A circus girl falls for a boy in '81 East Germany — but racism won't let them breathe.
Ede falls in love with Unku, a girl from a travelling circus. Love cannot run smoothly however because Unku is a Gypsy. Various adventures take place before love is finally allowed to run its natural course.
Acting
Jacqueline Ody's Unku radiates defiant vulnerability without speaking much.
Production
Authentic circus life captured in grey socialist realism palette.
Writing
Dziuba doesn't flinch from showing kids parroting adult bigotry.
Director
Helmut Dziuba
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
One of few GDR films centering Sinti/Roma experience, yet still told through white protagonist's gaze. The real Unku—circus performer Erika 'Unku' Reinhardt—consulted but received no credit.
Banned briefly in some districts for 'pessimism' despite socialist happy ending. Dziuba fought to keep the ethnic slurs authentic rather than softened.
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