Cigarettes and Songs

In an evangelical church in Eastern Slovakia, something extraordinary is happening. A group of Roma gypsies and Slovaks have come together to make music and are recording a CD of ancient Roma songs in new compositions. Bela cannot speak about the loss of his wife and children, but pours out his emotions in a moving song. Irena has left her husband Emil and her children behind in their tiny home, happy to have a few days to focus on the songs which have forever been a part of her life. Their Slovak colleagues have had no experience with the Roma before, who, like in so many other countries, are continually persecuted. They soon warm to their humour and humility, in a stirring film about the unifying, therapeutic power of music.