Danish film tackles the gang war

The award-winning, new danish film revolving around gang war, “Melody of the Street”, was made street kid-style with favours from friends and
spontaneous calls, says the film instructor Omid Romal.

“Let us put it like this, almost all my actors are friends of mine. Who did it free of charge. When we needed requisites and cars, we had help.
We just called people and asked, “ says the 28-year old film instructor Omid Romal, when we met him at the recording studio Baby Factory to talk about his new film.

 

Melody of the Streets, which premieres in the danish theatres this spring, has its
roots in the same state of mind as the one you only learn in the streets.

The instructor does not hide the fact, that this film is done by calling in favours and
spontaneous calls to businesses or cafes to ask permission to use locations or prop
weapons.

The actors were cast amongst friends and family. The lead for example, was given to
his little brother, Ryan Romal.

“Former police officers, played the roles of police, and real ambulance drivers and
emergency workers”, he says, and they all took part voluntarily.

Omid Romal apperance is calm and kind with a big smile, that might get people to
make an extra effort. All in all the film took two months to film, and they worked 15
hours a day. It took place deliberately in Kastrup and not for example at Nørrebro, to
not cause confusion as to who we were and why we were there.

“I am an old troublemaker myself, and I told my friends, “you have to be the old you,
not the new you.” He says with reminiscence to his tainted past, from where he
knows the street environment.

Downwards spiral
Melody of the Street is about a young man, who gets manipulated by the older
leaders with a pouch of money, that can save his mother from illness with surgery.
Meanwhile he gets shot at, and the course of retalliation begins. which turns into an
evil spiral of murder attempts between rivalling gangs.

“The film shows that, you can not hide from that environment.” Says the film
instructor.

“I wanted to use this film to show people what happens, when you are in a gang war,
and how the youngsters gets manipulated into that environment by the older
generation who pulls the strings. The youngsters fight the elders fights, and for the
elders problems”.

“The film is not about why gang wars are what they are, or how they end, “cause it
never does”, but what happens during a gang war. From the moment they are shot

at, till they gear up with weapons and prepare. And what happens, after they shoot”

The film zooms in on all the details, rough, realistic and almost documentary-like, like
when the lead roles steals a moped, commits murder and torches the evidence.
Melody of the Street has prior to the danish theatre premier won an award at the
Cannes World Film Festival for Best Indie Feature