Grant Black
UK, 2019
5‘
Tickets 
Original English version
ROADS FROM THE PAST is a response to the questions frequently asked: “It’s so complicated. What are we supposed to call you all? Where do you come from? What have you got to do with each other? I’m confused!’ It’s a short animated film about the history of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people in Britain, from ancient times up to the present day. The fact is, the history is long and complicated. You can’t explain it all in five minutes, any more than you could explain the history of England, or farming, or music. So this film isn’t a full explanation. It’s just a start, a way into thinking about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history that is based on some important facts. Like the fact we are ethnic groups: peoples like any other. And that we can trace our histories back a long way, just like everybody else. And that like all history, it is worth paying attention to.
Grant Black is a screen writer, story producer and executive producer working across drama, factual and film. He is also the Creative Director for Rural Media and Executive Producer on a series of short films for C4’s Random Acts. Grant recently won the RTS Midlands Diversity Award for producing and directing the short poetry film ‘The Oldest Show on The Road’.
Director: Grant Black
Script: Damian Le Bas
Narration: Richard O’Neill
Animation:Beck Williams
Production: Rural Media
MONDAY, 18:00, followed by a Q&A with the activist Lisa Smith