Title: THE PROFESSIONAL PARENT
Original Title: PROFESIONÁLNY RODIČ
Director: Erik Jasaň
Countries: Slovakia, Romania, Spain
Year: 2024
Running Time: 15′
Genre, subgenre, tags: Drama, Social, Human Rights, East Europe, Independent cinema, Director Debut
Language: Slovak, Romani
Director of Photography: Tudor Mircea
Editor: Cătălin Cristuțiu
Imdb

Cast: Ela Lehotská (Ingrid), Oľga Solárová (Grandma), Klára Sviteková (Martinka),
Marianna Kroková (Samantha), Andrej Šoltés (Director), Klaudia Dudová, Ketrin
Kroková, Peter Oszlík, Alena Pajtinková, Paulína Vachová, Janka Balková, Sandra
Lasoková, Patrik Minár, Kristián Rigo, Martin Horváth

Synopsis
Ingrid, a single mother living with her daughter and grandmother in an eastern Slovak village where Roma face stigma, becomes a professional parent to a Roma girl to survive.

Long Synopsis
Ingrid, a Caucasian woman, lives in a small village in eastern Slovakia with high unemployment. In this region, strong stigma persists against the Roma population. She works as a shop assistant by day and engages in prostitution by night. She rarely sees her daughter.
Convinced that being a “professional parent” is easy, she believes taking care of a Roma girl will be simple. However, reality soon exposes her hidden racist prejudices.

Director Statement
I grew up in a household with two Roma children, as my sister became their professional parent. Around the same time, in 2015, a terrible tragedy occurred in Slovakia, when a one-year-old Roma girl was killed by her professional parent. The initial autopsy showed that the child could not have caused the injuries herself – she had bruises on her head, internal bleeding, and torn intestines. This event affected not only my family but Slovak society as a whole. The case is still under investigation.
The tragedy raised questions about the system of professional parenting. In Slovakia, it is paid work – professional parents care for children in their own households and receive a monthly salary for it. Most children who enter professional families are of Roma origin. In eastern Slovakia, where economic hardship has persisted for a long time, professional parenting often became a way out of financial difficulties. But when people with hidden racist tendencies enter the system, it can end in tragedy.
The film is not only about professional care, but also about moral choices within a system that offers few alternatives. It is a story that reveals how society actually functions, showing that people who believe they are not racist often reveal their prejudices in everyday life. The film also reflects how inflation and poverty push families into situations where morality becomes a luxury. It is a sad and harsh reality, not only in Slovakia.
With the film The Professional Parent, I want to reach people who may find themselves in a similar struggle – to remind them that moral boundaries and a clear conscience are stronger than the future hardships they may face.