Filmmaker Statement

I grew up in a household with two Roma children, as my sister became a professional parent. Around 2015, at the same time my sister began her work as a professional parent, a tragic event shook Slovakia: the murder of a one-year-old Roma girl by her professional parent. The autopsy revealed that the child could not have caused the injuries herself—she suffered bruises on her head, internal bleeding, and torn intestines. This event deeply affected not only my family but Slovak society as a whole. The tragedy sparked questions about the system of professional parenting. In Slovakia, it is a paid job—professional parents take care of children in their homes and receive a monthly salary for it. Since the majority of children in orphanages are Roma, they are usually placed into the care of professional parents who are mostly white. In Eastern Slovakia, where economic hardship has long been present, becoming a professional parent often meant a way out of financial struggles. But when indi