THE EXAM and DEAR BETRAYED FRIEND will be premiered at Karlovy Vary IFF’s East of the West Competition.
THE DOOR and Berlinale Jury Grand Prix Winner JUST THE WIND will also be on show at Central Europe’s leading film festival beginning on 29 June.
East of the West Competition
The Exam / A vizsga
Director: Péter Bergendy
Hungary, 2011, 89 min
A year after the 1956 uprising, Hungary is still in the grip of fear. Young Agent Jung undergoes a test of loyalty but he also has trials in his personal life. Will he stand the test? The movie, which hovers somewhere between a psychological story and a spy piece, successfully demonstrates that even a modestly dramatic plot can bring out strong emotions.
3.7.2012 16:00 Kinosál C (Cinema C) Press & Industry screening
4.7.2012 16:30 Pupp
5.7.2012 10:00 Kinosál Čas (Cas Cinema)
Péter Bergendy director, Norbert Köbli screenwriter, István Bodzsár producer and János Kulka leading actor will be in attendance.
East of the West Competition
Dear Betrayed Friends / Drága besúgott barátaim
Director: Sára Cserhalmi
Hungary/Germany, 2012, 93 min
One day at the archives, 60-something Andor decides to read through the file the secret police kept on him. To his surprise he discovers that even his best friend János informed against him, for decades. This disturbing psychological drama from debuting Hungarian director and screenwriter Sára Cserhalmi treats a sensitive topic from the not-too-distant past that Hungary has yet to give due attention. The young director bravely asks unpleasant questions but she avoids absolute judgments. The roles of the two friends set at odds by the past benefited from the personal charisma of two outstanding Hungarian movie names – János Derzsi (the lead in Béla Tarr’s latest picture The Turin Horse) as the informer János, and the director’s father György Cserhalmi (known to Czech film enthusiasts from The Fortress and Zelary) in the role of Andor.
4.7.2012 12:30 Kinosál B (Cinema B) Press & Industry screening
5.7.2012 16:30 Pupp
6.7.2012 12:30 Kinosál Čas (Cas Cinema)
Premiere in the presence of Sára Cserhalmi and Ferenc Pusztai.
Special Screening
The Door / Az ajtó
Director: István Szabó
Hungary, Germany, 2012, 94 min
Magda, a female writer struggling for success, employs an elderly woman called Emerence to be her housekeeper.
From their first encounter, it is clear that Emerence is no ordinary maid. Although everyone in the neighbourhood knows and respects her, no one knows anything about her private life or has ever been allowed to enter her home.
However, a dramatic event in the writer’s life prompts Emerence to unveil glimpses of her traumatic past - a past which sheds light on her very peculiar behaviour.
The Door brilliantly illustrates the bond as it develops between these two very different women and, ultimately, the tragic end of their relationship.
29.6.2012 15:30 Kinosál A (Cinema A) Press & Industry screening
1.7.2012 14:00 Velký sál (Grand Hall)
2.7.2012 15:30 Kinosál B (Cinema B)
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István Szabó (b. 1938, Budapest) is one of the best-known European directors of the older generation. He finished his studies at the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest with the short film Concert (1961), awarded at the im casino spielen 1963 Cannes IFF. There, another short film, You (1963), hit the mark as well. Other noteworthy titles include: Father (Apa, 1966), 25 Fireman’s Street (Tuzoltó utca 25, 1973), Confidence (Bizalom, 1979), Mephisto (1981 – Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film) Colonel Redl (Redl Ezredes, 1984), Sweet Emma, Dear Böbe (Edes Emma, drága Böbe, 1991), and Sunshine (1999).
During the Gala Opening Ceremony of the 47th Karlovy Vary IFF, the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema will be awarded to Dame Helen Mirren. This superb British actress will be a guest at this year’s festival together with her husband, American director and producer Taylor Hackford. As part of the programme of the 47th Karlovy Vary IFF, Helen Mirren will be presenting the film The Door, in which she played the leading role.
Horizons
Just the Wind / Csak a szél
Director: Bence Fliegauf
Hungary, Germany, France, 2012, 96 min
News quickly spreads of the murder of a Romany family in a Hungarian village. The perpetrators have escaped and nobody claims to know who might have committed the crime. For another Romany family living close by, the murder only serves to confirm their latent, carefully repressed fears. Far away in Canada the head of the family decides that his wife, children and their grandfather must join him as soon as possible. Living in fear of the racist terror that surrounds them and feeling abandoned by the silent majority, the family tries to get through the day after the attack. By nightfall when darkness descends on the village the family pushes the beds closer together than usual. Yet their hope of escaping the madness proves illusory.
Berlinale 2012 Silver Bear - Jury Grand Prix Winner
1.7.2012 20:30 Kinosál A (Cinema A) Press & Industry screening
3.7.2012 14:00 Karlovarské městské divadlo (Karlovy Vary Theatre)
7.7.2012 19:00 Espace Dorleans (Espace Dorleans Cinema)
