Romania, Zsil Valley. Under the Austro-Hungarian Empire the coalmines attracted hordes of workers who nicknames the area “Little New York”, that is, a melting pot of ethnic groups. Early 1990s. These different ethnic groups and minorities still live together in this remote part of Eastern Europe. Their struggle for survival is carried on amidst the ruins of a world that no longer exists, while the new rules of capitalism are looming. Iska is a 12-year-old girl who lives on the streets of a mining town. She leaves the town and travels for the Black Sea where she becomes the victim of white slavers. Street children play themselves in this film in which Iska, taken to an orphanage, is happy to be able to reply “Not every day” when asked if her parents hit her”.
