Gabor Reis has directed his most political feature film yet, but Claimants to the Throne is just around the corner. In the case of the new film Magyarázat Mindarre, on the other hand, the drama and realism of the Romanian New Wave is rightly mentioned. In comparison, Peter Caracsoni’s short films deal with the reality around us from its more absurd side. It was no coincidence that I mentioned Muric’s sense of humor and his insight regarding The Little Giants. Kidnapping Sunday, due for release in 2022, is perhaps the most ridiculous Christmas movie yet. As soon as I saw it being screened at the 19th Buchou International Short Film Festival, I knew this was what I wanted to see most. The Little Giants had raised the bar high, and of course it was hard to jump. I also feel that Sunday Kidnapping is the perfect prequel to another short film for 2023, and it’s even better put together. The difference lies mostly in this, in the structure of the two works. Although I didn’t feel like hanging out for a minute in The Little Giants, there are some pretty great scenes in The Sunday Kidnapping, some of which I’d rather have skipped.
As we wrote in the BuSho ad, the movie starts from a basic situation all too familiar today: What happens when a journalist starts photographing a castle under construction with a drone? In reality, of course, only unpleasant personalities appear who are trying to force you to leave as soon as possible. In the Christmas movie, the situation is even worse: a beater appears. Zsolt Nagy has always been good in similar roles, and he does them well now, while Daniel Szabo is the stereotypical hairy, glasses-wearing character. His personality could have been much more complex and contradictory. After all, the film’s great merit is the way Zolt Nagy shows its director that, in light of his family, his past, and his abilities, he could have followed a completely different path. Because there is much more to it than meets the eye.
There’s no shortage of surreal twists, in the second half of the movie, we get an entertaining lunch scene that I’ve been going to watch for a long time. The dialogues work very well, especially when it comes to familiar characters: who says it’s best to pull yourself together? Who says it was better under socialism? Who calls it socialism in the first place, and who calls it communism, damned, or simply a cadre system? Unfortunately, this part ends very quickly, but talking about portraits of Zolt Nagy still holds interesting moments.
The development of the Christmas movies continues: the scenes of the border guards in the gyroscope were a great starting point, and then Lesn brought them closer, making Hungarian Huntress even more oppressive. Who shoots whom, who becomes an enemy, who becomes an ally? What do we ignore for fear of getting into trouble? And what are we in? We can also watch these three films as a trilogy, with Lesen, The Sunday Kidnapping and The Little Giants together giving a bigger picture.
Of this year’s BuSho crop, my favorites were usually the silliest. Nor was there a single person among the winners. In addition to the Christmas movie, for example, the chair is recognized, as the various sitting positions suddenly begin to speak revealing the scale of the human problems they also suffer from. Then Swiss director Vanga Tujnola’s “Danzamata” became strong enough, about a traumatized roommate who doesn’t want to stop dancing even after the party is over. Is it possible that this dance will continue until the Day of Resurrection? Dance ourselves forever?
By its nature, Diane Weisz’s “Pergie” from South Africa felt more realistic, but it’s even more depressing because of it. Had it included one or two other disturbing technological innovations, it would have been a perfect episode of Black Mirror, but even without it, there’s something to be gained from the point of view. Wiz’s film perfectly captures the kind of care-wrapped brutality that has already become a powerful feature of our time, and will likely become even more exciting in the future. Getting to the point where even a police officer can’t get to the person they want to remove – but what if the homeless man loses his life? Is this exactly what humanity wants? While the runners in a running race are constantly overtaking, there seems to be no chance of changing lanes. Naturally, benevolent souls immediately appear with camera phones in their hands. The seven short minutes of Bergi’s film tell us as much about our society as no other film can tell us in an hour and a half or two hours.
Among the most dramatic works, it is worth highlighting the works of the Spanish Maria Salgado Jespert. The Titan starts out vaguely, at first it seems as if he really wants to talk about horseback riding and the love of the sport and its benefit to children. Then the story suddenly takes a darker turn, reminiscent of the story movie. It’s as if Titan illustrates how many other possible cases lead to the fate of the main character in the story, with decades of self-deception, bitterness, self-blame, and then potential healing. Frustrating and helpful.
19th BuSho Winners
Student Jury Awards:
Best Animated Film: “The Corner of My Eyes” by Hungary’s Erhardt Domonkus
Special Award for Animation: Fox Tossing, Mira Zeno, Hungary
Best Narrative Film: Smoke in Your Eyes, Alvin Lee, Singapore
Special Prize for Fiction: Out of Water, Graciana Pichola, Poland
International Jury Awards:
Best Animated Feature: My Dear Son, Weng Yan, Lilian Fu, UK
Best Experimental Film: Cersetti, Jeremias Brunner, Sylvain Marthe, Germany
Best Cinematography: Norm Lee – Same Age, Lloyd Lee Choi, USA/Canada
Best case scenario: Smoke in your eyes, Alvin Lee, Singapore
Best Comedy Film: Best Short Film Ever, Alexandre Pescador, Austria
Best Acting Performance: Adele Kovács, Africata, Anna Jeemici, Hungary
Received the Special Prize from the International Jury: Fortissimo, Victor Cesca, France
Szyget Special Prize: The Abduction of Sunday, Petr Karacsony, Hungary
Major prizes:
Best Hungarian Film: Pragma, Szélesti Bianca, Hungary
Bronze Pocho: Women Visiting a City, Enrique Beaulieu, Spain
Silver BuSho Award: Fairplay, Zoel Eichbacher, Switzerland/France
Gold BuSho Award for Best International Film: Osman, Jorge Camarotti, Canada
