Arts University Bournemouth has provided £900 of match funding
ROMA: BEYOND THE STIGMA
Poole, Dorset, United Kingdom
Aim: Documentary about Jacob Parvin's efforts to destigmatise the Roma people; awestruck by this community that Britain has discarded for so long
“Home isn’t where the heart is, Home is who the heart’s with.”
In the 2011 census, 57,000 people identified themselves as a traveller in the UK. This figure is believed to be a gross underestimate. The Roma community has been politically and socially discriminated against all across Europe, and travellers in the UK have reached breaking point.
We are making an exciting, ground-breaking short film, which is believed to be the first documentary about the Romany community, made by a Romany filmmaker. Jacob Parvin, our young documentarian, aims to shine a light on this wonderful community, descending themselves from a long line of Romany travellers. Yet, Jacob has felt distant from the community their whole life. Thus, we shall bring you along on a captivating journey, learning about this fascinating culture hidden away for so long...
Beyond Jacob's personal journey, this film aims to break down the barriers between the traveller community and the general public; destigmatising the rich culture of the Roma people and highlighting the difficult lives many travellers lead, discriminated against simply due to a so-called 'unconventional lifestyle'.
This film is about community. It's about groups of strong, determined people who don't wish to stay in a single place... a single occupation... a single home; for what is home, but the people you experience this life with? Why is there so much hatred for those who roam free?
It is time to look beyond the stigma.
We want this documentary to feel unique; utilising a wide range of filmmaking techniques to create an aesthetic that is deeply personal and yet grand in scope. With a style similar to that of Chloé Zhao's 'Nomadland' (2020), we aim to break new ground in documentary filmmaking with a level of both ample authenticity and cinematic grandiosity. Likewise, the film aims to visually bridge generations of the Roma people's stories, spanning centuries, utilising select archive footage alongside our first-hand interactions with the modern community today.
The cinematography will emulate that of the Western genre; great wide shots that really build a connection between the people and their surroundings, whilst likewise placing an emphasises on this fundamental idea of community and coming together. Likewise, to ensure authenticity, much of the cinematography will be handheld and improvised, simply observing our subjects as they go about their lives.
The film itself will be structured around Jacob Parvin's journey, visiting a real travelling community, speaking to those vocal within the community - such as political groups and activists, and speaking to those who remember the days of old, the long lost generations of Roma people in the UK explored and compared to where we are now. We will be visiting landmarks such as 'The Little Church in the Woods'; a church built of Iron that has been a safe haven for Romany Travellers since 1875. We wish to build a trusting foundation with the community; hearing their stories and opinions beyond the stigmatised version the general public assume. Much of this requires funding and resources, which is why we need your help!
Jacob Parvin | Director
Hello! I’m the director, Jacob Parvin, and this will by my directorial debut, after specialising in editing for the past 2 years. I’ve always had dreams of directing a film, but never felt as if the right story was there for me to tell, however, after a particular evening spent with my grandma where I sat with her and was told amazing stories about my Romany heritage, I realised the perfect story had been right in front of me all along.
This will not only be a film to destigmatise and showcase the beauty of the Roma culture and lifestyle, but you will also be following my personal journey of rediscovering a culture which I had hidden away for so many years, with this film being the vehicle for me to embrace it and truly live it.
I want this film to be a landmark for the Roma community, and hopefully be a major step forward for people to realise that we are a rich, creative and beautiful race of people, and I’m really excited for you all to come with us through this amazing journey.
Jack Hill | Producer
I'm Jack, and I'm the Producer for Roma: Beyond the Stigma. I have been filmmaking and storytelling for as long as I can remember, always wanting nothing to do with anything else. I live and breathe film, having directed and written in the past. However, working with Jacob late last year and hearing stories of their Grandmother's adventures as a child in this wonderful travelling culture, we began developing this truly incredible story about a documentary focused on this amazing, misunderstood community... and I just knew I had to make it happen.
