Pages of my book
Galya Stoyanova
As a part of our special IN FOCUS – Romani stories by Romani (female) directors, ENFF proudly presents a strong short documentary by the Bulgarian photographer and aspiring filmmaker Galya Stoyanova who chose the medium of film to investigate her identity and (self)acceptance as a young Roma woman living in Eastern Europe. Pages of My Book is an effective exercise to expose racism in society. GalyaFurthermore, in her capacity as a lawyer, has relevant experience in the international Romani movement.
PAGES OF MY BOOK BY GALYA STOYANOVA
Gaze, and be gazed upon. A strong and honest performance acted out by photographer Galya Stoyanova who chose the medium of film to investigate her identity and (self)acceptance as a young Roma woman living in an Eastern European capital. Pages of My Book is an effective exercise to expose racism in society.
Synopsis
Through her short film, Bulgarian Romani artist Galya Stoyanova heads off by bravely voicing her deepest insecurities and fears regarding her identity as a Roma woman. She puts on traditional clothes and takes the streets of Budapest to artistically examine the way she is perceived by the majority and whether their prejudices will impact her own self-perception. Galya’s experiment is based only partially on criticising the majority’s traditional stereotyping of Romani people. What is applied much more here is the subjective point of view of a Roma woman, who, in the process of inhabiting a city, photographs people and is herself photographed by a crew, realising a double (objectifying and objectified) role. The result is a beautiful, authentic identity essay in which Galya presents a very affirmative version of feminist identity politics.FILM DETAILS
Country: Hungary
Year: 2018
Length: 78 min
Director: Dorrotya Zurbo
Editing: Peter Sass
Cinematography: Natasha Pavlovskaya
Cast: Kafiya Said Mahdi
Sound: Rudolf Varhegyi H.A.S.E.
Music: Adam Balazs
Production: Julianna Ugrin – Eclipse Film
