Unveiling "Amar" documentary: A filmmaker's journey into the world of pickpockets

Director Diana Gavra’s journey into filmmaking began with a personal encounter that led her to explore the hidden lives of pickpockets. With a background in law and communication studies, she embarked on her debut documentary, “Amar,” delving into the untold stories of marginalized individuals. In this interview, we discuss Gavra’s unique perspective, the challenges she faced, and the ethical considerations she navigated while bringing “Amar” to life, a movie which is on screen from March 8.

The documentary is based on your own experience. Could you elaborate on the personal connection you mentioned, where one of the protagonists stole money from you, sparking the inception of this documentary project? How did this experience shape your perspective on the subject matter?

I had been contemplating for quite a while making a film about the criminal world, in order to tell the untold stories of these people, to reveal their hidden stories to the general public. Before the documentary, I had only partially known this world, through my profession as a lawyer, but also as a researcher, as I have a doctorate in Communication Studies with the theme “Internal and External Limiting Factors of Integration Strategies for Roma in Romania”.

However, since life is often more unpredictable than any thrilling film, the main character happened to cross my path in a unique way: Amar, the main character, stole a sum of money from my backpack on a Saturday, in one of the markets from Bucharest. My first reaction was under the sign of fear, of feeling the insecurity of my belongings: I could’ve lost my phone, my wallet with all my credit cards and IDs – but none of this had been of interest to Amar, only the cash. I went to the police station and filed a complaint, and to my surprise, the police managed to identify him using the footage from the security cameras from several shops in the market and, within a few days, Amar had already been caught and arrested.

While he was under arrest, Amar asked for reconciliation: he would give me back the entire sum he’d stolen in exchange for my forgiveness, thus he would avoid the trial and a new conviction. His proposal prompted a serious internal scrutiny from my part: I’d researched the limiting factors of the integration process, however, when I personally come across this world, the first reaction was to appeal to the protection mechanisms, which in their essence only lead to a temporary isolation, to a temporary social exclusion – i.e. the prison sentence. Thus, I decided to make Amar a “counteroffer“: I wouldn’t ask him for the money back, but instead make a film about him and his life and he accepted. I saw this opportunity to make a film through which not only me, but also the public can witness, with the help of the cinematographic lens, what happens beyond these mechanisms of social exclusion. Thus, this story is somehow part of the reconciliation process because I set out to look at the main character and his world without judging, putting labels or prescribing verdicts.

Your background as a lawyer is quite unconventional for a filmmaker. Given your background in law, were there any legal or ethical dilemmas you encountered during the making of “Amar,” particularly in regard to portraying real individuals engaged in criminal activities?

I would say that my background as a lawyer helped me to look at Amar and his world without prejudices, beyond the petty thefts they commit. For contextualization, I think it’s important to mention that protagonists have been convicted for acts committed without violence, for simple theft, the damages generated by them being quite limited from a pecuniary point of view (usually, about 2,000 – 3,000 RON, rarely more than that), which they recognize, assume, and in some EU countries, their actions are classified as misdemeanours, sometimes sanctioned only with a fine.

As a lawyer, you have the duty to help your client, regardless of his capacity in the trial. This involves understanding the person you represent to a certain extent, understanding his motivation beyond the act itself, to understand his social and economic context.

Even from a lawyer’s perspective, I’ve noticed that our worlds interact very little. In the same city, with its institutions, shopping centres, bars, restaurants, this somewhat parallel worlds co-exist: the world of the socially integrated and the other world, the one of the marginals, who live on the outskirts of society, committing antisocial acts. They only interact in case of conflict, most of the time when criminal acts have been committed, when the only measures applied to the world of the marginalized are coercive ones: they are locked up, isolated, excluded from society. They, in turn, see society and social rules as something deeply hostile, which disadvantages them, discriminates against them, and does not allow them to evolve socially.

Can you describe the process of gaining access to the personal and professional lives of the pickpockets featured in the film?

Beyond what we seen on the screen, the most interesting story is the one behind the scenes, the story of “friendship” with the characters in the film. I couldn’t say that it was a difficult process, because I didn’t start with prejudices, I started, as they say, ”with an open heart” and I found them with an equally open heart and we interacted very well, they came to meet me, they welcomed me into their world, and I tried to look for the humanity in them, without judgement. And they, in turn, want to open up, to be seen, heard, and understood. I would like to make a future film about the friendship process, it cannot be told in a few lines. It was fabulous how they and I came out of our ”bubbles” and found that we are the same people with the same experiences, joys, or sorrows.

“Amar” explores the stories of individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, some with addiction issues, and others who have navigated the criminal justice systems of various European countries. What drove you to highlight these specific narratives?

I did not have a specific intent to highlight these stories, we only investigated the life of Amar and his extended family. Each of the protagonists has his story sprinkled with such narratives, most of them having a similar path: the state institutions “abandoned” them ever since childhood, no one reported or analysed how they stopped going to school around the age of 15, became drug users and later drug addicts, started committing criminal acts to get food, clothes and drugs, then went to prison and were later released, but put in a position to restart their lives right from there where they left, that is, without any legal means of procuring income for the inherent needs of every human being, without any qualifications, being illiterate.

