Beast
(Csicska)
short, 35mm, 20 minutes
PREMIER (HUNGARY): 2011.
István Balogh, is a not too rich farmer has total control over his wife, family and slave. He does all it takes to guard the family image created by the rigid traditions in his farm in rural Hungary. The characters meet their tragic fate through their close but at the same time extreme relationships.
This film has been inspired by articles, news items and memories of people who have survived such situations.
In Hungary we see the renaissance of “csicskáztatás”, a kind of modern-day slavery. The word has now lost its original meaning in Hungarian prison and military slang; today we speak about the forced work of homeless people and wrecks or fallen addicts lacking love and will as well as the confiscation of their benefits and pensions.
In many cases slave-owners buy their victims cheap from special agents and then force them under inhuman circumstances to work and fully serve the whole family. The worker quickly becomes a slave, a “csicska”.
A tragic consequence of this widespread phenomenon is that the acceptance of the slave by the family can mean his very survival even when it happens with vile and selfish intentions.
In these archaic communities there is no clear distinction between the slave and the family members. These cruelly exploited people, unable to take part in everyday struggles for life, become second-class members of the community.
Thousands of people are estimated living in slavery in Hungary ten years into the third millennium.
2012 - BuSho - Budapest Short Film Festival: Silver BuSho
Creators
Attila Till | Director |
Attila Till | Screenplay |
Imre Juhász | Director of photography |
Béla Barsi | Editor |
Csaba Major, Iván Lantos | Sound |
Mónika Mécs, Gábor Rajna, Gábor Sipos | Producer |
M&M Film, Laokoon Film | Production company |
Judit Stalter, Csaba Tóth | Co-producer |
Szabolcs Thuróczy, Balázs Szitás, Mónika Balsai | Cast |
Awards
Shanghai International Film Festival - 2011 | Best Short Film of Mobile SIFF |
Budapest Hungarian Film Week - 2011 | Best Short Film |
Stockholm International Film Festival - 2011 | Best Short Film |
Vilnius International Film Festival - 2012 | Best Short Film |
Tampere Short Film Festival - 2012 | EFA Short Film Nominee Tampere |
European Film Academy - 2012 | Nominated for Best European Short Film Award |
Cracow Film Festival - 2012 | Silver Dragon |
Odense International Film Festival - 2012 | Special Mention |
Syracuse International Film Festival - 2012 | Best Short Fiction |
Barcelona MECAL - 2012 | Special Mention |
Torún TOFIFEST - 2012 | Golden Angel |
Festivals
Palic International Film Festival - 2012 | |
Leeds International Film Festival - 2012 | (in competition) |
Ghent Flanders International Film Festival - 2012 | (in competition) |
Kosice Art Film Fest - 2012 | (in competition) |
Huesca Film Festival - 2012 | (in competition) |
San Sebastian Human Rights Film Festival - 2012 | (in competition) |
Leeuwarden Noordelijk Film Festival - 2012 | (in competition) |
London Film Festival - 2012 | |
Luxembourg CinÉast - 2012 | |
Cannes Quinzaine des Réalisateurs - 2011 | |
Regensburg Short Film Week - 2012 | (in competition) |
Trieste Film Festival - 2012 | (in competition) |
Bilbao ZINEBI - 2011 | (in competition) |
Cottbus FilmFestival - 2011 | (in competition) |
London Film Festival - 2011 | |
Sarajevo Film Festival - 2011 | (in competition) |
Cluj-Napoca Transilvania - 2011 |
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