Diary of an Unknown Man - A Portrait of Jozef Nadj

Colour, BETA
Hungary, 2003, 51 min
Section: Dance for the Camera

Synopsis

A documentary looking at the poetic work of Jozef Nadj (b. 1954), director, artist, choreographer and dancer. This originator of his own style of motion theatre investigates the uttermost limits of stage form, whether in terms of artistic conception, existential content or narrative rhythm. Nadj’s productions achieve tension by means of movement that may reach the minimalistically austere. In this documentary portrait, Nadj lets the viewer take a look at the deeper contexts of his work, and is not afraid to reveal his sources of inspiration. With the skill of a magician he incorporates incidental events into his productions (e.g. floods during an Italian tour). Ample shots from performances and additional footage obtained for the theatre accompany his work. The filmmakers followed Nadj to Berlin, Venice, Paris (his current base), and to his hometown of Kanjiza, Yugoslavia. Director Szabolcs Tolnai’s film is a multi-layered and magical portrait that takes the viewer into the highly imaginative world of an unorthodox artist.

About the director

Tolnai Szabolcs (b. 1971, Subotica, Yugoslavia) enrolled in the media department at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Budapest, and graduated in film direction at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Novi Sad (2001). He has made a number of short experimental and documentary films. He has also directed for the theatre. Filmography: the short Mutante G (1996), the experimental film Summer Movie (Nyári mozi 1998), the documentary The Anthem of the Youth (Az ifjúság himnusza, 2001), his graduation project Face Down (Arccal a földnek, 2001), and Diary of an Unknown Man – A Portrait of Jozef Nadj (Egy ismeretlen naplója – Nagy József portré, 2003).