Pongo Calling

documentary film  |  78 min  |  2022  |  CZ, SK, GB
šípka

A Roma love story from contemporary Europe.

writer, director
Tomáš Kratochvíl
producers
Radim Procházka (Produkce Radim Procházka), Barbara Janišová Feglová (HITCHHIKER Cinema)
co-producers
David John Evans (bak), Věra Krincvajová, Peter Kubica (ČT), Tibor Horváth (RTVS)
cinematography
Tomáš Kratochvíl
editing
Marek Bihuň
music
Jonatán Pastirčák
sound design
Michal Horváth

SYNOPSIS

Štefan Pongo is a Roma lorry driver. Fifteen years ago he emigrated with his family from the Czech Republic to the UK to protect them from racial discrimination. The children have graduated from universities and the family is doing well. Mission completed. But the echoes of hate carry over from the old country. When the Czech president claims that the Roma are work-shy, angry Štefan issues an appeal asking for photos of Roma working. Thousands are sent and Štefan becomes a well-known media figure. He produces vlogs, organizes demonstrations and humanitarian aid. He establishes a voluntary agency and fights an online battle with the ´haters´.  All that comes at the cost of lost time with the family. Štefan´s spirited wife, Iveta, has had enough. Will it be possible to institute some form of harmony in the life of the most famous Roma lorry driver?


"I’d like this film to bring Roma people into the public eye so that they can be seen as they are: middle-class people, working people, not just stereotypical images of them living on the breadline."
Tomáš Kratochvíl, director
šípka