Roma - From Huedin to Here

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Nasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre, with filmmaker Brian Cronin, producers Greucean Adam and Claire Larkin, and support from Cork City Partnership, are seeking €1,500 funding from generous and committed donors to make a film documenting the experiences of the Roma community in Cork.

The Cork Roma community is small and extremely tight-knit, with unique ethnic traditions, language and culture. Although they experience significant discrimination and racism in their everyday lives in Ireland, they are very happy to be living here and are integrating into the ever-increasingly diverse population of Cork.

The majority of Roma currently living in Cork come from the same camp in Romania, which is located on the outskirts of the city of Huedin. The camp was burned down in the 1990s and many of the people living there migrated to Cork, seeking protection and a better life for themselves and their families. The people who remain in the camp live in complete deprivation, with bleak prospects and in wretched conditions. The film will highlight the experiences of Roma who migrated from Huedin and settled in Cork.

Members of the Cork Roma community are participating in the development of the film, and have agreed to be filmed and interviewed for it. As part of making the film, a team including the filmmaker, producers and members of the Roma community will travel to Huedin to document the remains of the camp where the Cork Roma community originated.

The Roma are an extremely marginalised group across Ireland and Europe more generally, and this is a unique opportunity to have a glimpse into the Roma community who now make up part of our Cork community, as well as to see what they left behind in Romania. As Roma migrant Greucean Adam says, ‘Life may not always be perfect here but we’re happy to be here, things are much better for us here’.

We’re asking for people to donate anything they can towards the costs of making this film. This includes contributions towards director and operation costs, editing, lighting, expenses for the participants from the Roma community, travel costs for the filmmaking team, the launch of the film in January 2013, and other contingencies. The rewards are unique and reflective of the Roma community’s contribution to Cork.

About the participants:
Nasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre, is a non-governmental migrant organisation working for an integrated society based on the principles of human rights, social justice and equality through protecting rights, promoting integration and campaigning for change. Producer Claire Larkin, Nasc’s Roma Rights Officer, works closely with the Cork Roma community, providing support, free legal advice and campaigning for Roma rights and inclusion.

Brian Cronin is well-known filmmaker in Cork. His RTÉ-funded short Fond of a Moth screened on the opening night of the Cork Film Festival last year. To see some of filmmaker Brian Cronin’s recent work, go to his Vimeo page.

Producer Greucean Adam is a member of the Cork Roma community and an activist for Roma rights.