The camera captured, with an objective gaze, this unembellished reality of the vulnerable marginals, this world that most of us try to ignore. And the protagonists were open enough to tell us their whole life, exactly as it is, both the good and the harsh parts.

Amar

Could you share any challenges or unexpected discoveries you encountered while filming “Amar” over the course of a year, spanning multiple countries?

As it is with any observational documentary, the main challenge was the spontaneous nature of the facts observed: from one day to the next there were new life events that I wanted the camera lens not to miss. But the inherent spontaneity in this type of documentary sometimes overlapped the spontaneity of the protagonists themselves: we ended up suddenly filming in other countries, which increased the costs, with additional logistical efforts, it was often necessary to call upon an extensive and dynamic team.

During the post-production stage, that lasted for almost 1 year, we came across another challenge: we begun the editing with about 200 hours/10 TB of footage. The most difficult thing was to go from 3 hours of film to 2 hours, this was the moment when we had to ”cut to the bone” from the many valuable moments captured during the filming. We managed to reduce the final length of the film to 2 hours and 10 minutes.

I had the joy of noticing that some of the protagonists are just former pickpockets, that is, they managed to integrate into the social systems of other countries, as we see in Germany, in Spain.

Surprisingly, the whole process of making this film revealed to me the joy of life, taught me to be non-judgmental, to better understand other life contexts, and overall, I think it made me a better person.

What do you hope audiences will take away from experiencing the lives and perspectives of the pickpockets portrayed in your documentary?

I would like this film to challenge each of us to come out of our ”bubble”, to understand other contexts and lifestyles, to challenge us to become more tolerant, better and more socially responsible.

The documentary features a diverse cast of characters, each with their own struggles and journeys. How did you approach the storytelling to ensure each individual’s story was effectively portrayed?

To capture as much as possible of the complicated life story of each of our protagonists, we chose to do specific interviews with some of them, with those who agreed, that is, to dedicate a filming session to them for a more extensive dialogue. To my surprise, and to the surprise of other filmmakers who know how difficult it is in general to break into this world, I started filming with Amar and, as we were unveiling his story, other friends of his also showed interest in telling their story. I noticed this desire in them, to be seen, understood – and I think that any process of change has to begin here.

To illustrate the protagonists as authentically as possible, we chose to film the moments in which they interacted in a larger setting, as a group, too: the baptism of Amar’s youngest daughter, his father’s funeral and his memorial service.

The jury from ASTRA Film mentioned that you have built, with tenacity and courage, “a relationship of trust and intimacy with the protagonists to bring us closer to a group of people for whom pickpocketing is – as they describe it – ‘a way of life.’ With objectivity, without sensationalism, providing the protagonists space to honestly express their complicated lives – this film masterfully reveals the personalities behind the stereotypes.” What do you hope audiences, particularly those unfamiliar with the world of pickpocketing, will learn or take away from watching “Amar”?

I would like our worlds to interact more, to be able to communicate in a different way, not only in case of conflict and not only in the sense of exclusion, to realize that we are all human, with our problems, joys, sorrows.

Could you elaborate on the choice of the title ”Amar” – maybe translated as ”Bitter” in English and how it reflects the themes and narratives explored within the film?

The title of the film is the name of the main protagonist, Amar Răducanu. And this, first of all, because he was the origin of this film, this reconciliation with him in this cinematic field. Second, for him, he was the first to agree to open his home, his family, and his heart to our camera, and he co-opted other friends or relatives to do the same. Naming the film after the name of the main character was also chosen because he himself is representative for the he comes from, to also illustrate through the title that we wanted to capture this unknown world.

Last but not least, of course, we wanted to tap into this wordplay to reflect the sombre side of our protagonists’ lives. Some might regard Amar’s world as lighter, easier, freed from our everyday worries, from the stress of working hard to make a living. But the unvarnished reality we hope we’ve managed to capture is that their lives are often much tougher that an untrained viewer could imagine. Sometimes it’s sweeter, most times it’s…bitter.

Amar says that this film changed his life, that he got to know another world in which he would like to be able to integrate. I hope this world can receive him.

With: Amar Răducanu (portrayed by Mihai Bănica), Zorică Lazăr (Zorro), Jean Marin (Jean Bossul), Marian Lică (Mary Capace), Vasile Laurențiu Dumitru (Ștampilă Jr.), Bogdan Ionel Niculae (Bogdan), Mihai Filip (Bebe), Mangulea Daniel (Samir), Featuring: Adriana Irimescu (actress), Dan Stănescu (psychologist), Georgiana Elena Brezeanu (lawyer), Ștefan Bala (lawyer), Naim David Vahidi (professor)

Synopsis: The documentary film “AMAR” presents a series of pickpockets who have elevated this activity to an art form. We delve into their personal and professional lives, uncovering the mindset and spirit behind such thefts. We encounter the stories of individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, some with addiction issues, others who grew up on the streets, and those who have experienced various European prison systems firsthand. Some are incurable, while others have integrated into social systems in other countries, learned to read and write, developed social lives, obtained housing, and found constructive ways to occupy their time. Awarded the New Perspectives Prize at the Astra Film Festival Sibiu 2023.

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