Synopsis

A groundbreaking music documentary about the past and present of Roman music, narrated by Michael Madsen. In many ways, the film captures how tradition is subverted when a new movement rises up in an inaccessible ghetto, but it also shows the cultural rise of a younger generation to redefine society's old values. Audiences of all ages who are drawn to these elements of storytelling will want to see Run Raven Run.

Program Note

​The music of the Romani Gypsies gives us a glimpse into the history of Gypsy culture, including the migration, resettlement, and discrimination of the Gypsies, the Holocaust in the 20th century, the rise of Ceausescu's regime, perestroika, globalization, and the formation of the manele genre, which was influenced by Western music, Turkic and Eastern music. Like African-American music in the United States, we see how oppressed peoples have maintained their identity and culture by translating the pain and suffering of their oppressors into music and art. Some Gypsy music contains similar sentiments to our own. (Kwangwoo Noh)

Director

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  •  Michael Rainin