Artists and storytellers from across Europe share this week their stories of identity, displacement and belonging at the 23rd Seville European Film Festival (SeFF).
The programme, called ‘Raising Romani Gaze’, explores displacement, racism, identity, queer experience and belonging.
“It’s important that Romani people have the opportunity to tell their own stories,” said Hungarian filmmaker Katalin Bársony, curator of the programme. “By bringing together seven films, the film festival affirms the importance of Romani authorship and narrative sovereignty in contemporary European cinema.”
“It offers not only a platform for stories that emerge from within the community, but also an invitation to audiences and industry professionals to reconsider familiar perspectives and engage with the richness and diversity of Romani artistic expression,” she added.
The film festival includes Spanish premieres of films produced after 2025. She told The Brussel Times that the primary focus is on stories created by Romani directors, with a strong emphasis on self-representation. “It was important for us that Romani people tell their own stories, from their own perspectives, rather than having their experiences interpreted and represented by others.”
“For us, this is fundamentally a question of story sovereignty: the right of a community to define its own narratives, decide which stories deserve to be told and determine how its history, present and future are represented. We believe that communities should not remain objects of someone else's storytelling, but should become the authors, creators and owners of their own cultural narratives.”
Key highlights include among others the Spanish premiere of I Matter, the directorial debut of Romanian filmmaker Alina Șerban. The film about a young Romani woman leaving the care system received the Armani Audience Award at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival and was nominated for the European Film Awards.
The documentary I Saw a “Suno”/Suno Dikhlem by Katalin Bársony, turns to displacement, memory and the meaning of home. The film follows Nasmir, a young Romani man born in Germany, who is displaced to war-torn Kosovo and, over the years, makes his way back home.
A very different cinematic world awaits in Invasión Travesti, the restored Andalusian underground cult film by Seville-born filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist Jero de los Santos. Originally made in 2000, this 59-minute queer science-fiction work imagines hordes of transvestites invading the planet.
If there were a special award at the film festival for best Romani film, which film would you recommend?
“Rather than singling out one film, what we aim to achieve is to present the richness and diversity of Romani creative work as a community,” Bársony replied. “We want to demonstrate that Romani cinema is not a single voice or aesthetic, but a vibrant and diverse artistic landscape.”
“We are particularly proud that I Matter has received such significant international recognition. Alina Șerban's achievement demonstrates that Romani filmmakers and their stories can reach wider audiences and gain recognition at the highest levels of world cinema. It represents an important breakthrough for Romani artistic expression, visibility and self-representation.”
“But there is another dimension that is equally important to us,” she added. “When minority communities are given the space to tell their own stories, the entire society benefits. These films invite audiences to look beyond familiar perspectives, challenge established assumptions and learn from experiences that are often absent from mainstream cultural narratives.”
Which countries in particular support Romani films and film directors? “Through this program, we are introducing audiences to European independent films reflecting the diverse creative perspectives and experiences of Romani filmmakers from Sweden, Romania, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Finland.”
“We believe that Romani perspectives have something important to offer European audiences. Minority experiences can teach us a great deal about resilience, identity, belonging, social justice and the meaning of living together in diverse societies. “The filmmakers and artists involved represent our hope that Romani creative expression can gain greater international visibility.”
“But visibility alone is not enough. We also need access to decision-making spaces, professional networks, funding opportunities and the structures that shape the European film industry opportunities and the structures that shape the European film industry.”
“This is why we are also developing IncubatoROM, a pitching initiative that brings together European film-industry professionals and Romani authors, creating opportunities for them to present and develop their projects and stories,” she concluded.”
