Regional Competiton

The Euphoria of Being

Réka Szabó
Screening time  
10.10. / Saturday, 16:00 - 18:00 Ticket

Hungarian Éva Fahidi was 18 when she and her family were deported to Auschwitz in 1944. She was separated from her family and learned after the war that all of her 49 blood relatives had been murdered, including her parents and sister. Director and dancer Réka Szabó became fascinated by Fahidi’s life story, documented in her book The Soul of Things. She reached out to the elderly Fahidi to ask if she would like to dance in a piece about her life, together with acclaimed young dancer Emese Cuhorka. Szabó filmed the whole process, from the first meeting between the two main characters, through the development of the piece during exhausting rehearsals, to the first performance of Sea Lavender or The Euphoria of Being. The documentary also follows the blossoming of an intimate friendship between the three women. Slowly, Fahidi’s memories come alive. After a long life, she has accepted that she will always carry her trauma with her. 

Reka_szabo_photograper_dusa_ga_cc_81bor

Réka Szabó

Réka Szabó is born in 1969 in Budapest. She graduated in mathematics and informatics, but fell in love with contemporary dance. Szabó is artistic director of The Symptoms, one of the most significant contemporary dance theatre companies in Hungary. She directed two award-winning experimental short films (Mourning, Shadow Movie) before her feature debut The Euphoria of Being (2019).

General sponsor

A létezés eufóriája

Hungary
2019, 87'

Directed by:
Réka Szabó

Screenplay by:
Réka Szabó

Cinematography:
Claudia Kovács

Edited by:
Sylvie Gadmer, Péter Sass

Music:
Balázs Barna

Producers:
Sara László, Marcell Gero, Réka Szabó

Produced by:
Campfilm, The Symptoms, 4CUT Digital Workshop Ltd., Pom’Zed

Festivals & Awards:

Locarno Film Festival 2019 – Critics Week Award; Sarajevo Film Festival 2019 – Human Rights Award; Trieste Film Festival 2019 – Best Documentary, Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa Award; Minsk International Film Festival 2019 – Audience Award Best Documentary Feature; IDFA 2019; Verzio International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival 2018; Central Michigan International Film Festival 2019; Trieste Film Festival (2020)Award: Audience Award for the Best Documentary Film in competition​ and Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa Award; Magyar Mozgóképszemle 2020 - Best Documentary Film; Temple Har Shalom Park City 2020, Greenwich International Film Festival  2020; DOK.fest München 2020 -  kinokino Audience Award; NorthWestFes 2020; Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival 2020 - The Best Debut Award; Choreoscope International Dance Film Festival of Barcelona 2020 - Portrait of a Generation Award; Ars Sacra Film Festival 2020 - Best feature-length documentary film

Contact:

The Film Collaborative
137 N. Larchmont Blvd., #606
Los Angeles, CA 90004, USA
T. +18186798751
E. jeffrey@thefilmcollaborative.org