Johnny Depp in the Caravan

One of the guests of the Festival of Documentary and Short Film is the author of the film about the Roma musical attraction „Gipsy Caravan“ Jasmine Dellal.

- This is not the first time that I’m working with Roma. The film I made prior to this one is also about Roma and is called „American Gypsy: A Stranger in Everybody’s Land“. When I made that film, I thought that I will never again work on similar films, but then I went to a concert with Roma music it made me want to show Roma through their music in various parts of the world, which would help people to better understand them. I realized I simply had to make this film. People typically see only one side of the Roma culture; this was the opportunity to get to know
Roma better and to see them from the perspective of excellent music. I felt it was my duty.

People call your film the Roma version of „Buena Vista Social Club“. What do you think about that?
- Had we only had the budget that „Buena Vista Social Club“ had... Also, Wenders is somewhat
more famous than me. In any case, I don’t have anything against that comparison.

How would you define the genre of your film? As a road/documentary musical perhaps?
- Yes, these three categories describe it well. Someone wrote that in addition to music and entertainment, my film also invoked human compassion, “go for music, stay for humanity”, as that critic said in the last sentence. This was very important for me, because during the shooting I became very close with the people I was making a film about, as well as with their families – I participated in weddings and funerals and everyday life in general.
The broader public will be interested about the appearance of certain Hollywood
stars in your film... How did that happen?
- Taraf De Haidouks, the famous Roma band from Romania appeared in the Sally Potter’s „The Man Who Cried“, where they became close friends with Johnny Depp and he was very happy to talk to his friends about Roma culture he got acquainted with. For me it was an excellent occasion, not only because Johnny Depp is a star, but also because I wanted to show the contrast between the stereotypes about Hollywood and those about Roma. When he is not on a pirate ship, Johnny Depp is in Hollywood and at the same time he was very spontaneously interested in learning something about Roma and their culture.