directed by Agnieszka Zwiefka, documentary, 80 min, eng subtitles
written by Agnieszka Zwiefka
with Denisa Gabor
A deaf girl from an illegal Roma settlement escapes the brutal world of reality by entering a world of rhythm, dance and imagination. 10-year-old-Denisa is an outcast in many ways. She is an illegal citizen of a gypsy camp in Poland, a female in a patriarchal gypsy community and, most importantly,l she does not speak; no-one has ever diagnosed her with severe hearing disabilities. Even the children from the camp call her ‘the stupid one’, but Denisa is far from stupid. She simply has a world of her own – a world full of rhythm and dance. Ever since finding a box of Bollywood DVDs in a nearby rubbish dump, Denisa wants to dance and dress like the glamorous women in the films. Together with other children from the camp, she tries to create Bollywoodesque choreographies. This is Denisa’s way of surviving extreme poverty, aggressive attacks from the neighbours and the threat of eviction. Dancing allows her to be anyone she wants, even a queen, and express what she cannot say – joy, sadness and fear.
Awards:
Krakow IFF 2015 (The Silver Horn Award for Best Feature-length Documentary, Polish Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography)
Mumbai IFF 2016 (Best Sound)
Deutscher Kamerapreis 2015 (Best Camera, Best Editing)
One World HRFF Prague 2015 (Czech Radio Jury Award)
Let’s Cee IFF Vienna 2015 (Urania Award for Best Documentary)
Flahertiana IDF Perm 2015 (Grand Prix for Best Documentary)