Roma Portraits

During the transition period following socialism in Bulgaria the vast majority of the poorly educated Roma have lost their jobs, and many have fallen into extreme poverty.

During the present transition period, the vast majority of the Roma have lost their jobs, and many have fallen into extreme poverty. In this context of discrimination and despair, evangelism seems to bring a ray of hope.

In this context of discrimination and despair, evangelism sometimes brings a ray of hope. During the month of June 1997 a visual anthropology workshop took place in the town of Sliven, Bulgaria. The initial goal of the project was to train a small number of young Roma in anthropological video techniques. Following the training period the Roma students each made a video exercise on a topic of their choice. The workshop aimed to help the young Roma address a wide audience and tell their stories about life in their marginal community. It was further expected that native video recorders would express in their work a much higher degree of sensitivity to cultural meaning than could an outsider. This program presents a selection of the video exercises made by the Roma trainees. Parts of the video material have been left unedited.