This year, Art Film Fest\u2019s Golden Camera award went to Oscar-winning Hungarian director Istv\u00e1n Szab\u00f3. At the press conference later, he reflected that an award won by a film\u2019s director is actually a recognition of everyone who put their talent into the film. Meaning that few awards actually belong to the director.<\/p>\n
You were born into a long line of doctors, and you often say you would\u2019ve been a doctor if you hadn\u2019t been a filmmaker. Even when you accepted the Golden Camera, you said that you want to heal the soul through your work. Your own soul or the viewer\u2019s?
I\u2019m not so self-obsessed that I\u2019d make films to heal myself of all people.
How can a filmmaker heal?
Every art form has the power to heal. Whether it\u2019s film, literature or theatre we\u2019re talking, quite possibly their most important component is the ability to show people that they aren\u2019t alone. After all, the characters in a work of art have the same problems as the rest of us. When you realize that, it follows that you\u2019re struggling with the same problems as Anna Karenina, as Natasha Rostova, as the brothers Karamazov.
Would you say that filmmakers share something in common with psychologists, trained as they are to heal people\u2019s psyches?
Perhaps. But I think there\u2019s still a difference between them, as filmmakers and theatre makers don\u2019t work with a single person, like a psychologist does, but with a whole team of people.
How can a filmmaker best appeal to their audience? Is the story a film\u2019s most important element? Or the camerawork? Or the music, for example?
Most important is to know exactly what you\u2019re inviting the audience to.
And in your case?
That varies from film to film. Even when I invite someone to dinner, I have to have a reason for it. And the reason\u2019s always different.
Your films reflect the history of Central Europe. Can you imagine what your films would be like if you lived elsewhere?
Above all I can\u2019t imagine not being a Central European. This part of the world is of special importance to me. Central Europe, Hungary even more, and Budapest even more than that.
What is it that makes Central Europe so important to you?
In the 20th century, all of us here suffered the same torments and had the same experiences. Though my parents lived in Hungary, they surely went through the same as their peers in Slovakia, for example. Central Europe is a place where politics and ideology attempted to intrude all the way into everyone\u2019s personal lives. We hoped that the 21st century would fare better. But when I look around me, I fear that it won\u2019t.
If you hadn\u2019t experienced all this first-hand, would you still be able to make films?
I can easily imagine not being able to make films. I always wanted to be a doctor like my father and grandfather. I became a filmmaker essentially by accident.
Aside from films, you\u2019ve also directed several opera productions. What\u2019s the difference between directing an opera and a film?
When directing operas, I\u2019ve always had to study a great deal, since I\u2019m no musician. And so I had to study composers, be it Wagner or Verdi, which opera directors don\u2019t have to do, since they\u2019ve been well-versed in their work since their schooldays.
So you don\u2019t have to study anything when directing a film?
I learned to direct films when I was young. I have experience managing a film crew of 60 or 70; I don\u2019t have to worry about craft. And I can focus on how I\u2019m telling the story, how to pique audiences\u2019 interest in it, how to inspire love for the characters, and how to say what\u2019s important to me in a way that makes it important to the audience, too.
How do you picture the viewers you make your films for?
I\u2019m the first viewer\u2014that\u2019s my job. I don\u2019t picture anyone; I represent my viewers myself. When I don\u2019t like something, I\u2019m sure my audiences won\u2019t like it either. And when I do like something, well then I can\u2019t be sure of anything.
Juraj Fellegi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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