The Characters

Sabina

Sabina (25) is studying tourism management at the University of Leipzig. She reads a lot, but also enjoys going out partying and dancing with her friends. Sabina lives with her grandmother and her parents, Safet and Nebat, and her father, in particular, insists that she doesn’t stay out too late in the evenings. Sabina is determined and ambitious; she knows what she wants. However, all of this always happens within the boundaries set by her conservative family. She falls in love with Elvis the moment he very charmingly convinces her to give him a ride on his bike from the parking lot to the youth club. But she knows full well that her father will insist on traditional rules and regulations and a formal marriage proposal as soon as he finds out about their relationship, and she therefore makes sure that her parents don’t see them holding hands together for the time being.

Elvis

Elvis (25) is an electrician and plays basketball in his free time. He already lives in his own apartment but still maintains a close relationship with his parents, whom he calls and visits regularly. His brother Oliver still lives in his parents‘ apartment on Grünauer Allee. Elvis is gentle, rather shy, and friendly, but he has a large circle of friends, including Boško, Saša, Bayram, and Dani. He admires Sabina because she studies, reads, and knows so much. She is intellectually superior to him, but he doesn’t suffer from it; rather, he is very proud that this intelligent and beautiful woman loves him and that she chose him. Elvis‘ family is less conservative than Sabina’s, but he is still very familiar with the traditions and rules of the Roma.

Safet

Safet (52) is Sabina’s father, a car salesman and married to Nebat. He is both self-confident and tradition-conscious. At the same time, he considers himself a modern man, as he is very proud that his daughter is studying. He is the patriarch of the family, and he enjoys this role very much. His business is doing well, and he lives with his family in a large, spacious apartment in an old building. But he knows very little about his daughter’s life; it is enough for him to see that she goes to university every day and is home on time in the evening. He still sees her as a little girl and has not understood that she is already a grown woman.

Lea

Lea (25) is a Gadži (non-Roma) and Sabina’s best friend. They study together and spend a lot of time together. They go to clubs together, and they also talk about many very personal things. Lea is self-confident, assertive, and hands-on, pragmatic. She always speaks her mind openly, which Sabina greatly appreciates, even if it makes things a bit difficult for her. Lea considers the rules and laws of the Roma to be a curiosity and doesn’t take them seriously, but she respects Sabina and her views and ideas, even if she doesn’t always understand them.

Saša

Saša (27) is Elvis’s best friend. He still often hangs out with him and his other friends at the youth club, even though they’re all actually way too old for it. But it’s the place where they often spent their free time in their youth. He supports Elvis, cheers him up, and gives him well-intentioned advice, even if it’s usually not very helpful.

Boško

Boško (25) is a quiet, thoughtful man. He comes from a traditional family and is therefore the best at empathizing with Safet among his friends. He understands and shares his ideas about the world in general and marriage and family in particular.

Bayram

Bayram (27) is a friend of Elvis’s, but he can’t spend much time with him anymore. He works at a bank and is very busy. Nevertheless, he still occasionally visits the youth club where the friends used to spend a lot of time together, for a game of table tennis and a chat.