Welcome to the picturesque world of the Kaldarash Roma – a closed community of no more than 1 million people all over the world. 'Concrete Pharaohs' take us on a journey into the lifestyle and traditions of the most hidden and intriguing Roma communities. A charismatic Gypsy baron will walk us through his stories and his new house. We will learn the hot trends in Roma tombstone design. We will go down into the underground homes of African granite, furnished with beds, wardrobes, stereos and a charged cell phone – a direct line to the other world. A celebration of life and afterlife in all of their manifestations.
A troupe of gypsies takes a traveler along with them on their day trip.
A beautifully colorful documentary about the Kalbeliya of Northern India.
Based on real near-death experiences, the afterlife is explored with the guidance of New York Times bestselling authors, medical experts, scientists and survivors who shed a light on what awaits us.
A fascinating quest for proof of life after death -- a true-life enigma that begins with one small, odd incident and mushrooms into a huge scientific inquiry into apparent messages from the 'Other Side.'
A documentary about bizarre residents of Shutka, a Macedonian village built on the former city dump area. Shutka, where everyone is the champion of something. This film is a celebration of the culture, humor, spirit, oddities and idiosyncrasies of the Roma, one of the world's poorest and most persecuted peoples. Ultimately we are instructed in the celebration of life despite any and all circumstances - everyone is of value here.
RROMANI SOUL traces the true origin of the Rroma people. Through rituals, song and dance we follow emblematic figure and "Queen of the Gypsies" Esma Redzepova to Macedonia, south of France and finally to India. The film reveals for the first time ever that the true and unique origin of the Rroma is Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh, India.
Stretching along the river Ganges rests Varanasi, the holiest of India’s seven sacred cities, and a place where devout Hindus go to die in hopes of achieving moksha - becoming liberated from the cycle of rebirth. Hindu scriptures say that a soul has to undergo 8.4 million rebirths before reaching the human form, the only form one can attain moksha, and dying in Varanasi and being cremated along the banks of the river is believed to be the ideal way of achieving this. Several so-called ‘death hotels’ exist to accommodate believers who abandon their lives and come here in wait for death - some for as long as 40 years.
Zenith Virago is an activist and educator who for over 20 years has been returning the coastal region of Byron Bay, Australia to a more communal, celebratory, and creative engagement with death and dying.
Prominent Ukrainian/Italian documentary film director Oleksandr Balahura (most known for link) visits Roma neighborhoods and social events in Zakarpattia (Western Ukraine) and re-visits his earlier work, "Widow-Street", shot on same locations in 1991. He also screens "Widow-Street" to its characters, whom he meets again in 2013.
This one-of-a-kind comedy special showcases the comedian's riotous stand-up performance, exploring everything from the Disability experience to her Italian-Catholic upbringing to body image issues and more.
Varanasi is the Indian city where Hindus go to die. Stretching along the Ganges, Varanasi holds great spiritual significance because Hindu scriptutres say that anyone who dies there will attain moksha—liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Berlin-based director Dan Braga Ulvestad captures life and death in India’s heartland in this moving documentary filled with exquisite cinematic moments. By the River starts its narrative journey with the city’s “death hotels,” dedicated apartments where people wait to die, sometimes for decades, so they can be cremated on the banks of the Ganges.
Gypsy Blood examines the culture that Gypsy and Traveller fathers hand on to their children, which many non-gypsy view as overly violent, exploring its impact on two fathers and their young sons.
Life After Death explores the ultimate unknown through the beliefs of various cultures. Hear what people have to say who have had near-death experiences. Peer into the next life for answers to this age-old mystery.
An intimate look at Gypsy refugees in a Belgrade suburb who make a living by transforming Citroen´s classic 2cv and Dyana cars into Mad Max-like recycling vehicles, which they use to collect card-board, bottles and scrap metal. These modern horses are much more efficent than the cart-pushing competition, but even more important, they also mean freedom, hope and style for their crafty owners. Even the car batteries are used as power generators in order to get some light, watch TV and recharge mobiles ! Almost an alchemist´s dream come true ! But police doesn´t always find these strange vehicles funny... Pretty Dyana is a very funny documentary, but sad in a way... " If Mitic had focused only on the terrible misery these people live in, the film would have been unbearable. Instead, you never know whether you should cry after you laugh, or the other way around " Sara Hultmanm, Goteborg Film Festival