Leaving to Remain(Odchádzania)

Ondřej, a student and teacher; Denisa, a lawyer; and Petr, a policeman, are all Romani who have enjoyed a world of opportunity in Britain, something that’s hard for them to come by in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This multi-layered, yet rather intimate documentary, which contains a number of scenes shot by the protagonists themselves on their mobile phones, depicts the everyday worries and small victories of the three main characters who represent an educated and ambitious, yet still vulnerable community of Europeans, and who help embrace the opportunities offered to others. In addition to exploring themes of displacement and the search for one's own identity in a post-Brexit world, the film – which features humanism interspersed throughout – also asks how the characters’ fates were shaped by the COVID-19 epidemic.