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focus on gypsies

Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven

How the gypsy has been imagined on screen, and why cinema has been swept up in a hot-blooded flourish of song and dance.

Thursday 8 June - Sunday 18 June 2006
Full $13 Concession $10
Six Session Pass: Full $60 Concession $48


Cinema has always been captivated by the notion of the gypsy. From its earliest incarnations, (the now lost) Georges Melies' Campement des Bohemiens (1896), the screen gypsy has allowed filmmakers to concoct tales of unadulterated escapism, full of drama, passion and colour set in a land far, far away.

But is there another kind of screen gypsy, one far removed from the stereotypical billowing skirt and hoop earrings?

Within this season the notion of the screen gypsy will be explored in many guises, from contemporary social documentaries to lavish music filled spectaculars, providing a snapshot of cinemas prevailing love affair with this subject matter and alluring audiences with the spirit of these films - passion, endurance, beauty, freedom and melodrama.

Curated by Kristy Matheson. Inspired by Once We Were Birds: Romani Cinema, curated by Ludmila Cvikova for the Rotterdam Film Festival.

the loves of carmen Dancing, singing and castanetting her way across the screen, Hayworth is electric as the feisty, man-eating gypsy Carmen.

pavee lackeen This beautifully affecting debut offers an intimate view of traveller life in the industrial outskirts of contemporary Dublin.

angelo my love Robert Duvall paints a portrait of a New York Gypsy community and the relentless quest of one boy to regain possession of a family ring.

i met some happy gypsies too A critical and box office hit on its release, it has lost none of its currency and remains as immediate today with audiences worldwide.

black cat white cat Set on the banks of the Danube, this ramshackle tale charts the ups and downs of a group of small time gypsy hustlers.

gypsy and the gentleman Flamboyant costuming, blazing colours and elaborate settings all play to the "Hollywood" vision of the Gypsy.

gypsies are found near heaven A seminal work in its depiction of Romany people on screen, Loteanu's visually sumptuous masterpiece is breathtaking in its scale and romance.

ceija stojka - portrait of a romni Berger's portrait of Austrian intellectual, author and artist Ceija Stojka is an intimate and moving record of Romany life in pre and post-war Europe.

the green grass beneath Six years after their first filmic encounter, Berger returns to speak with Ceija Stojka about her experiences as a child inmate.

gadjo dilo The third instalment in Gatlif's Gypsy trilogy explores the interplay between a Romany community and a Gadjo (non-Roma).

vierka, or the mystery of family b's disappearance "A documentary that starts out as a portrait of a young talented Romany singer turns into a drama about two different versions of the truth".

latcho drom Across sandy deserts, snow covered plains and European towns, Latcho Drom, spans the origins and history of the Roma people entirely through song.

hot blood Well described as a "visually lurid gem", this rarely seen musical/melodrama embodies all the charged eroticism for which the director was famous.

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