France
80
69th edition. October 18-26, 2024
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István and Eszter live their respective married lives until they meet and fall in love with each other. However, neither of them wants to lose their spouse or their children. Their relationship is an open secret in both families, they have nothing to hide, but both know that sooner or later they will have to find a solution to a situation that is wearing everyone down. The harrowing scenes between the two lovers describe with cruel accuracy not only the distortions of personal relationships, but also the despair of an era, towards the end of the Kádár regime.
Filmmaker and screenwriter born in 1937 in Budapest (Hungary). She graduated in 1961 from the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest together with other filmmakers such as János Rózsa, Éva Singer and István Szabó and joined Mafilm as an assistant director. She is one of the founders of the Béla Balázs Studio, a workshop for experimental film for young filmmakers. Between 1962 and 2011, she made multiple short films, documentaries and features that reflects as much the history of her native Hungary as her own life. In 1968, Elek made her first feature film, ‘The Lady from Constantinople’, and in 1984 her film ‘Maria’s Day’ (1984) screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival. Elek’s films were the subject of a focus programme at IFFR 2023.
