The inhabitants of Shutka, the Romany capital of the world, all share one common passion: being a champion. Shutka thrives on achieving records in songfests, goose fights, dog fights, and vampire hunts, in wearing Sunday best, collecting Turkish music or exterminating evil Genies.
Through a number of intertwining stories, this playful, humorous film takes us into a world that is generally closed to outsiders. As the mosaic of Shutka unfolds, we are led to ask ourselves: where lays the secret of joy? Aren't the smallest things in life often those that make life such an unforgettable experience?
Don't look for Shutka on a geographical map. Shutka is a state of mind.
Director's Statement
"Shutka is unlike any other place I have ever visited. The fear of evil genies and vampires, a deeply rooted superstition is as present in the everyday life of Shutka as drinking Turkish coffee in the morning. But for me, the most remarkable phenomenon about Shutka is the omnipresent everyday struggle of its inhabitants to be a ‚champion', in no matter what. The Roma here greet each other by saying, ‚Good morning, champ', and they try daily to overcome their hardships by competing in the most unlikely disciplines. I was often unsure about when they were taking themselves seriously, or when they were laughing at themselves, perhaps laughing at life. This is yet another reason why I like to call my film anthropological documentary comedy. It is a film about people who crave to make the best out of their lives under the given conditions by trying to be best at what they do - whether this is exterminating genies, hunting down vampires, training geese to fight or collecting obsolete Turkish music on abraded audio tapes. For me their quest for victory has a deeply touching and moral dimension which highlights a particular human condition – the capacity for happiness however hard the living conditions may be. Shutka, called 'Happy Valley' by its inhabitants, has been indexed by the UNHCR as one of the poorest places in Europe."
