Roming

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Romania, 2007, 107 min
Section: Czech Films 2007-2008

Synopsis

Roman once promised a friend that his son would marry his daughter. Now the children are grown up, but his son Jura is in college in Prague and quite naturally is not interested in some girl from a Slovak village whom he’s never laid eyes on. What’s more, he keeps his distance from the gypsy customs practised by his father. When Jura finally agrees to go have a look at the potential bride, the expedition is taken over by his father’s peculiar friend Stano and the trip turns into a madcap – and at points even dangerous – adventure on which the protagonists rediscover their gypsy roots and, along the way, each other as well. This comic road movie combines the theme of “Euro-ethnicity” as used by Emir Kusturica and the ageless traditions of Czech tragicomedy. This, the second film by director Jiří Vejdělek, was based on a screenplay by the talented Marek Epstein that won the Sazka Screenwriting Award in 2004 as well as the national round of the international Hartley-Merill Prize for screenwriting.

About the director

Jiří Vejdělek (b. 1972, Šluknov) graduated in film direction from FAMU after studying at the Teaching College in Ústí nad Labem. He attracted attention with his student films (Sweets / Sladkosti, 1999, selected for the short film programme at the Cannes IFF). He signalled his interest in comedic material straight away with his feature film debut Holiday Makers (Účastníci zájezdu, 2006), an adaptation of Michal Viewegh’s bestselling novel that became the biggest Czech box office hit of 2006 and won Eva Holubová a Best Actress award at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in 2006 and a Special Jury Prize for the entire cast. Last year, in addition to Roming, Vejdělek directed the tragicomedy Václav, which was also written by Marek Epstein and was awarded two Czech Lions. Jiří Vejdělek also works in television (on the series The Office / Redakce).