Balazs Lengyel shooting Lajkó, the Gypsy who went to space
- The filmmaker is directing his first feature film, a satire set at the height of the Cold War, starring Tamas Keresztes and produced by KMH Film
After directing the short films Balansz and A Répa, Hungarian director Balazs Lengyel will try his hand at feature films with Lajkó: Gipsy in Space [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. Shooting for the film, which boasts a cast featuring names such as Tamas Keresztes (Heavenly Shift [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Paw), József Gyabronka (Fateless [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Coming Out), Tibor Palffy (nominated for the 2010 Gopo for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Katalin Varga [+see also:
film review
trailer
Interview Peter Strickland - Director …
film profile]), Russian actor Sergej Onopko (discovered for his role in A Good Day to Die Hard and currently appearing in Don't Breathe), Sandor Lukats and Csaba Gosztonyi, is currently underway.
Co-written by the director and Balazs Lovas (who also co-wrote Mark Kostyal’s Coyote [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – read the article), the screenplay is based around the idea that the first human being to return from Space alive was not Yuri Gagarin, but Lajkó Serbán, a quiet, reserved Gypsy vaporiser pilot from Hungary. He always wanted to become a cosmonaut, but he never knew he would become the best-kept secret of the Cold War space race. Lajkó is a satire that follows the darkly comical adventures of a man who is only useful to his society as a lab rat.
Produced by Ferenc Pusztai for KMH Film, Lajko has received funding from the Hungarian National Film Fund (HNFF), which will also handle the international sales. Vertigo Media will be responsible for its distribution across Hungarian screens, slated for the second half of 2017.
KMH Film’s filmography includes titles such as Fresh Air [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Adrienn Pál [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agnes Kocsis, director of P…
film profile] by Agnes Kocsis (lauded at Cannes in 2006 and 2010, respectively), Dear Betrayed Friends by Sára Cserhalmi (2012), Afterlife [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Virág Zomborácz
film profile] by Virág Zomborácz and Free Fall [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by György Pálfi, whose next film, His Master's Voice [+see also:
trailer
film profile], is currently being produced by the company. Another release hitting Hungarian cinema screens on 22 September is Attila Gigor’s Well [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (distributed by Vertigo Media – read the article).
(Translated from French)
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