I grew up in a household with two Roma children, as my sister became a professional parent. Around 2015, at the same time my sister started working as a professional parent – father, a horrifying event shook Slovakia: the murder of a one-year-old Roma girl by her professional foster father. The autopsy revealed 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 tragedy raised questions about the system of professional foster parenting. In Slovakia, it is paid work – professional foster parents take care of children in their own households and receive a monthly salary for it. The majority of children who enter professional foster families are of Roma origin. In eastern Slovakia, where economic hardship has persisted for a long time, becoming a professional foster parent often meant a way out of financial difficulties. But when people with hidden racist tendencies enter the system, it can end in disaster.

The film is not only about professional foster care, but also about moral choices within a system that offers few alternatives. It is a story that reveals how society actually works, showing that people who think they are not racist often expose their prejudices in everyday life. The film also reflects on how inflation and poverty push families into situations where morality becomes a luxury. It is a sad and cruel reality, not only in Slovakia.

The main character, Ingrid, at first appears to be a loving mother willing to cross moral boundaries – working in a grocery store during the day and prostituting herself at night to give her biological child a better life. Her intentions seem sincere, but gradually, as the story unfolds, her hidden racism comes to light, and Ingrid transforms into an anti-heroine.

I wanted to shoot the film in a very subjective style, focusing on the individual and their circumstances, inviting the audience to experience the story through Ingrid’s eyes. I believe art is deeply subjective, interpreted through the emotions and experiences each of us carries. This philosophy led me to tell the story as subjectively as possible – through the intimate events surrounding Ingrid, the way we often perceive our own lives – from just one point of view.
With the film 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.