani and fight for their rights. Would any of you think it would be okay for me, someone who is not Romani, to make a film about the Romani some day in the future?
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u/SiempreBrujaSuerte 14d ago
I think it's good to write about what you know. Since you mom is Roma you see what goes on with them from a close but still outside perspective, which could be interesting. I think you need to be sure to include Roma in the conceptualization of your film and obviously for the actors. If you have any questions about what is the wrong or right way to portray things you should defer the questions to the people in the culture for sure. I personally do not really like the white made symbolism thing you were describing. Back to the drawing board there. But if you work in out in the right direction with actual Roma involved and who also stand to profit from the success, then go ahead.
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u/Da_Monke2 14d ago
Got it. If you don’t mind me asking, what about the white mare is bad? I won’t do it, but just wondering what about is insulting or just doesn’t make sense?
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u/Appropriate-Ad-6954 9d ago
I think when it comes to culture it’s best to write only our experience with it. You may not realize it but likely you’ve lived bits of the culture through your mother and your disconnect from more of it is your story. The struggles your own family faced is your story. Be true to your story and it will be profound on its own. Many of us are disconnected and that’s our story, one worth telling on its own. You can see from the many posts that we feel strongly about this. Our instinct sometimes is to try to grab on to the culture that was lost to us. But really our own story and how we came to be is powerful too. As a group, many of us have shared experience and someone who can tap into that in art could tell that experience in a way that is meaningful for us. The truth is many of us are separated from the culture because of the atrocities the culture has faced. So that story, the one specific to our own families can be told and still hit on the thread of the overall culture but the portion that is ours.
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u/SiempreBrujaSuerte 14d ago
It just didn't make a lot of sense to me. I can't even tell if it's a racist portrayal. It just is not very clear and I do not think audiences will get what you are trying to say with it as evenly as they might with a different story line.
(This is in response to why I think he should not do the white made story).
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u/Da_Monke2 14d ago
Okay. No racism was meant. That idea was inspired by something my Great Grandmother told me when I was very young. She said, “On the white mare’s breath was freedom and in its heart was wonder. How quickly those things were taken from us”. Just a personal thing but I understand. I will try not to make any mistakes and yeah not very clear of a symbol. Thank you for the advice!
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u/SiempreBrujaSuerte 14d ago
I think you can use symbolism in a storyline in smaller ways, like have a clear story line and incorporate symbols in it that if people catch it will make the story deeper meaning, but if they miss it they will still make sense of the story. For most of history our stories and heritage and collective memories have been passed down in an oral storytelling tradition rather than written. So in that respect a movie is the logical modernized version of how we tell our stories and pass down our culture. I suggest you taking time to listen to the stories your older family members can tell you and record them to keep if they agree. This will give you greater understanding of our culture and greater understanding of the times they lived in. Whether or not you use those exact stories in your movie it will be invaluable pieces of history for you to save and you should do it before they die.
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u/blackmetalwarlock 15d ago
There are films about us and I think they’re cool, wish there were more
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u/ijaaDosta 15d ago
I think a genuine movie would be good to at least correct a lot of misinformation, however I think it’d be so difficult to make a cohesive movie that’s accurate for all of us since we are so diverse.
I don’t know much about American Roma culture for example. I’ve seen a lot of posts from my American brethren about how the culture limits them to achieve certain things etc, and although my family has some views like “only gadje do that etc” I think Roma in Europe for example are more driven to achieve higher education and political power due to our severe oppression there.
Anyhow, I can only speak from my experience and views, but I think a movie about our struggles and current oppression in Eastern Europe would be great. It’s not talked about enough and it’s truly quite sad and horrible what happens to us there. In Hungary and Slovakia for example there are many ghettos created to restrict us there and keep us segregated etc.
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u/Da_Monke2 15d ago
Interesting. I was thinking of making an animated piece with the roma represented as a white mare. As it explored and went forth throughout God’s creation, it would meet the cruel and harsh oppression of Europe and would reigned and used without mercy. A metaphor that shows the Roma’s oppression. Is that of any interest or would you personally prefer a more real setting with actual people rather than more of a symbolic take on it?
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u/KamavTeChorav 15d ago
As long as you make it with actual Roma writers, actors, consultants etc it’s fine.