’Once We Were Birds: Romani Cinema’ is one of the thematic sidebars within the festival (alongside ’Homefront USA’ and ’Power : Play’).

It will be devoted to films by and about the Roma and thus continues a tradition in the festival of celebrating the voices and the riches of unsung cultures. A large selection of features, shorts and documentaries will include films by Romani directors featuring Romani actors and the majority of them in the Romani language. Very rarely seen classics from a variety of European countries, and rare US features about the Roma will play alongside premiering documentaries like Aleksander Manic’s SHUTKA (Yugoslavia/Czech Republic) and Zelimir Zilnik’s KENEDI COMES BACK HOME (Yugoslavia) to present a diverse celebration of Romani culture and an exploration of how it has been represented by the Roma themselves and by others.