Memori Jako drom (Tracce di memoria)

Memorijako drom (memory tracks)” is a docu-film (produced by SMAIL - Department of Education Sciences - University of Bologna, 64 minutes, multilingual version with subtitles in English) that summarizes the two-year research-action path of Tracer project. The docufilm begins with the journey of the project's leader groups to Auschwitz-Birkenau, a fundamental moment of joint training among mostly Roma and Sinti youth from different countries. Through footage of the museum visit, the viewer acquires information about the history of the genocide of the Roma people, the Block 13, and the Zigeunerlager (Gypsy camp). An in-depth look is given to the event that happened in 1944 on May 16, the uprising of Roma and Sinti against the extermination planned for that night. The docu-film proceeds by showing the workshops and the historical documentation research work (interviews with relatives or significant leaders of the Roma communities). Important are the testimonies of 4 Roma seniors in Italy who tell the story of their relatives who were interned in concentration camps or connected to the partisan movements. Also relevant are the narratives of some girls who reconstruct the prejudices they are currently subjected to and the difficulties they have in admitting belonging to the Roma and Sinti population. A denied identity that the Tracer project has worked hard on, restoring a forgotten historical narrative and a collective memory that also reinforces individual identities. The film closes with some photos about the artistic products and workshops in schools, activities that focused on spreading a message to a wider audience.