Caliu: Nothing Else, What Else Can I Do?

Followed by a talk with Simona Constantin and Ricarda Ciontos

Feeling trapped in the Roma village where he was born, Caliu refuses to accept that his glorious days as the “King of the Violin” are behind him. As he grapples with the challenges of the present and memories of his golden past, he sets out on a journey to reinvent himself. Through it all, music remains the one constant that carries him forward. Set against the vibrant backdrop of fiddler music, the film unfolds between lively concerts and the repetitive, quiet rhythms of the village, following the legendary violinist Caliu and revealing a man driven by unwavering ambition despite the decline of his musical tradition.

Simona Constantin is a Bucharest-based documentary filmmaker focused on music as immaterial heritage, having spent the last decade documenting traditional music players and their evolving world.

Ricarda Ciontos is a Romanian-born, Berlin-based actress, curator, and producer who has served as artistic director of the NORDWIND Platform and Festival, one of Germany's leading showcases for Nordic and Baltic performing arts, since founding it in 2005.