The New Gypsy Kings

SINOPSIS

Filmmaker Liviu Tipurita takes us into the heart of the astonishing world of Romania's super-rich Gypsy popstars - a world of fast cars, lavish houses and gangsters. The Roma community is one of the most marginalised and impoverished in Europe and for years their traditional music has been their most famous export. Now a new type of Gypsy sound called Manele has swept across the country. Manele stars can earn 20,000 euros a night at opulent weddings, with cash showered over them by guests. Their videos can get millions of hits on YouTube. But Manele is controversial - some of its lyrics glorify gangsterism and some of its biggest fans are notorious underworld figures. Traditional musicians, like the world-famous Taraf de Haïdouks, once championed by Johnny Depp, claim that Manele has put them out of business and that the new genre is destroying the Gypsy music brand. This film explores an extraordinary social and cultural change through its soundtrack