Vortex

Filmed over a period of six months, this social documentary feature film shows the lives of Roma families in a small village in Hajdu-Bihar county, North-East Hungary, close to the Romania border. Unemployment is close to 100% in this community, and the isolation, poverty and discrimination against Roma create a situation in which families find it hard to live decent lives. The film focuses on the experiences of three families, following the various hardships and setbacks they faced over this period. Problems of illness, poor living conditions, lack of basic amenities and even house collapse combine with fears of children being taken into care, with ever-present challenges of finding enough food, and wood to heat their houses. This creates a situation in which hope is hard to find and in which children suffer as well as the adults. Solutions are not simple or easy, and the local services struggle to find ways to help these people out of their desperate plights.