Cardboard City

Cardboard City

follows the lives of two young teens—members of a Romani family. Saida

and Nikola experience harsh discrimination at school and crushing

poverty in their informal settlement, spread out under a bridge in

Belgrade. Their dreams of escape and of leaving deplorable conditions

behind trigger a family crisis. In particular, Nikola is a gifted

trumpeter and aspires to be a famous musician, but it proves challenging

to surmount the enormous barriers between his present situation and the

self-mastery and life of dignity he seeks.

Introducing young readers to the world of Eastern Europe’s Rom, Cardboard City is evocative of the virulent racism, injustice and inhumane conditions endured by this community to this very day.