28th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival
A Hole in the Head
synopsis
Everyone knows about the Roma holocaust, but no one talks about it. The process of eliminating memories of it began more or less at the end of the Second World War, when many mass graves in work and detention camps remained intact. Even for the winners, the Roma were “second class” victims. In a number of European countries (France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Croatia, Serbia), the director confronts a forgetful present with memories of the last surviving witnesses of these horrific events. The result is a partially scripted and staged documentary - an elegy to the victims of a monstrous regime and human indifference.
“I think that what helped the Roma and Sinti survive persecution is their non-material relationship with the world, with being, with time. This was my main starting point for the film. The memory they carry with them, and the memory we perceive – our collective consciousness.” Robert Kirchhoff
biography
Robert Kirchhoff (1968) is a Slovak independent director and producer, and the founder of the atelier.doc production company. His work focuses primarily on current social topics and on the issue of coming to terms with historical heritage in Central Europe. At past Jihlava IDFFs, viewers had the opportunity to see his films Hey You Slovaks! (2002, 2002 Jihlava IDFF) and Normalization (2013, 2013 Jihlava IDFF).
more about film
director: | Robert Kirchhoff |
cast: | Raymond Gurême, Fata Dedić, Nadir Dedić, Toti Dedić, Ladislav Welward, Ján Konček, Krystyna Gil, Karol Parno Gierliński, Rita Prigmore, Philomena Franz, Dragoljub Acković, Daniel Vojak, Markus Pape, Jan Hauer, Arnošt Vintr |
producer: | Barbara Janišová Feglová |
script: | Robert Kirchhoff |
photography: | Juraj Chlpik |
editing: | Jan Daňhel |
sound: | Václav Flegl |