"A human being does not have any roots.
He or she must make a pilgrimage through the human condition.
That means Ladies and Gentleman,
that we are all guests of life."
George Steiner

Csoma
The poor scholar Alexander Csoma de Körös was one of the 19th century's great, original pioneers. To the scholars of his century Csoma was an obscure, Transylvanian figure, abandoned among the Himalayan hills' however, from the summits a giant cast its shadow on Central Asia. (W.W. Hunter)

The Film
A Guest of Life expresses Csoma's sensory impressions through gentle sonorities and appealing images - popular legends about Csoma being humorously illustrated, for example, via colour animation sequences. The footage in the Himalayan monasteries and India was shot on Super-8. The colours are very pale, hardly perceptible, whilst the spoken sections, like the film's soundtrack, are more redolent of musical expression, thus creating a highly seductive and contemplative atmosphere.

The director
Born in Budapest in 1955, Tibor Szemző graduated from the Hungarian Music Academy. In the late 70s he made his name as a musician and composer. In recent years his interest has turned increasingly to film as well. A Guest of Life is the first whole length film.