Face Down

Colour, 35mm
Hungary, 2002, 82 min
Section: East of the West

Synopsis

Szabolcs Tolnai made hi first (amateur) film Summer Fairytale in 1998. His professional debut Face Down was completed in 2001, set in his native Vojvodina, a region of Yugoslavia inhabited by a large Hungarian minority. Between the making of both films, one war ended in the country, then another began and also ended, the empire dwindled into a dwarf state, and the regime fell along with its dictator. The end brought peace and a huge void. During these wars the Serbs forced young Hungarian boys to serve in their army. Those who stayed at home and those who returned, discharged or deserters, have yet to find their place, aimlessly wandering the countryside. The hero of the film, a stage props man, escapes from the army using a tried and trusted method – he feigns madness – and returns to his home town where he finds everyone also more or less mad, but these people aren’t pretending. With the somewhat alienated gaze of someone arriving from afar, the hero observes surreal goings-on and strange characters vegetating in a devastated environment. The film won the Special Jury Prize at the national Hungarian Film Festival.

About the director

Szabolcs Tolnai (1971) attended the Media Department of ELTE University (Eötvos Loránd Tudomány Egyetem) in Budapest. He graduated as a film director from the Academy of Theatre and Film Art, Novi Sad in 2001. He made his first (amateur) film in 1998, Summer Fairytale (Nyári mese). He has made several experimental, short and documentary films and also worked as a stage director. Face Down (Arccal a földnek)is his graduate film.