Alina Șerban was born in 1987 in a Romanian Roma family in Bucharest, Romania. She was 8 years old when her parents lost their home and were forced to move to her father’s extended family. A few years later her mother went to prison and Alina spent her teenage years in a children's home from where she went directly to the university. She used her diaries from those years to write the early versions of I Declare at My Own Risk, Slumdog Roma and Two weeks, maximum one month, maybe six years[6] – which she performed at the International Romani Art Festival in 2009 and 2010.[7]
In 2011 Serban received a scholarship and moved to London for a master’s program at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. The following year she received the "Best Romanian Student in the UK”, prize, but she could not afford the expenses associated with the trip from London to Edinburgh so she could not pick up the prize in person.
In March 2014 the actress was invited to the Street Child World Cup to give a speech in front of 2000 people at Royal Albert Hall.[8] In 2016 Alina Şerban published the first Collection of Roma Fairy Tales in Romania, as told by her aunt – Tanti Veta.
She played the lead role and contributed as a script consultant for three European film projects focusing on experiences of Roma women: Written/Unwritten,[9]Alone at My Wedding and Gipsy Queen.
For her first leading role in cinema, Serban stars in Marta Bergman’s feature film Alone at My Wedding, which premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2018 and earned her several Best Actress awards.
She also stars as a boxer in Huseyin Tabak’s Gipsy Queen, a German-Austrian production. For her performance in ‘Gipsy Queen’ she won the Best Actress Award[10] at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2019, the "Best Actress" award at The German Actors Guild Awards and was nominated for the German Film Academy Award - LOLA.
In 2020, Alina Serban made her debut as a filmmaker with Bilet de iertare/Letter of Forgiveness[11] - the first film about the Roma slavery written and directed from a Roma perspective. The short film was awarded a Special Mention[12] for Best Romanian Short Film at Transilvania International Film Festival and Best Narrative Director at Female Voices Rock, USA.
Studies
2006-2009 National University of Theater and Film in Bucharest (Bachelor's)
Alina Serban became known on the alternative theater scene of Bucharest after the performance I Declare at My Own Risk, a one-woman-show she had also written. The play, inspired by the autobiographical story of the actress,[14] was performed in many European countries, including Romania, Hungary, France and Italy.[15]
In 2013 Alina Serban performed I Declare at My Own Risk in Great Britain, at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art – RADA Festival, followed by another performance at Tara Arts in 2014.[16]
While Living in London, in 2015, Alina Serban wrote Home, a play that tells a story of different immigrants looking for a better life in the UK. The play won “Stories of London” Rich Mix's competition.[17]
By the end of 2015, Serban performed in Roma-Sapiens in Berlin and was invited to present and perform I Declare at My Own Risk at the Stockholm Literature Festival.[18]
In 2016 Alina Serban writes, directs and performs in The Great Shame, a theater play that talks about 500 years of Roma slavery in the Romanian countries and in which she includes little known stories of slavery from historical documents.[19]
Her theater work continues with The Best Child in the World (2022), an autobiographical one-woman show which she wrote and directed, and which is the first play by a Roma woman director to enter the permanent repertoire of the National Theater of Bucharest.[20]
In 2023, Serban performs The Best Child in the World at the Bohemian National Hall in New York, as a part of the Rehearsal for Trust theater festival [21] honoring Vaclav Havel and in Chicago at the RoCo.[22]
Awards and Recognition
2024
Ordained by the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis with The Order of Cultural Merit, in the rank of Knight, for artistic performances, becoming the first Roma woman who received this distinction [23]
Selected as one of the 44 leaders in the Young European Leaders program, led by Friends of Europe[24]
2023
Venice Film Festival, Queer Lion Award[25] for Housekeeping for beginners, which also represents Macedonia’s choice for the Oscars
Alone at my wedding nominated to Best First Feature (Magritte du premier film) and Best Film ("Meilleur film"), Belgium
2019
Official recognition by the Romanian Government for excellence in her artistic work and promoting the Roma culture
Special Mention at Transilvania International Film Festival and Best Narrative Director Award at Female Voices Rock, USA for Letter of Forgiveness[31]
Tajsa Roma Cultural Heritage Prize for “Alina Șerban’s artistic work and for her engagement in the activism for Roma rights” by The European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC)[32]
Winner of Best Actress at PÖFF Black Nights Film Festival for the leading role in Gipsy Queen[33]
