Blogpost by Anna Skenderoglou The Ladder is Feminine – one step at a time

Since taking on the role of ERIAC’s director in 2017, Junghaus has continued paving the way for others. For her, it is clear that Roma filmmakers are not only reshaping the image others have of them, but they are changing the entire cinema landscape itself. In her words, it is raw, poetic visions of beauty, resilience and defiance that enable Roma to break through common stereotypes in film. 

Films by Roma filmmakers do not offer neutral observations, but radically authentic perspectives on life. According to Junghaus, true inclusion means not only seeing Roma on screen, but also placing the camera in their hands. The future of European cinema is incomplete as long as Roma voices are not perceived and promoted as an equal part of film production.

Creating steps, not just showing images

Susan Newman-Baudais is just as aware that structural change requires more than mere visibility. She is Executive Director of Eurimages, the European Council's film support fund based in Strasbourg. With over 27 years of experience in the European film and television world, she brings with her in-dept knowledge of funding mechanisms, diversity strategies and co-production structures. Her vision: more justice, more participation, more future for European cinema.  

Eurimages was founded in 1988 and has since supported around 2,300 international co-productions with a total of over 655 million euros – mainly in the fields of feature films, documentaries and animation.  

Since stepping into her role as director, Newman-Baudais has placed a special focus on new selection methods and targeted initiatives for gender equality, diversity and environmental sustainability. 

From zero to one hundred, but without zero it wouldn't have worked 

Alina Serban is widely known as an actress, author, director and activist. What is less known is the perseverance that has defined her journey, especially when life put roadblocks in her path. As a child, she not only experienced the loss of her family home, but also grew up in a children's home for some time while her mother was in prison. Instead of personal development and carefree childhood dreams, Alina was forced to confront the realities and dangers of growing up as a Romani girl.  

But she understood something fundamental early on: she is in control of her own future and has the strength to move on from past experiences and, in the best case scenario, turn them into a source of power (calendar quote number 2). Even if it sounds corny, this realisation is definitely worth mentioning, because it takes tons of self-confidence and courage to venture onto the ladder of personal success. 

After graduating from high school, the first member of her family to do so, she attended the Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in Bucharest. There, she began to channel her experiences and diary entries into one-woman plays like ‘Slumdog Roma’ and ‘Two weeks, maximum one month, maybe six years’. She further refined her acting talent in several short films and television productions. At the same time, she wrote several award-winning plays, such as ‘I Declare at My Own Risk’ (2012), and a collection of Roma fairy tales based on her aunts' stories. 

 

I Matter (Please say it out loud – yes, to yourself) 

Today, she brings her newest project to the ERIAC Film Pitch Deck with her feature film ‘I Matter’. Based on a short film of the same name, it follows almost completely her biographical story. In the film, Rebecca, a young Roma woman who grows up in an orphanage while her mother is in prison, decides to become an actress. She soon finds herself grappling with feelings of shame about her past, loneliness and the dissonance between reality and dreams. 

The film is produced by none other than Ada Solomon, a celebrated Romanian film producer and an active voice in film politics. She has worked with Alina Serban as a producer in the past, for example on the short films ‘I Matter’ (2021) and “Vanessa” (2022). The fact that the two women are now exploring the themes of ‘I Matter’ in more detail in a feature film debut promises an even deeper, more resonant portrayal.  

As a European co-production with Romania, Germany and France, and with a planned budget of 1.5 million euros, Alina Serban seems to have reached the top of the ladder. But that does not mean her work is done. On the contrary: she has now stabilised the ladder, which was once shaky, for everyone who comes after her. 

The title of the film is much less egocentric, it is instead a subtle positive affirmation. This way, everyone who reads the title is reminded of what is essential. (And there's no escaping it, because anything we read in the first person, anything our inner voice whispers to us, goes straight to our adaptable brain – keyword: neuroplasticity.) – Thank you, Alina! 

 

Calendar quote number 3: Creativity heals. 

Or at least it helps us to endure. Director and visual artist Monica Manganelli does not use affirmations; she works with animated images. Poetic, political and precise, her work proves that childlike imagination can speak directly to the brain. 

Born in Parma, Manganelli began her career as a stage designer in European opera productions. Today, she is increasingly devoted to animation and documentary film. Her academic background in architecture and art history shapes her unique visual language and defines her artistic signature. 

Her animated directorial debut, ‘The Ballad of the Homeless’ (2015), won several awards, as did her short film ‘Butterflies in Berlin – Diary of a Soul Split in Two’ (2019), which explores the persecution of queer individuals under National Socialism. 

Despite their colourful animation, her films carry the weight of painful collective memories of reality. Sometimes they tell of the earthquake in the Emilia Romagna region in 2012 (‘The Ballad of the Homeless’), sometimes of the unsuccessful search for personal fulfilment and the freedom to be oneself in Nazi Germany (‘Butterflies in Berlin’). 

 

Seeing more through the imagination of a blind girl  

Monica Manganelli remains true to this artistic trajectory with her new project ‘Hope. An (almost) Gypsy Fairy Tale’. The film tells the story of a Roma family during the Second World War, centering on a blind girl named Hope and her father, Grigo. 

Because of her blindness, the child can only perceive the extent of the persecution and expulsion through her imagination, which gives the entire animation an authentic legitimacy. The magic of innocent children's eyes and their imagination form the basis for this visually beautiful examination of the past, while the truth and reality of the historical facts provide a bitter contrast.

Those who Open doors open pathways. Those who steady the ladder make the climb possible.  

Even if the films from the ERIAC Pitch Deck are not (yet) directly funded by Eurimages, the joint presence of Timea Junghaus and Susan Newman-Baudais in Cannes sends a strong and clear message.  And while women may not rule the world – yet – their growing visibility, with their courage to tell honest personal stories and offer new, unconventional perspectives, is a valuable step forward.