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Outreach Journal II: Caravan

Published on May 11, 2005

It has been a big year for Caravan (working title) and for Roma. Since our last journal entry we have continued to edit our feature documentary, joined the Open Society Institute’s Decade of Roma Inclusion initiative, and now we are preparing for our next outreach event.

Jasmine Dellal, Director of Caravan. Photo by Diego Merino

Caravan is a music-filled documentary that is part cultural celebration, part social exploration. Shot by documentary icon Albert Maysles, Caravan takes viewers on a whirlwind American concert tour with five top Romani (“Gypsy”) bands, and journeys back home to India, Macedonia, Romania and Spain with the artists. Their tales take viewers into a central tension of the Romani experience: a complex web of pride and stigma spun by the exotic “Gypsy” stereotype. Such duality is common for the world’s 10 million Rom, an ethnic group with no collective voice to counter their image as dirty thieves and romantic nomads.

Like the film, Caravan‘s outreach and education initiatives challenge commonly held “Gypsy” stereotypes. Our goal is to promote solidarity, unity and action among America’s Romani population of one million and to raise awareness of Romani issues and culture in the public eye. We have created outreach initiatives (see Outreach Journal I) to achieve those goals with the help of collaborators like the American Romani Alliance, Romani scholar Ian Hancock , and other Romani activists and filmmakers.

Developing the outreach campaign for Caravan is an ongoing process. We’ve been lucky enough to have dedicated interns working on projects like our study guide even as we continue to fundraise and finish the film. This way, we will be ready with these resources once the film is released. We’ve also found that having drafts of these resources on hand helps convince potential funders that our outreach initiatives are tangible and not just abstract ideas.

New Ideas and Goals

Thanks to numerous meetings of minds and flurries of emails and phone calls, we have zeroed-in on a new goal to which our outreach campaign can contribute. Just this year, the Open Society Institute launched The Decade of Roma Inclusion. This initiative was adopted by eight European countries, and has received international support . The program covers important ground: Roma women’s initiatives, education, health, culture, and political participation. However, there is no firm link between The Decade of Roma Inclusion and initiatives for American Roma. We hope that Caravan‘s outreach campaign will help bridge that gap by bringing different communities of Roma together, by promoting a sense of solidarity with the international Romani community, and by bringing Roma into contact with activists and role models who can help them make change.

Our upcoming outreach event on May 14th, 2005 is a step toward making these connections. The event, Romani Communities Today, is funded with grants from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and the New York Council for the Humanities. The event will feature screenings of clips from Caravan and from Searching for the Fourth Nail, the first documentary by a Romani American filmmaker, as well as a roundtable discussion with the filmmakers and Romani scholars and activists.

Before planning this event, we strategized…

Jasmine Dellal and George Eli lead a discussion at a rough-cut screening of Caravan. Photo by Chris Gwyn

Planning a Major Outreach Event

In an outreach consultation meeting with MediaRights staff, we discussed resource materials, potential partners, and we identified key themes upon which to build. We decided to create a group of consultants from various communities - filmmakers, activists, Romani community members, world music enthusiasts - who could help us plan the May 14th Romani Communities Today and other events.

We also decided that the best way to foster communication across communities is to invite a broad audience to the event, and that would mean finding a good “hook.” So we checked the tour schedules of the five bands featured in our film. Taraf de Haidouks was having a World Music Institute(WMI)-sponsored concert in New York City on May 14th. This concert would be a perfect way to encourage Roma to come into the city for a day of cultural celebration and a great way to draw in a broad audience. Thanks to our long-standing collaborations with WMI and with Taraf de Haidouks, we were we were able to include information about our screening on WMI’s postcards and email newsletter, and to persuade some of the band members to make a special appearance at our screening.

We then set out to find an event space. Our main criteria were that it was near the concert hall where Taraf will be playing; within our budget; and, most importantly, a space that would feel welcoming to our Romani audience members. The Screening Room at the Bryant Park Hotel fit the bill in terms of location and environment; happily, they were willing to work with us on meeting our budget when we described our project.

As the event (and film) are linked to music, we decided to expand the arts and culture theme of the event. In addition to the screening of film clips, audience members will also be treated to an exhibition of Jan Yoors’ photographs of Roma from around the world, traditional Romani snacks and a performance from the next generation of Roma musicians, a DJ who has produced a rap about Romani rights. We are hoping that this expanded slate of entertainment will represent an even broader view of Romani life and attract a more diverse audience.

Following the screening portion of the event, panel members will speak about Romani issues today, in American and beyond. Also, a number of other individuals and organizations have contacted us about addressing the audience during the event. Representatives from WITNESS will talk about linking to Roma organizing work in Europe, and the founder of a new Romani organization will read from his heartfelt call to arms.

Taraf de Haidouks’ Cacurica leaving the stage in Brussels with his accordeon. Photo by Carlos Mu&#241oz-Yag&#252e

Our resource materials—a handout about Roma and Romani issues that we have developed with our consultants and a list of online resources -� will supplement the discussion. We will also provide feedback forms to help us better define our initiatives and shape future events.

We hope that you attend on May 14th. Stay tuned for the next installment of our Outreach Journal to find out how it went!

Event Details: A Day of Romani Film and Music

A Day of Romani Film and Music
“Film and Roundtable: Romani Communities Today”

SCREENING of Clips from the forthcoming documentaries:
Caravan (working title) by Jasmine Dellal
Searching for the Fourth Nail by George Eli

EXHIBITION of photos of Roma by Jan Yoors

PANEL DISCUSSION Moderated by Ian Hancock (University of Texas)
With:
Filmmaker Jasmine Dellal, maker of American Gypsy
Romani Filmmaker George Eli
Romani activists Alexandra Oprea and Sonya Jasar
and Stars of Taraf de Ha�douks

Saturday, May 14th, 2005 2:30-6:30PM
The Bryant Park Hotel, Screening Room
40 W. 40th Street (at 6th Ave.)
Entry is free, limited space
For reservations: 212-228-7777 or info@littledust.com

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