In this heartwarming true story, a French street clown named Miloud Oukili (Jalil Lespert) travels to Bucharest in 1992, three years after the overthrow of the Ceausescu dictatorship, to offer some cheer to local orphanages. When he then discovers untold quantities of homeless children living in the streets, Miloud teaches the kids his trade so that they can earn money. To gain their trust, he spends time in the sewers where they live, tries to keep them sober and offers them the tools through which they can find self-respect. Touching and politically engaged, and featuring nonprofessional actors in most of the children’s roles, PA-RA-DA shows how through caring human relations an international humanitarian organization is formed. Since its incipience, the PA-RA-DA association has worked in Somalia, Kosovo, Honduras and other parts of the world.

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Written by Marco Pontecorvo, Roberto Tiraboschi. Photographed by Vincenzo Carpineta. With Jalil Lespert, Evita Ciri, Gabriel Rauta (100 min, in Italian, French and Romanian with English subtitles).