A long-time champion of human rights-focused work, the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival screened a compelling collection of films focused on Roma inequality issues during its 26th edition.

One of the most moving, ‘Leaving to Remain’, which follows three Roma personalities who migrated from Central Europe to the UK, has survived a host of challenges to become an eye-opening story of change and possibility.

‘I think it’s really important,’ says director Mira Erdevički of the documentary, which tackles the decades-old problem of Czech and Slovak public schools separating Roma children, forcing them into education programs special which offer a minimum of studies.

“When you have a system that separates Roma children just because they’re Roma, they actually have no choice,” Erdevički says. “And then they will be blamed for being poor – but poverty comes with low education.”

‘Leaving to Remain’ is the third film the director has made exploring the issues facing the minority – the largest in Europe – and follows three Roma personalities whose families emigrated to the UK years ago , allowing them to fully integrate into regular schools, after which each managed to build an impressive career.

“When you have half a million people migrating from the Czech Republic and Slovakia when there’s no war, that really tells you something about what they’re up against.”

What’s more, the doc’s subjects are also committed to helping others like them, Erdevički says.

When asked why they move to the UK, explains the director, most Roma who have moved will answer that it is to give their children a chance to receive a good education.

“I think the movie is about what it means when you have an education – what’s your perspective and how does that change your personal success. But also how do you help your community.

One of the film’s subjects, Denisa, a busy mother who managed to finish law school, works in a legal aid organization, helping immigrants obtain asylum and residence papers. As she struggles to deal with a bewildering bureaucracy and deadlines that threaten to prevent people from having legal status in the UK following Brexit, time is ticking and Denisa struggles to stay calm and focused.

Her son, Hynek, documents her tightrope act – and not a few fights with her – with growing confidence and creative camera work, filming on a hand-held iPhone.

When COVID made it impossible for film crews to shoot film subjects directly, Erdevički says, she put small 4K cameras in their hands and worked closely with them on a daily basis, offering technical feedback on how best to film their lives.

The coaching paid off, with powerful scenes of personal struggles captured by his subjects, who filmed spontaneous moments of levity and angst in their lives.

‘Leaving to Remain’ was born out of the filmmakers’ curiosity for Roma children whose parents had emigrated to the UK, allowing their children to thrive in a multicultural British society with access to inclusive education.

Their lives stand in stark contrast to those of Roma children in their home country, who remain stuck in a system that marginalizes them years after European human rights courts ruled that Czech and Slovak schools should end systematic segregation.

After extensive research, the filmmakers of “Leaving to Remain” found their three protagonists in the English cities of Leicester and Peterborough.

Petr, who became a police officer, won an MBE for his work in community cohesion between Roma and non-Roma communities. He arrived in the UK with his family in the 1990s after he and his mother were victims of attacks by skinheads which the Czech police turned a blind eye to.

After leaving the police, Petr decides to dedicate his life to community work in his new home.

Denisa, the lawyer, was the only one in her family who received an ordinary education while still in the Czech Republic, but later found that even with her high school diploma she could not find a job. After moving to Leicester and taking up a job as a cleaner, she trained to become a fully qualified solicitor specializing in welfare cases.

Ondrej’s family, who were sent to a special school in his native Slovakia because he was Roma, were motivated to move to the UK following the incident. Their son went on to attend secondary school at Babington Academy in Leicester where he flourished despite his initial lack of English. After completing his bachelor’s degree with a specialization in psychology, he studied for his master’s degree, while supporting his family and starting his own.

But the film captures more than a stark contrast of opportunity, says the director – it also shows that the courage and determination of its subjects are just as essential. “You have to have critical ambition and the need to make your voice heard,” says Erdevički.

The producers, Lucie Wenigerová, Zuzana Mistríková and Martin Jůza, structured the film as an Anglo-Slovak-Czech co-production with the support of Czech and Slovak public broadcasters, Czech and Slovak film funds and the Slovak Kult Minor Fund.