The film “Named Voices” was presented at an international conference

From 12 to 14 November 2025, ARCA’s Senior Project Manager, Chinara Majidova, participated in the international conference “Visibilities of Memory: The Representation of Sinti and Roma in Holocaust Film.”

The conference was organised by the Critical Film & Image Hub an der Forschungsstelle Antiziganismus, Universität Heidelberg, and convened over 40 scholars, filmmakers, and practitioners from Europe and the United States. The event examined contemporary representations of Sinti and Roma in Holocaust cinema and their broader implications for memory culture, educational practice, and public discourse.

Within the framework of the panel “Multimedia and the Cinematic Turn: Holocaust Representations in Theatres, Museums, Graphic Novels and Multimedia,” Chinara Majidova presented the documentary theatre play Named Voices (2023).

Focus of the Presentation

The presentation addressed:

• the educational impact of cultural and artistic projects on Holocaust memorн;

• the methodological and creative process behind the development of Named Voices;

• the challenges of portraying trauma, resilience, and intergenerational memory through multimedia formats;

• the significance of Roma-led narratives in countering antigypsyist stereotypes and dominant representational frameworks;

• and the current situation of Roma communities amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Chinara highlighted the growing relevance of documentary and artistic formats as tools of non-formal education that foster public engagement, support inclusive memory work, and strengthen minority agency within cultural discourse.

About Named Voices (2023)

Named Voices—written by Nataliia Vainilovych and directed by Sashko Brama—intertwines six stories of Ukrainian Roma survivors of the 1940s genocide with contemporary testimonies from Roma communities experiencing the full-scale Russian invasion. The play draws on ARCA’s archival materials and 74 fragments from 32 interviews provided by the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies.

The cast includes Nelia Kokul, Ivan Honcharov, Yaroslava Koshova, Illia Herasymov, Anastasiia Tambovtseva, and Ruslan Oglu.
The production was created by ARCA in cooperation with the Inclusive Theatre Association Art-Playback and supported by the EVZ Foundation.

Discussion

The subsequent discussion engaged with questions of cultural memory, ethical representation, the role of minority-led initiatives, and the ongoing challenges faced by Roma communities during war. Participants emphasized the significance of Roma-created narratives in expanding the field of Holocaust representation and challenging longstanding structures of antigypsyism.