Documentary project - BELA VARADI

The statues of the Saintes I.

The Holocaust continues to affect human destinies today; for example, the French-born Sophie, whose family gave up her Gypsy name due to fear of the Nazis, was raised to have no Gypsy identity. This year, Shopie went to the patron saint of the gipsies in France for the first time to get closer to his lost identity.

The small French seaside town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer holds one of the most important religious gypsy festivals every year on May 24th and 25th. Hundreds and thousands of Gypsies, Travelers, Roma and Gypsies flock to the handful of streets in the Provençal port city to celebrate the patron saint of Gypsies, Sara-la-Kali or Saint Sarah.

I deliberately overexposed most of the pictures. With this method, I tried to convey the significance of the event, its spiritual and mental pressure on the participants, especially on Sophie.

"Sara-La-Kali"

During the two days long religious festival, aspects of the life of St. Sarah are replayed: her dressed-up wooden statue is taken out of the 9th-century fortified church, and a long procession

carries it to the sea, where the statue is ritualistically dipped into the seawater. Around the statue, the crowd become tumultuous as pilgrims try to touch the statue of the Saint and gain her blessing.

"Sara-La-Kali"

During the two days long religious festival, aspects of the life of St. Sarah are replayed: her dressed-up wooden statue is taken out of the 9th-century fortified church, and a long procession

carries it to the sea, where the statue is ritualistically dipped into the seawater. Around the statue, the crowd become tumultuous as pilgrims try to touch the statue of the Saint and gain her blessing.

The chosen one II.

The crowd watches as the statues emerge from the church and start their long journey to the sea.

The chosen one II.

The crowd watches as the statues emerge from the church and start their long journey to the sea.

The cure

Many pilgrims take their sick relatives to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, hoping their symptoms improve. Families often return year after year to strengthen their bond with St Sarah.

The cure

Many pilgrims take their sick relatives to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, hoping their symptoms improve. Families often return year after year to strengthen their bond with St Sarah.

The chosen one IV.

As she passed a short prayer to herself in front of the wooden box of St Sarah's statue, Sophie reflected on her search for identity. She wondered how her grandmother was taken by the Nazis and escaped from the Porrajmos to find herself in a world still hostile to gypsies and Roma people. She wondered how their family decided to drop their French gypsy name, Limberger, to protect the younger generations and how his father denied their identity. Standing close to Saint Sarah, all these traumas seemed so far in the distance. She was finally in the right place.

The chosen one IV.

As she passed a short prayer to herself in front of the wooden box of St Sarah's statue, Sophie reflected on her search for identity. She wondered how her grandmother was taken by the Nazis and escaped from the Porrajmos to find herself in a world still hostile to gypsies and Roma people. She wondered how their family decided to drop their French gypsy name, Limberger, to protect the younger generations and how his father denied their identity. Standing close to Saint Sarah, all these traumas seemed so far in the distance. She was finally in the right place.