What does family, parents and siblings mean to us? What do we do for our family members and what does the family do for us? How can we help each other in life? My story is about my younger brother, I consider him a hero in my life. Gábor is a simple man with a huge heart who is very honest and enduring. His endurance in work makes him a real hero. He works 16 hours five days a week as a cook; he gets up every morning and goes to work because that’s his job. He was 18 when he got a great opportunity to work abroad as a chef, naturally making much more money than here, at home. Had he accepted it, his life would have changed radically, but he didn’t want to leave me and our mom alone. It is just the three of us and we would never leave each other. He has superhuman strength. He moved in with Mom who had to be cared for because of her health, but we never felt that is a burden; we are one and everyone does their bit without complaint – Gábor works, Mom takes care of the household, I s...

The Independent Theatre Hungary has been drawing attention to the values, stories and heroes of Roma theatre for 15 years. This year, the company organised the international theatre meeting for the 5th time, 5–9 May, 2022, in the RS9 Theatre. During the festival’s five years, the audience saw 29 performances. The festival’s main goal is to present authentic stories written by Roma authors which places Roma culture’s values in the spotlight. „We work to draw attention to the values of Roma dramas and storytelling, to Roma communities’ situations by putting value-driven people’s stories and extraordinary challenges in the spotlight through presenting contemporary European plays.” – Rodrigó Balogh, art director On the 5 th of May, the Independent Theatre Hungary, celebrating its 15 th anniversary, presented the theatrical collection called Roma Heroes Digital Collection of European Roma Theatre and Drama. The collection presents the values, the past and the present, the artists and the ...

Who do we consider to be heroes and why? For their acts, their qualities, their courage or their clothing? Often when we talk about heroes, superheroes, doctors, firefighters or policemen come to our mind. This story shows the heroism of an ordinary person. My story goes back to when I was 18, and I lived in a condominium where a Russian lady, called Irina lived in the last flat. We were close to each other; her husband was even our distant relative. One day I noticed a lot of smoke coming from their flat. I ran to open the door and saw that their oven caught on fire and Irina was laying on the ground unconscious. I had to act immediately; there was no time to hesitate in that situation. I poured water on the oven, I dragged Irina out of the flat and called the firefighters, who came and put the fire out. It’s important to add, that in case of a disaster, if the flat had blown up, more residents could have got hurt. While on my way to the flat, I kept thinking that I had to act so that...

  The role model of Zsolt, who grew up in Sepsiszentgyörgy, is the theater company of László Bocsárdi. The company’s epoch-making performances and intimate atmosphere immediately captivated the boy preparing for an acting career. “ I looked up to these actors like gods.”- he says nostalgically. He recounts that after one of the performances, he took courage and talked to them. That's when his dream to be an actor in the Tamási Áron Theater was born. He talks about his experiences in Marosvásárhely at Színművészeti Egyetem and how he got into the thick of alternative theater life in Budapest.  Finally, he talks about her community work, experiences and its aftermath at the Roma settlement in Őrkö.

The most defining decision of Andrei Serban’s life is the open assumption of roma identity. However, he had to overcome serious obstacles before taking a step in his life as he admitted that he did not dare to take his views until the early twenties. He is currently fighting against racism and stigmatization as a human rights activist. He explains why he is proud to belong to a roma community and why he considers the possibility of creating a roma theater is important. He is enthusiastic about what projects he would implement in the theater. Finally, in connection with a performance, it becomes clear who he sees as his own hero as an example to follow.

For Nicoleta, the desire to prove has always been a determining factor. She wanted to show that a woman can also be a musician.  She talks about what motivated her to perform well in school, the impact of her childhood exclusion, and her experience at a youth theater company. Nicoleta is currently an actor of the Giuvlipen Company. She feels she has achieved what she wanted because she is doing what she loves. We can find out why her aunt is the greatest hero and what she thinks about the role of Roma theater in society.

