Roma

Apologies that it's been a  while...I've been moving house. Although I don't officially move in until tomorrow, I thought I'd get one documentary blogpost out the door, as it looks at an issue quite close to my heart and is made by some brilliant young professionals whom I happen to know.

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Firstly Roma is stunning, both visually and aurally. With a bunch of top-notch students from Ravensbourne I expected nothing less but it all comes together to create a short documentary you can't tear your eyes from.

The slow-mo shots really add to the expressive nature of the film. The music is a good mix of cultural inclination and emotion for this almost-charitable appeal. I'm not quite sure how but it manages to convey a genuineness and honesty amongst shots of the Roma settlements, rubbish dumps and people, which is testament to DoP Chris Seager and the team.

IF I were to pick holes, it would be in the interview content, in that I sometimes lost the appeal or purpose of the story amongst the contributors. The Roma interviewees brought it swiftly back home though, and as it drew together in the second half of the film, the narrative got stronger.

The beauty of this forgotten community is often overlooked but with shots filmed from the carts used to collect materials from the rubbish dump to sell, with wedding celebrations, kids playing and music, the team have captured the heart of it in this ten minute film. We see in the credits examples of them laughing with the contributors and that, is testament to who they are and where they are going in their careers. They are upbeat, talented and genuine professionals and anyone who doesn't snap them up quick is missing out.

Roma is certainly an achievement and I truly hope that it gets the recognition it deserves. Judge for yourselves:


Roma from Sam Davis on Vimeo.

Roma is a documentary that brings to light a community that has been somewhat forgotten.

Featured as Doc X on Dazed Digital - http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/21301/1/life-is-tough-in-albanias-roma-camps

To find out more visit: http://www.fivedills.com

Director: Sam Davis
Producer: Alex Lloyd
DoP: Chris Seager
Sound Recordist & Dubbing Mixer:  Matthew Alston (http://www.matthewalstonsounddesign.com)
Original Music: Ben Brannan (http://www.benbrannanmusic.com)
Editor: Joe walton
Colourist: Susumu Asano