07/02/2006

Surely the most eagerly awaited film of the Hungarian Film Week, Taxidermia [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the second film by director György Pálfi, was inspired by the work of Hungarian novelist Lajos Parti Nagy. It recounts the story of three men in three different eras: A grandfather searching for physical love, lost in a feverish imagination; a father, in search of success in an unusual sport that consists of bingeing; and a son, seeking immortality by using his talent for taxidermy.

Often by brutal means, Taxidermia explores the mysteries of heredity through the destinies of three men who are prisoners of their bodies and their instincts. Unbearable for some, a work of art for others, Taxidermia is, nonetheless, proof of the talents of Pálfi, without doubt one of the most promising of Hungary’ new generation of filmmakers. Having already won acclaim in 2002 for Hic/Hukkle, the director’s second film is more radical, yet does not intentionally push the limits of taboo. "I hope I have made an instinctive film on the perfection and the imperfection of Man," he said.

A five-year project, Taxidermia was produced by Eurofilm Studio (Péter Miskolczi) in co-production with Memento Films , La Cinéfacture (France) and Amour Fou Filmproduktion (Austria). Together, they managed to raise a budget of just over €2m with the support of the Hungarian Film Foundation, Eurimages, ARTE France, Duna TV, the Vienna Film Fund, ORF and the Austrian Film Institute. The development of the screenplay received aid from the Sundance/NHK centre-European workshops.