Beginning with pictures of the current living conditions of Roma in Belgrade — the film takes us from the grim contemporary situation to a forewarning past. In a conversation between the filmmaker and her mother, we get an insight into the mother’s experiences of exclusion, characterized by a parentless childhood in which the young Roma woman moved from foster care to children’s homes. Her mother was murdered in a concentration camp and for a long time Margit Schmiedt knew nothing about her own origin; neither did she know or understand the reasons behind the prejudices and continuous experiences of exclusion she encountered. This violent process of degradation has led to deep-seated and lasting pain that the mother confides to her daughter. Among other things, inequities were repeatedly reflected in withholding of food and stigmatizing actions. These long-term experiences of discrimination, along with the current political situation for Roma in Europe, haunt Margit Schmiedt until the end of her life.
Pogroms still exist in Europe today — life-threatening conditions are ubiquitous.
55 min ©2012 Marika Schmiedt
ARTBRUT 