Flames de Déu at the Filmoteca de Catalunya/ November 4
International Day of the Romani Language
4th November 2023
Filmoteca de Catalunya
Plaza Salvador Seguí, 1 – 9 08001 Barcelona
On Saturday, November 4, at 8:00 p.m., the film Flames of God (Flames de Déu), by Meshakai Wolf, 2011 , will be screened at the Filmoteca de Catalunya, and afterwards there will be a discussion about the situation of the Romani language in the world of cinema. This event is organized by the Barcelona City Council and the entities of the Municipal Council of the Roma People of Barcelona in partnership with European Roma Institute of Arts and Culture (ERIAC) on the ocassion of the International Day of the Romani Language.
The event will be attended by the commissioner of Citizen Relations and Cultural and Religious Diversity of the Barcelona City Council, Sara Belbeida, the first vice-president of the Municipal Council of the Gypsy People of Barcelona, Francisco Vargas, and the Educational Services technician of the Filmoteca de Catalonia, Júlia Betrian.
PROGRAM
8:00 p.m. Welcome and presentation by Sara Belbeida , Commissioner of Citizen Relations and Cultural and Religious Diversity of Barcelona City Council, Francisco Vargas , first vice-president of the Municipal Council of the Gypsy People of Barcelona and Júlia Betrian , of Educational Services of the Film Library of Catalonia.
8.15 pm Screening of the film Flames of God , by Meshakai Wolf, 2011.
9.30 pm Colloquium “The Romani language in the world of cinema” .
With Pierre Chopinaud , French writer, political organizer and translator of Romani literature. In addition to co-directing the French NGO Voix des Rroms and participating in the creation of the international movement “Roma Resistance”, he has published and founded an organization called Conatus.
And Sami Mustafa , director, producer and writer of independent documentaries. Founder of Romawood, artistic director of the Rolling Film Festival and member of the International Romani Film Commission.
Moderated by Enérida Isuf , Romani, migrant and Muslim lawyer and activist.
10.15 pm Prayers and questions
10.30 p.m. Closing
Free entry. Tickets only at the Filmoteca box office.
Flames of God (Flames de Déu)
MESHAKAI WOLF, 2011. North Macedonia (USA). YOU 73 minutes Digital archive.
Invited by the International Poetry Biennale, Muzafer Bislim, a poet and singer-songwriter from the gypsy community of Shutka (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), travels to Paris in the hope of selling his life’s work: a handwritten dictionary of 25,000 words containing some of the oldest and most unknown words of the Romani language. But when the authenticity of the words is questioned, Bislim is forced to face the painful prospect of returning to his family empty-handed. The journey tests the resolve of Bislim, who reunites with old friends who have managed to escape the hardships of Shutka and enjoy the seduction of Paris. Flames of God is a story of language and identity on the fringes of Western civilization, revealing one man’s vision of a united and literate Roma people.
November 5 International Day of the Romani Language
On November 3, 2015, during the UNESCO General Conference, November 5 was proclaimed International Day of the Romani Language.
That great news was the result of the demand, the consensus and the desire for cultural justice that emerged in a joint statement produced during the celebration of a world congress organized in Zagreb on November 5, 2009 by Kali Sara and the Union Romaní International.
With the declaration of November 5 as International Day of the Romani Language, a linguistic heritage of humanity, the Romani language and its dialectal richness, is protected.
Čhib Romany is an Indo-European language that has its origins in Sanskrit, and is currently estimated to be spoken by nearly 14 million people on five continents.
