{{ mainName }}

{{ newsTitle }} {{ newsVisible ? '✦' : '✧'}}

    • New Talents Open Call
      Eastern Neighbours Film Festival (ENFF) began in The Netherlands in 2008 with the idea to offer Dutch and international audiences a unique glimpse into the cinema of their neighbors from Eastern and Southern Europe. This annual event presents the most recent, exciting, and thought‐provoking films, from countries with small, but often powerful film industries, that… Read more: New Talents Open Call
    • ENFF 2023 On Demand!
      Unable To attend the festival in person? No problem! From November 27th to December 3rd, we’re thrilled to bring you a curated selection of this year’s films available for online viewing! Catch our captivating Opening Film Ivan’s Land, or the touching Closing Film Seventh Heaven. Or explore a collection of shorts from the New Talents Competition! Follow along… Read more: ENFF 2023 On Demand!
    • What’s up in Slovak Cinema? A conversation with Monika Lostakova
      We talked with Monika Lošťáková about contemporary Slovak cinema.
    • ENFF and the Eastern European Film Festival Network!
      The Eastern European Film Festival Network brings together five film festivals dedicated to promoting and showcasing Eastern European cinema, alongside one partner organisation.
    • Masterclasses
      Through these masterclasses we approach two memory in film from different angles: memories from a personal or collective recollection through archive material.
    • Work in Progress
      In Work in Progress, emerging filmmakers and artists will present their works in development to the audience and engage in discussions with Dutch experts.
    • Festival Timetable Available!
    • Check out the catalogue for our 2023 edition!
    • Music at ENFF
      Every year, ENFF brings special musical guests who bring beauty to the program and further represent the rich cultures of their countries to a Dutch audience.
    • Film Marathon
      Join us for the Film Marathon, a new concept in which we merge two components, Short Films, Big Stories, and New Talents Competition into a whole-day screening of short films!

Pages of My Book

As a part of our special In Focus: Romani Stories by Romani (Female) Directors, ENFF proudly presents a strong short documentary by the Bulgarian photographer and aspiring filmmaker Galya Stoyanova who chose the medium of film to investigate her identity and (self)acceptance as a young Roma woman living in Eastern Europe. Pages of My Book is an effective exercise to expose racism in society. Furthermore, in her capacity as a lawyer, Galya has relevant experience in the international Romani movement.

Synopsis

Gaze, and be gazed upon. Through her short film, Bulgarian Romani artist Galya Stoyanova heads off by bravely voicing her deepest insecurities and fears regarding her identity as a Roma woman. She puts on traditional clothes and takes the streets of Budapest to artistically examine the way she is perceived by the majority and whether their prejudices will impact her own self-perception. Galya’s experiment is based only partially on criticising the majority’s traditional stereotyping of Romani people. What is applied much more here is the subjective point of view of a Roma woman, who, in the process of inhabiting a city, photographs people and is herself photographed by a crew, realising a double (objectifying and objectified) role. The result is a beautiful, authentic identity essay in which Galya presents a very affirmative version of feminist identity politics.

Country: Bulgaria Year: 2013 Length: 5 min Director, Screenwriter: Galya Stoyanova Cinematography: Miklos Barna, Galya Stoyanova Editing: Eszter Kovacs, Miklos Barna, Galya Stoyanova Cast: Galya Stoyanova Production: Katalin Barsony – Romedia Foundation Dutch Premiere Tickets