I wish to bring a real sense of purpose and heart to this film; providing every opportunity every resource possible to our crew in order to tell this story the right way. This community has faced more challenges than I can count; bigotry, racism, stigmatism, discard and hate from our politicians, slander from our media outlets, and poor representation on our television screens. It's time to change this. If I could finish this film having completed only one goal, I would want to share just one truly authentic story from the Roma people themselves; not from an outsider reporter, not from a dishonest statistic or ignorant bystander, but from the community - as they see it - beyond the stigma.
I am so excited for this project and I urge you to help us in any way you can to help us bring this incredible film to life.
Luke Green-Mcdonagh | Director of Photography
Hi everyone! My name is Luke Green-Mcdonagh. I am originally from Australia and have been living in the UK for a little over 2 years. I am proud to say that I will be the cinematographer on the project. I have always had a passion for documentary filmmaking and was keen to work on it from the moment I heard the idea. Having the privilege of joining Jacob on their journey is an experience that the entire crew and I are very excited to undertake. I am sure we will meet some amazing people with fascinating stories on the way!
I am happy to be working with such a talented camera team in the form of Marianna Aleiferopoulou as a Gaffer and Orpheas Kourmpelis as a 1st Assistant Camera. This team is going to create something beautiful. We want to represent the contributors on camera as authentic as possible whilst creating a CinemaScope that reflects the beauty of this often-overlooked culture.
This film will help the public see one of the many fading traditions that are still so important in a modern-day society to this day. Our cameras will create a new lens that instead of judging and criticising the traveller community will have a viewpoint of curiosity and sincerity.
Ronnie Nightingale-Timofejeva | Sound Designer
I'm Ronnie, one of the production sound crew on this film. I have been on many different sets recording many different voices and sounds, in forests and fields, small bedrooms and the most echoey studios.
I chose this project for a chance to learn about Romany culture first hand and from a very personal perspective, this is not a second hand recount or even stories found on the internet, it a real experience with real people which for me, give a fantastic chance to learn about a culture that hold many misconceptions, right from the source and allow me to take this knowledge not only to my peers but to the rest of the world who will watch this film.
The sound design of this film is going to maintain that reality of what you see, the natural sounds of the surroundings, peoples recounts and opinions and accentuate what the Romany people really want YOU to hear and understand. I sincerely hope this will bring more understanding towards the Romany community and inadvertently make their lives a little easier, by showing and teaching the rest of us, perhaps they won't need to be as anxious in their interactions with others and for this mentality to hopefully spill into the legal structures of our society to give them just as much freedom to be themselves as the rest of us.
Lisa Robinson | Editor
My name is Lisa Robinson and I am the editor for Roma: Beyond The Stigma. I have always had a passion for editing & filmmaking, from school to now, creating projects in my own time, and being involved in other peoples projects too.
I chose to work on this project because the topic really stood out to me. I have many friends from the same background, I go to many events ran/supported by these communities, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to be involved in something like this, and working with a team who are also passionate about the culture as well. I also love editing documentaries more than anything else so this was really a no brainer.
I and my department bring determination to this documentary, to edit it with respect to the culture, to show the real side, and to really get a point across to people who may have a misunderstanding about the community, and may change their opinions on the culture for the better.
I personally believe this film can help the community, because it will shine a light on what people often overlook, change negative opinions on what they have heard in the news, and show the genuine side instead.
The distribution of resources and budget is rather unique for a production of this kind. Due to the nature of travellers to... well, travel, much of the cost will be put toward moving our wonderful crew all across the South of England. Likewise, we must accommodate for our crew, with plans to camp on location alongside the Romany Travellers staring in the film. This will not only be an incredible experience for our crew of young filmmakers but will furthermore build a sense of real empathy and authenticity when making this film. We need all the support we can get, so get donating!
Wow! You've made it to the bottom of the page! From all of us on the Roma: Beyond The Stigma crew we'd like to thank you, and urge you to support our film. This is such an important topic and if made this film could have a ground-breaking real-world impact. Helping a real community with real people who are truly struggling under a system built for them to fail. This culture of travelling is so important to so many people, and yet so many are unable to live the lives they wish to like their ancestors did. If you are unable to donate, that's okay! You can help us by sharing this page to your friends/family and spreading the word on social media. Thank you, and it is time to LOOK BEYOND THE STIGMA.