An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker

PëRMBLEDHJE

A Roma family lives far from the urban centres of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The father Nazif salvages metal from old cars and sells it to a scrap-dealer. The mother Senada keeps the house tidy, cooks, bakes and cares for their two small daughters. One day, she feels a sharp pain in her abdomen. At the hospital she is told there is something wrong with the baby she is carrying: "They say it's dead." She is at risk of septicaemia and they must operate immediately. But Senada has no medical insurance; since the operation will cost much more than the family can afford the hospital's head refuses to treat her. A race against time together with a mounting sense of hopelessness played by a cast of non-professional actors re-enacting an episode from their own lives. Winner of the Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix and the Silver Bear for best actor at the Berlin Film Festival 2013.