The Danube Exodus
The Netherlands1998documentary60'Retrospektywa Pétera Forgácsa (2020)
What links Slovak Jews, escaping through Romania to Palestine in August 1939, and Bessarabian Germans who were returning to their homeland they had never seen before one year later under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact? This masterpiece of editing brings unobvious meanings out of unique archival footage. But the film is captivating not just because of its fascinating story told in the unhurried rhythm of flickering pictures. Its most important element is the people. Their unique emotions captured in the frames cannot be forgotten for a long time.
- 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.
- cinematography
- Nándor Andrásovits
- music
- Tibor Szemzö
- sound
- Zsolt Hubay
- editing
- Kati Juhász
- production
- Cesar Messemaker (Lumen Film)
- Photo
- Trailer