The Maelstrom: A Family Chronicle
The Netherlands1997documentary60'Retrospektywa Pétera Forgácsa (2020)Pokaz specjalny (2021)
Another documentary of the Hungarian master devoted to the fate of European Jews. The footage used in the film was shot in Holland at the turn of the 1940s. The people captured in it are enjoying life: practicing sports, playing with their children and flirting. Although it is hard for us to bear that we cannot distinguish between them, they include both future victims and architects of the final solution. It is also difficult to accept the thought that we are watching the final moments of individuals who are able to enjoy life so much.
- directed by
- Péter Forgács
Media artist and independent filmmaker based in Budapest whose works have been exhibited worldwide. He has made more than thirty films, including the best-known award-winning series Private Hungary based on home movies from the 1930s and 1960s. His international debut came with The Bartos Family (1988), which was awarded the Grand Prix of the World Wide Video Festival in the Hague. In 1983, Forgács established the Private Photo & Film Archives Foundation (PPFA) in Budapest, an exceptional collection of amateur film footage which served as the raw data for his unique re-orchestrations of history. In 2002, the Getty Research Institute held an exhibit of his installation “The Danube Exodus: Rippling Currents of the River”. He has received several international festival awards and his films were presented at many international festivals around the world. His highly recognized works are part of numerous public museum and university collections.
- music
- Tibor Szemzö
- editing
- Kati Juhász
- production
- Cesar Messemaker (Lumen Film)
- Photo
- Trailer