Why the Child is Cooking in the Polenta

What does it mean to feel foreign? A family of famous circus artists flee communist Romania for the promise of a better life in the West, knowing they can’t ever return home. As the youngest daughter tries to adjust to her new life in Switzerland, it becomes clear that she must go to extreme lengths to provide for her family.

Based on the autobiographical novel by Aglaja Veteranyi. Edith Alibec witnessed the refugee crisis in Germany first-hand, as she met with refugees and visited their social camps. Her adaptation seeks to highlight the vulnerability in being forced to leave home and trying to find a new place in the world. It explores what it is to feel foreign and isolated and how it feels when the place you live in does not let you feel like you belong.

Part of SPRINT Festival