ANGEL (30 min) is a film about the friendship between Angel and Yana—a Roma boy and a Bulgarian girl. It is a story of meetings beneath the old pine tree, of Granny Mitra’s tales and songs decorated with a whole herd of elephants, of big and small life lessons, and of where we come from and where we are heading. Two children in the most magical village in the world.
Starring: Angel Stefanov, Darina Stollova, Granny Mitra, Baby Gabriel, Alexander Evtimov, Alexander Markov
Storyteller: Andronia Popova Consultants: Hristo Kjuchukov, PhD; Herbert Heuss Video Editing: Alexander Evtimov Sound Editing: Alexander Evtimov, Alexander Janev, Dimitar Vasilev Music: Andronia Popova, Alexander Markov, Alexander Evtimov, Alexander Janev Animation: Svetoslav Stoyanov Script: Svetoslav Stoyanov, Alexander Smolyanov, Alexander Evtimov Director of Photography: Svetoslav Stoyanov Director: Alexander Smolyanov
Film Project Coordinator and PR at CARE International: Radmila Mladenova This film was produced by PORTOKAL Ltd and commissioned by the CARE Consortium within the framework of the Roma Population Integration Project, developed under the auspices of NCEDI and financed by the EU PHARE Programme (2001).
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Video Summary
AI Generated
This story follows a young boy named Angel and his grandmother, Granny Mitra, who shares the rich oral history and musical traditions of the Roma people. Through a school project about ancestry, the narrative explores themes of family, cultural heritage, and the long journey of the Roma from India to their current home.
So, what shall I start with?
What shall I start with?
Just like every journey starts with a dream,
so every story starts with a song.
Angel
He was modeling the wagon all night long and he almost had it ready.
Here is Angel's grandma, Granny Mitra.
No one knows how old she is and she doesn't tell.
She knows a certain number of stories, around 333.
Some of them are the same, but you just can't notice.
She has songs for every occasion.
For falling asleep, of course.
For waking up, for growing bigger, for growing smaller.
For washing, for cooking.
Then the dishes become incredibly delicious.
Now again, she didn't sing to the washing.
Well, that's ok.
Sometimes grandmothers forget.
And there is something important she has to do before Angel wakes up.
The teacher had asked them to make such a thing for homework
that would tell the story of their great-great-great-grandfathers
and their great-great-great-grandmothers.
Gabriel, Angel's little brother.
He was born exactly three weeks ago.
Little baby, little baby, little baby, little baby.
Granny Mitra has told him many times
about the long journey the Roma people took before they came here.
They had been traveling for a long time,
this way and that way, this way and that way.
Mr. Eftimov, when he sees it, his glasses will fall off his face.
Probably you'll ask where are Angel's parents.
Where else could they be?
Out, working.
They are musicians
and his father is the best trumpet player in the region.
Bye, Granny.
Go, dear, go.
You have a big lesson to learn.
Granny Mitra already knows his future.
She knows, but she doesn't tell.
Guess who is standing every morning under the old pine tree,
waiting for Angel to go to school together.
A classmate.
A friend.
Yana.
The old pine tree, a meeting place from time immemorial.
No one knows how old it is.
They say it's even older than Granny Mitra.
Wow, what a wagon!
Yana exclaims.
Angel, how did you think of a wagon?
What about Yana's homework?
She drew something, she says.
Hanna's paruh.
She will tell about the ancient Bulgarians.
As it usually happens, some of the homework ends up on the stairs.
Mr. Eftimov.
As you can see, he can't see a thing.
He has lots of diopters and pretends to be strict.
Now let's see your homework.
Now...
Oh, a castle. Excellent.
Well done. An essay.
More essays. Good.
What do we have here?
An essay.
Oh, thanks. A picture.
More essays.
Oh, yes. Well done. Excellent.
Excellent.
Let's see here.
Thank you.
What happened?
What went wrong?
Why did you run out?
I don't understand why Angel dashed out of the classroom.
To her, his wagon is the best homework.
Her picture of Hanna's paruh is nearly not as good.
Oh.
That's what Mr. Eftimov has seen.
It seems that only the wheels have remained unbroken.
It's been smashed by the crowd on the stairs.
It should be colorful and bright,
and the wheels should be strong for there is a long way ahead of them.
The story about the caravan that left many years ago from far away India
was something Angel learned from his grandmother.
As to the elephants, he made them up himself to impress Hanna.
Anyway, how do you think the elephants got in the circus?
Sometimes the caravan would stop for longer.
Then it would take off again.
They would leave signs, secret signs,
so that if somebody stayed behind, to know which way to go and to find them.
The most important thing for them was the family.
Whenever they found a beautiful place, they would stay longer.
The adults would go to look for jobs in the nearby towns and villages.
They would weave ropes, baskets, mats.
They would thin plates and nail horses.
The children would swim in the river all day long,
and in the evening everyone would get around the fire.
They would sing songs, play and dance till the break of dawn.
When they reached the old pine tree,
they fell for the place so much that they decided to stay.
And the grandmothers told the children fairy tales and scary stories.
The women were very beautiful, with long black hair.
They sang very beautifully and danced in their bright skirts.
They adorned themselves with strings of little coins to ring merrily in the dances.
Let's dance!
The End
