Mustafa is eleven years old, and does not really have a childhood. As a street-kid in Bucharest, he leads a sad and dangerous life amid drugs, prostitution and violence. If it was not for the Parada Circus, he and twenty other street-children wouldn’t have a home. It is here, during the daytime, they train to be circus performers, get a warm meal, a change of clothes and school lessons.Mustafa says: I miss having a house a bed, a table, and a knife and fork and a spoon and a cooking pot. I am happy when I have got money for cigarrettes and a bag of glue to sniff. When I take drugs, I dream and cry. I see pictures that move. I only sniff though, I do not inject in my vains. I have already lost my voice a lot from begging. Sometimes I sing, too. I want to stop this life, not be a scallywag anymore. I do not want to have dirty ears and dirty fingernails anymore.Mustafa and five other street-children filmed with a mini-dv camera their own and very personal views of their lives. Using this remarkable material, together with her own observations, the director Annett Schuetze, and her film-team created a poignant and moving portrait about forgotten children who refuse to give up - WHEN I CRY MY HEART BEATS.
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