Media Voice

The TV biopic maps the fate of Roma writer Elena Lackova in an intimately personal way. As viewers, thanks to the author's authentic voiceover and preserved archive footage, we delve into her memories of the Holocaust and the communist dictatorship in the context of the play Burning Gypsy Camp. We uncover the circumstances of growing up in a gypsy settlement, her first literary achievements, and her struggle to combine her personal and professional life. We also get to know her life story through her great-granddaughter and actress Alžbeta Ferencova, known as Zea or the serial Iveta (dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2022). The parallel between the life of the writer and that of her great-granddaughter, who also embarked on an artistic career and broke down stereotypes about the role of Roma women in society, creates a timely and transferable story. A crucial motif of the poetic film is also the unprecedented emancipation of the writer for the time.

This documentary film reveals how the lives of the descendants of a partisan fighter in the Second World War are still impacted by the events of that period, 75 years after the end of hostilities. In making her case, Lacková provides glimpses into her private surroundings. Over the course of her film, she also points out frightening parallels between the reign of the Nazi terror regime and the resurgence of racist currents throughout today's Europe.