Romanistan
The authors of Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling present: Romanistan! Do you love rebels? Do you want to live in a place where outcasts shine their brightest? Welcome to Romanistan! We're your friendly neighborhood Gypsies, celebrating Romani identity and outcast culture, and practicing good diplomatic relations with other marginalized communities.
We love the rebels who are living their truth, even if it clashes with tradition. We also love tradition and honoring our roots. This podcast is for everyone who loves and supports Roma & related groups, and anyone who feels like a misfit and wants to uplift others to create a beautiful community.
We feature pioneers in culture, fashion, art, literature, music, activism, cuisine, and everything good. We adore the intersections of gender, sexuality, spirituality, ability, and identity. We cover all topics, from the difficult to the glorious. Let's sit crooked and talk straight.
Hosted by Paulina Stevens and Jezmina Von Thiele. We reclaim the slur Gypsy, but if you aren’t Romani, we prefer you don't use it. xoxo.
P.S. The Romani people are a diasporic ethnic group originally from northwest India, circa the 10th century. Now, Roma live all over the globe, and due to centuries of oppression, slavery, genocide, and other atrocities, Roma are still fighting for basic human rights. We seek to raise awareness of who Roma are, and highlight Romani resilience, creativity, & culture.
Romanistan
10: Horror Movies and Representation with Emani Jerome
In this special SpOoOOoky Halloween season episode, Paulina and Jess interview Caribbean-American activist, educator, and scholar Emani Jerome about horror films and representation, with a special focus on race, gender, and class. We're also honored to have Emani as our first non-Romani, or "International Relations" guest! Emani takes us through a list of films, including but not necessarily limited to Get Out, The Witch, Midsommar, Eraserhead, Candy Man, Birth of a Nation, Blacula, The People Under the Stairs, Tales from the Hood, The Wickerman, Poltergeist, Cannibal Holocaust, and more. We also touch on Black Mirror and the intersection of horror and sci-fi, and distinctions between the two. We examine the use of common race and class tropes, the role of horror films in culture, and the emergence of new horror by BIPOC filmmakers. Spoilers and cursing are abound in this highly entertaining and thought-provoking episode. Follow Emani on Instagram @emanijerome.
Special shout out to Romani filmmaker Victoria Bell and her first debut horror film Heir of the Witch. Follow her on Instagram at @victoria_filmmaker.
You can find us on Instagram @romanistanpodcast, and on Facebook under the same name, and on Twitter @romanistanpod
We started a Ko-fi fundraiser to help us expand. Our goal is to release 2 episodes a month, create video content, like an advice column and other treats, and we would also like to register as a nonprofit so we can produce content by other Romani & Sinti creators. We are hoping to cover production costs, like paying for our hosting site, website, editing and producing, and all the rest. We would love it if you could contribute and spread the word. The link is Ko-fi.com/romanistan. Thank you so much to everyone who's donated.
Please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much.
If you would like to advertise with us, email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com. We offer sliding-scale for Romani, Sinti & related businesses, so reach out!
You can find Jess, on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele, and you can find her vintage and curiosities shop Evil Eye Edit on Instagram @evileyeedit & Etsy.
You can find Paulina Verminski on Instagram @_paulina_v_ and at her holistic healing and specialty store online at https://romaniholistic.com/ and in Newport Beach, CA. Follow on Instagram @romaniholistic
Romanistan is hosted by Jessica Reidy and Paulina Verminski
Conceived of by Paulina Verminski
Edited by Carlo Patrão
With Music by Viktor Pachas
And Artwork by Elijah Vardo