Sona and her Family

The young director Daniela Rusnoková selected one of the families living in the middle of the Rudňany Roma settlement, and followed their lives from 2004 to 2006. This family gave her access to the very heart of the community. The pivotal character in this testimony about the lifestyle of the local Roma population is Soňa, who is the mother of 15 children. She is a strong, loving woman, who is also a good wife and mother. The film follows her everyday concerns about getting by and her struggle with disadvantageous external conditions, which is getting harder and harder. It consists of two levels: an external view of a human journey and an annotated record of the working day is interlaced with intimate confessions from Soňa, which reveal her most deeply hidden worries and fears, but which also uncover the little joys she has in life. The film is an interesting portrait of a woman with a difficult destiny. It shows how it is possible to get closer to a person who is far removed from us whilst also describing the current situation in Slovakia.