Opre Roma: Gypsies in Canada

This documentary celebrates the vibrant culture and tenacious struggle of the Canadian Gypsy and introduces a new generation of Roma who claim their Gypsy roots with pride, while fighting the myths that caused their parents to live in fear. They call themselves by their rightful name, the Roma. Since the Roma people fled India in the 11th century, they have suffered almost a thousand years of persecution--from European slavery to the Holocaust--yet they have survived as a unique global culture. Almost 80,000 Roma call Canada home. Meet Julia Lovell, a passionate defender of Roma human rights, whose father is slowly gaining the confidence to reveal his heritage; and Karen Gray Boothroyd, a flamenco dancer just beginning to reclaim her Gypsy roots. Music borne out of centuries of exile weaves together their stories. Opre Roma invites you to a traditional Gypsy wedding and to an evening of flamenco dance, with songs from Turkey, Romania, Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia that relate a shared experience, telling the story of what it means to be Roma.