Culture

Compelling and honest portrait of gypsy culture.


Felicita Vos
'Blauwe haren, zwarte ogen'
De Romacultuur van binnenuit
(Blue hair, black eyes
The Roma-culture from within)


'Blauwe haren, zwarte ogen' begins with a journey to Auswitsch. It is the starting point of a journey through the rich culture of the Sinti, Roma and Gitanos, or gypsies as they are commonly called. Through centuries they have been persecuted, been exiled to remote area’s
like pariahs. And today still, many Roma are looked down upon and abused, they are stigmatised and stereotyped.
But how does their culture really look? Felicity Vos takes us all over Europe to where her leading figures live and work. Dancing with singer Ljiljana Buttler-Petrovic, drinking cappuccinos with flamenco dancer Joaquin Cortès, crying over the tortured souls in Birkenau Felicity Vos finds that even though these people are scattered throughout Europe, traditions are upheld and rituals are the same everywhere. Vos also takes a look at her own life’s history, the political climate and social-economical factors at hand in different countries. She confronts existing conventions by candidly broaching cultural taboos from their own culture like homosexuality, death and persecution.

'Blauwe haren, zwarte ogen' is a unique kaleidoscopic document that gives us new insights in the culture of the Sinti, Romani and Gitanos form within. Includes interviews with Joaquin Cortès, Sylvia Tóth, Tata Mirando, Amet Jasar, Gusztáv Balázs, Esma Redzepova, Ljilana Buttler-Petrovic, Tomatito, The Rosenberg Trio and many more.