An interview with Kumar Vishwanathan, the leader of Life Together Kumar Vishwanathan In the Czech city of Ostrava, it is a big problem that the Roma children are just running about without masks, in spite of the fact that it’s required by law to wear a face mask outside. Sometimes people give their masks to each-other, and we have to explain everywhere why it is important to put it on, how to use it, that they have to wash, dry and iron it before using it the next day. We try to educate the Roma children to take the epidemic seriously because if one person gets infected, the whole community is at risk. It started as a community thing in our community centre in Liščina, Ostrava when the crisis was just at the beginning and there weren’t as strict regulations as today. We wanted to teach the mothers how to sew masks for their children and families. A non-Roma and two Roma women started the work: Olina, Alka, and Věra. The idea was that the Roma women from the community will...

We have to face a lot of challenges and difficulties throughout our life. However, the most important is to stick to our goal, no matter what, and do our best to achieve what we truly want. This story dates back to my childhood. I still remember the moment when we entered our new home. I don't know how old I was but I can clearly recall that I thought, we might have a better life here. My stepfather would take care of us, we would live together in happiness, we wouldn't be cold during the night... As years went by, I really got everything I ever needed. One of my most precious memories is when my stepfather picked me up at school one autumn afternoon. He made me sit on his bike and we rode home. I was very happy, I was laughing the whole time and I fell asleep that night with a smile on my face. I can't explain what was so special about that afternoon but I can still remember that feeling. When I lost him, his absence left a huge void. I tried to find joy...

Roma heroes – 3. At the International Roma Theatre Festival, Giuvlipen company from Bucharest told the story of a young Roma girl who would have liked to keep studying but neither her family nor her school supported her. The play is based on a real story and presents the struggle of the girl that results in suicide and the struggle of those who knew her (priest, leader of the Roma community, teacher, parents) from various perspectives, raising the validity of different approaches and at the same time pointing out collective responsibility that no one can escape. Funding: Badur Foundation and USA Embassy in Hungary Contributors Starring Mihaela Dragan, Zita Moldovan and Liana Ceterchi Music: Elena Albu Cameramen: Máté Bartha Sound engineer: Gábor Kerekes Sound mixing: Ákos Lovász Director and light: Mihai Lukács Film editor: Péter Illés

So Kheren Amenca?! / Forever Holiday?!, the coproduction of Gorki Studio in Berlin and Romano Svato company in Vienna is based on the story of two sisters who got deported from their motherland. What can a parent do if she gets a letter claiming that her children can no longer live in the land that they believed to be their home? Everything changes and just one thing matters: what can they do to be able to stay? But there is nothing they can do, they cannot stay in the country. They get expelled and that is when their endless holiday begins: visiting distant relatives whose world is incredibly far from the young adults. Come and watch the play to learn what kind of challenges they have to face and how they overcome the difficulties! Funding: Badur Foundation, Goethe Institut Budapest, USA Embassy in Hungary Contributors directed by Sandra Selimovic project manager: Joshua Weiss dramaturge: Hanna AlTaher assistant director: Miriam Wagner project assistant: Jasmin ...

In September 2019, the Czech ARA Art company evoked the history of Roma communities in a new form, building on the elements of circus arts. The storytelling of a Roma women guides us through the fate of the Roma community, starting with the origin legend of Gypsy people, through modern history and Holocaust till the assimilation efforts of the socialist regime. Contributors Design and camera: Máté Bartha Directed by Márton Illés Sound engineer: Gábor Kerekes Microphone: Péter Illés Sound mixing: Gábor Kerekes Light: Márta Borbála Csapó Film editor: Dénes Fellegi Funding: Badur Foundation, USA Embassy in Hungary and Visegrád Fund The perforance was invited to Hungary with the support of Visegrád Fund 

We often judge other people because of their clothes, their outfit, the color of their hair or skin. However, it can happen that the one who helps us in need is someone who we would never have expected to do so. If we are open and not prejudiced our everyday life becomes more beautiful. I am a blond with green eyes, I had an amazing childhood and I have great parents who I owe a lot. When I was a child, I didn't hear much about Gypsy people, I didn't know any Gypsies in my close environment. If this topic ever came up, people talked about them in a negative way. It was the well known triangle of lying, cheating, stealing. I never really cared about this, I was a child, I was not interested, still, I was a bit afraid of Roma people. I didn't know why, it was inexplicable. I was nine years old. One day, me and my brother wanted to go home but I run out of money, be couldn't buy bus tickets. My brother got so scared that he started to cry and I suddenly didn...