‘A Basket Full of Eggs’: Film screening and Q&A with Professor Hazel Marsh
Sunday 25 October | 2pm – 3.30pm
Free entry to the event, pre-booking not required

In partnership with the University of York and York Travellers Trust, York Museums Trust is thrilled to be hosting a free screening of a compelling film about Romani communities. There will be a presentation, screening of ‘A Basket Full of Eggs’, and Q&A with the project lead, Professor Hazel Marsh.

‘A Basket Full of Eggs’ (19 minutes, 2025) was made by Romani filmmaker Lisa Smith, founder of the UK’s first Romani-led production company, Patrin Films. The film follows the personal journey of Romani journalist Liza Mortimer as she ventures into archival collections in search of her great-grandmother, Minty Smith. What begins as a quest for a single life story becomes a powerful revelation: a rich, interwoven legacy of Romani voices, songs, and cultural influence embedded within England’s traditional folk music.

Through rare recordings and rediscovered stories of Minty Smith and other Romani folk singers, the film illuminates the vital role that Romani communities played in preserving and shaping England’s folk traditions, long overlooked yet deeply influential.

Watch the trailer

Funded by the University of East Anglia’s AHRC Impact Acceleration Award, the film was nominated best activist film at the OffBeat 2026 Folk Film Festival.