In 2008 and 2009 Hungary was shaken by a series of attacks against Romanies, during which six people died. A sober piece about a family with a host of problems. The film doesn’t attempt a documentary reconstruction of events but, without a hint of affectation, it reflects upon the irrationality of racism. The film won a Silver Bear at this year’s Berlinale.
Mari lives with her invalid father and two children outside the city; day-to-day existence has its problems, but now they fear for their lives as well: their village has witnessed some extremely brutal crimes where families have been gunned down in their own homes by unknown perpetrators. How can a mother take herself off to work when she doesn’t know what might happen to her kids in the meantime? Need the children restrict their everyday activities when the nature of the violence is so irrational and thus inscrutable? Inspired by real events, the filmmakers are keen to avoid emphasis on the folklore associated with the Romany community, and focus instead on their daily struggles, their individual troubles and woes. Without uprooting its characters from their environment, the film is able to see into the problems of each one of them. The director is not seeking a cathartic climax, however; rather he works towards a critical resolution, bringing to a head the prolonged strain and tension which the viewer inevitably experiences together with the protagonists.
87 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Bence Fliegauf
/ Screenplay Bence Fliegauf
/ Dir. of Photography Zoltán Lovasi
/ Music Bence Fliegauf, Tamás Beke
/ Editor Xavier Box
/ Producer Mónika Mécs, András Muhi, Ernő Mesterházy
/ Production Inforg Studio
/ Cast Katalin Toldi, Gyöngyi Lendvai, Lajos Sárkány, György Toldi, Gyula Horváth, Gergő Kaszás, Atilla Egyed
/ Contact Artcam Films, The Match Factory
/ Distributor Artcam Films
Bence Fliegauf (b. 1974, Budapest) is a major player in contemporary Hungarian film. He did not attend film school but gathered experience working as an assistant director in television, where he was also involved in screenwriting and production design. He debuted with the film Forest (Rengeteg, 2003), which won a prize at the Berlin IFF. His second film, Dealer (2004), was a hit at festivals all over the world, including Karlovy Vary; his subsequent title Milky Way (Tejút, 2007) won the Golden Leopard at Locarno. Womb (2010), the director’s first film in English, stars Eva Green and premiered at the Locarno festival. Just the Wind competed at this year’s Berlin IFF, where it won a Silver Bear.
Artcam Films
Rašínovo nábřeží 6, 128 00, Praha 2
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 221 411 619
Fax: +420 221 411 699
E-mail: [email protected]
The Match Factory
Domstrasse 60, 50668, Cologne
Germany
Phone: +49 221 539 7090
E-mail: [email protected]
Přemysl Martinek
Film Institution Rep., Producer
Thania Dimitrakopoulou
Sales Agent
Csaba Papp
Film Institution Rep., PR & Marketing
Katalin Vajda
Film Institution Rep.
Artemio Benki
Distributor, Film Director, Producer
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