Three classical films of the great Hungarian filmmaker István Szabó will be screened in Bucharest and Timişoara within a retrospective that Ceau, Cinema! organizes together with Liszt Institute – the Hungarian Cultural Center from Bucharest before the 10th edition of the festival.
„Mephisto” (1981), „Colonel Redl” (1985) and „Hanussen” (1988), the informal trilogy of historical and political dramas which feature as main character the famous Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer, will be screened at Eforie Cinematheque from Bucharest during June 23rd – 25th and also at Cinema Victoria from Timişoara during June 30th – July 2nd, as part of a warm-up session before the anniversary edition of Ceau, Cinema!
The films will be screened on 4K restored versions from the Hungarian National Film Archive. The tickets are available on Eventbook.
With the storyline situated in the early 30s, „Mephisto” focuses on a stage actor who faces a dilemma: should he give up his apolitical position and respect the Reich’s wish or should he risk to be forgotten. „Mephisto” won the FIPRESCI Award and the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay, as well as the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Situated in the last years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, „Colonel Redl” tells the story of an ambitous officer who struggles to accede to the highest military ranks, but whose rise is endangered by political intrigues. The film won the Jury Prize at Cannes Festival, was nominated at the Academy Awards and at the Golden Globes and won the BAFTA Best International Film Award.
In „Hanussen”, Klaus Maria Brandauer plays an Austrian hypnotist and psychic, established in Berlin after being wounded in the First World War and whose special abilities bring him in the Nazis’ attention. „Hanussen” was selected in the competition of Cannes Festival and was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film.
Born in 1938, István Szabó is one of the most popular and appreciated Hungarian filmmakers, with a rich career of over six decades both in Hungary and abroad. His films rely on the tradition of European arthouse cinema and present numerous aspects of political and psychological conflicts from the Central European recent history, sometimes inspired from his biography.
More details on the films are available on ceaucinema.ro, and on the festival Facebook and Instagram profiles.
Ceau, Cinema! Festival is dedicated to European cinema and is organized by the Association Pelicula Culturală and founded together with the Association Marele Ecran. The 10th edition of the festival will take place during July 12th – 16th in Timişoara.
The project is part of the National Cultural Programme „Timișoara–European Capital of Culture in 2023” and is funded through the programme European Echoes, conducted by the Center for Projects Timișoara, with amounts allotted from the state budget, through the Ministry of Culture budget.
Sponsors: Vitas Romania, Groupama Insurance.
Funded by: the Romanian Film Center.
Partners: Marele Ecran Association, Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF), the German Cultural Center from Timişoara, the Austrian Cultural Forum Bucharest, the Polish Institute Bucharest, the Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Center Bucharest, the Czech Center Bucharest, the Embassy of Spain, Cervantes Institute from Bucharest, the Italian Cultural Institute from Bucharest, the French Institute from Timișoara.
With the support of: Ceva de Spus Association, Cartea Călătoare Foundation, Cinema Victoria, Animest, Ibis Timisoara City Center, Faber, Timişoara la cutie, The House of Arts– the County Direction for Culture Timiş, Claudia Roşu.
Media partners: All about Romanian Cinema (AaRC), West City Radio, Ziarul Metropolis.