ERIAC and the Fortunoff Archive Announce 2025 Roma Holocaust Voices Fellowship Recipients
Demonstrating their continued commitment to amplifying Roma and Sinti voices in Holocaust remembrance, European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) and the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies have selected the recipients of the 2025 Roma Holocaust Voices Fellowship. This year’s Creative Fellowship is awarded to filmmaker Lisa Smith, while the Academic Fellowship goes to emerging scholar and activist Marija Enver. The fellowship builds on the success of previous programs, continuing a collaboration dedicated to supporting Roma voices and expanding public understanding of the Roma and Sinti genocide.
By engaging directly with Roma Holocaust survivors testimonies, the fellows aim to transform them into accessible research materials, artistic works, and educational resources intended for researchers, teachers, students, cultural institutions, and Roma communities. Their projects will contribute to a fuller, more accurate narrative of Holocaust history—one that recognizes the centrality of Roma and Sinti experiences and challenges the enduring historical marginalization of their voices.
ERIAC and the Fortunoff Archive congratulate Lisa Smith and Marija Enver and commend their commitment to honoring and preserving the voices of Roma and Sinti Holocaust survivors
The Winning Projects
“The Many Voices of Her”
British Romani filmmaker Lisa Smith has been selected for the Creative Fellowship for her animated documentary The Many Voices of Her. This five-minute film centers the lived experiences of Romani women survivors—voices that have too often been sidelined or erased from Holocaust remembrance.
Using verbatim audio from the Fortunoff Archive alongside evocative animation, the film weaves together selected testimonies into what Smith describes as a “tapestry of interwoven themes.” The piece aims to honor the complexity and emotional depth of the women’s memories, highlighting their roles as carriers of cultural resilience and personal strength.
By foregrounding Romani women’s voices, The Many Voices of Her addresses the intersecting forces of gender, ethnicity, and trauma, offering a restorative approach to visibility in both public memory and contemporary culture.
“Hidden Courage: Roma Resistance and Survival in the Holocaust”
Emerging scholar, activist, and Bosnian Roma community advocate Marija Enver has been awarded the Academic Fellowship for her project Hidden Courage: Roma Resistance and Survival in the Holocaust. Her research aims to recover and amplify overlooked narratives of Roma resistance, challenging persistent misconceptions that frame Roma victimhood as passive.
Drawing on survivor testimonies from the Fortunoff Archive, Enver will examine how Roma and Sinti survivors recount acts of defiance—both overt and everyday. Her analysis treats testimonies as simultaneously historical records and living narratives of trauma, endurance, and identity.
The project will culminate in an interactive digital exhibition and a downloadable educational resource pack for schools, universities, and community organisations. These materials will integrate survivor testimony, historical context, and multimedia content, offering tools for both scholarly research and public engagement. Research runs from November 2025 to April 2026, progressing from testimony selection and transcription to thematic analysis and digital development.
Meet the Fellowship Recipients
Lisa Smith
Lisa Smith is a British Romani filmmaker whose work is rooted in international collaboration across the UK, Germany, and beyond. She served as creative producer for the animated documentary series People Can Die Twice (2022), now part of the permanent exhibition at the Memorial to the Murdered Sinti and Roma of Europe in Berlin. From 2021 to 2024, she curated the International Festival of Romani Film AKE DIKHEA? in Berlin. In 2023, she founded Patrin Films, producing acclaimed works including The Angry Bird (2025), winner of the Netflix Documentary Talent Fund and nominated for Best Short Documentary at the Raindance Film Festival, and The Earth Beneath Margaret’s Feet (2025), made in collaboration with Ffilm Cymru Wales, the BFI NETWORK, and BBC Wales. She is a Research Associate with the Critical Film and Image Hub at Heidelberg University and a member of the European Film Academy.
Marija Enver
As a Bosnian Roma woman, activist, and emerging scholar, my work is shaped by both my community’s history and my own lived experience. After completing my undergraduate degree in History in London, I began an MA in Holocaust Studies, where I focus on the persecution, resilience, and resistance of Roma communities—narratives that feel deeply personal to me. Alongside my studies, I work as an advice worker for the Roma Support Group, supporting community members in navigating complex systems and accessing their rights. My research grows from a desire to preserve the memory of Roma suffering while also illuminating the strength and defiance that have defined our survival. Through my academic work, I aim to challenge historical erasure and create space for Roma voices, including my own, within broader historical conversations.