Romanian Film Festival and Hungarian Film Festival @ San Francisco State
The School of Cinema is offering a festival of Central European films in November. Showing on the first two weekends, the Romanian Film Festival and the Hungarian Film Festival will be offered as part of two courses, Cinema 325.2 and Cinema 325.3. We welcome the general public to any and all of these screenings.
The Romanian Film Festival will take place on Friday and Saturday, November 6 and 7, and the Hungarian Film Festival will take place on Friday and Saturday, November 13 and 14, at the Coppola Theater in the Fine Arts Building, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway, San Francisco, CA 94132.
Friday, November 6, 2015
4:00-4:30--Introduction by Florentina Mocanu
4:30–6:30 -- ALIYAH DADA by Oana Giurgiu, documentary, Romania, 2015
6:30-7:00--Welcome by Dana Beidlman, Honorary Consul of Romania, and Q&A with director Oana Giurgiu
7:00-7:45--Dinner/Reception
7:45-9:30--Q.E.D. by Andrei Gruzsniczki, drama, Romania, 2013
9:30-10:00--Q&A with director Andrei Gruzsniczki
Saturday, November 7, 2015
9:00 – 11:15 -- CHILD’S POSE by Calin Peter Netzer, drama, Romania, 2013
11:30-1:15--CRULIC–THE PATH TO BEYOND by Anca Damian, documentary, Romania and Poland, 2011
1:15--2:15--Lunch
2:15--3:45--WAITING FOR AUGUST by Teodora Ana Mihai, documentary, Belgium, 2014
3:45--4:30 -- Q&A with director Teodora Ana Mihai
4:30--5:00--Discussion and Summary
5:00–7:00--THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD by Radu Jude, comedy, Romania and Netherlands, 2009
4th Hungarian Film Festival of San Francisco
November 13-14, 2015
August Coppola Theater
San Francisco State University
Friday, November 13 (4pm – 10pm)
4:00-4:30 -- Introduction to Contemporary Hungarian Cinema
4:30 – 6:30 -- Ricsi and Drifter
Q&A via Skype with director Gábor Hörcher
Ricsi (15 min.) 2014
dir. Gábor Hörcher
The protagonist in the documentary “Drifter” gets a chance to act in a fiction film. Ricsi's friends have organized a farewell party the night before he leaves. But it is his mother who is packing for the trip, not Ricsi.
Best Hungarian Short Fiction Film Prize - Mediawave Film Festival 2015, Best Performance - Budapest Short Film Festival 2015, Visegrad Fund Special Prize - Budapest Short Film Festival 2015
Drifter (72 min.) Documentary feature 2014
dir. Gábor Hörcher
Ricsi, the young rebel, lives his life on the edge. ‘Trouble’ is his middle name. He is unruly, restlessly scaring up problem after problem. Driving cars without a license, stealing and escaping from the cops are all part of his daily routine, much to his parents' despair. Ricsi won't stand for routines nor the expectations of his deadbeat father. After all, where was he when Ricsi needed him the most?
IDFA Award for the Best First Appearance Documentary 2014, Best Documentary Award - Fünf Seen Filmfestival 2015, Special Mention of the Jury - goEast Film Festival 2015, Special Mention of the Jury - Docs Against Gravity Film Festival 2015
DOCU Rough Cut Boutique Postproduction Award 2013 - Sarajevo Film Festival, DOK.Incubator Sound Postproduction Prize 2014 - DOK Leipzig
6:30-7:30 Break and Reception
7:30—10:00 – The Border /Határ (24 min.) and Afterlife / Utóélet (93min.)
The Border / Határ (24 min.) Short, 2014
dir. Mátyás SzabóA prisoner by the name of Maydan has a chance to escape from his guard. He has no way of knowing who is friend and foe, or whether the girl he meets will help him evade the law.
Afterlife / Utóélet (93 min.) Feature, 2014
dir. Virág Zomborácz
This is the story of the dysfunctional Tulipan family. The father is a pastor who rules the life of his family with an iron fist. But when he meets his untimely demise, the family breaks down. They search for a new life and maybe a ghost can help them. Is it a ghost story? Yes, but it is also a unique, black comedy set in a small village, just after the collapse of Communism.
First Prize - Bergamo Film Meeting 2015,
Audience Award - Timisoara Ceau Cinema! European film festival 2015, Best Actor: Márton Kristóf - Vilnius International Film Festival 2015, Best Feature Film (Meeting Point) - Valladolid International Film Festival 2014
Saturday, November 14 (9AM – 10PM)
9:00-9:30--Introduction
9:30 – 11:00--Free Entry (70 min.) Feature, 2015
dir. Yvonne Kerékgyártó
Betty is a young girl whose father still taxis her back and forth in his car, asking her why she has done her hair in such a strange way and what she’s up to with her friends. V is her best friend, with few inhibitions and worries in her life, sporting a more outlandish hairstyle, and with no responsible adults around her. Betty and V are getting ready to set off on an adventure together: gate-crashing the biggest music festival they have ever been to and experiencing everything it can offer--sex, drugs, excitement, danger…After all, what is being an adult all about?
Gamechanger Award - Austin SXSW Film Festival 2015, Cineuropa Prize - Novi Sad Cinema City - 2014
11:15 – 11:30 Station / Az Állomás (12 min.) Short, 2014
dir. Csaba Vékes
After finishing her stint on this planet, Aunt Terry would like to get somewhere else. But that’s impossible without the necessary documents.
11:30 – 12:45 Wild Hungary / Vad Magyarország (51 min.) Nature Documentary, 2011
dir. Zoltán Török
A country like no other in Europe, Hungary is influenced by the rhythms of its rivers. White-tailed eagles, otters and enormous catfish share the wetlands with many other species living close to the local people, often unnoticed. This is their story presenting quite a few never-before-filmed animal behavior. Narrated by János Kulka.
Kollányi Ágoston Prize - Hungarian Film Week - 2011
12:45– 2:00 Break
2:15 - 4:30--No Man’s Island / Senki Szigete (93 min.) Feature, 2014,
dir. Ferenc Török
Vera is a cab driver who has been saving up for years to buy a house and settle on No Man’s Island in the Pacific to escape from the world in which she lives. Zoli has what it takes to become a professional basketball player, but beats a cowardly retreat from his own talent. These two youngsters, each on the run, are joined by Mia, the runaway bride. Their three lives clash and intermingle as they journey towards an unexpected solution. It is a modern fairy tale about young people in search of true happiness who, through Mia’s ethereal purity, come to accept themselves and find a way to realize their dreams.
4:30 – 4:45 Discussion and Summary
5:00 - 5:30 Reception
5:30 – 7:30 Hot Men/Cold Dictatorships / Meleg Férfiak, Hideg Diktatúrák, (90 min.) Documentary feature 2015,
dir. Mária Takács
Q and A and a recorded interview in Hungary with director Maria Takacs
A documentary dealing with the personal dramas of gay men living in communist Hungary. Has the situation of gay men improved since the fall of communism or is homophobia even worse today? This is the first documentary produced in our region that deals with the generations of older and younger gay men.
7:30-7:45 Break/reception continued
7:45-10:00 Mirage/Délibáb (110 min.) Feature, 2014
dir. Szabolcs Hajdú
Mirage tells the story of an African football player in a small Hungarian town, who commits a crime and has to flee. He finds refuge on a farm deep in the Hungarian plains. Soon he realizes that the farm is a modern slave camp where he is forced to fight for his freedom and ultimately his life.