30/07/2009

Shooting has wrapped on the fifth cinematic feature by Hungarian director Krisztina Deak, who won acclaim for Jadviga’s Pillow (in competition at Karlovy Vary in 2000, Special Jury Prize at Hungarian Film Week). Co-produced by Hungary, Poland and Romania, her new work, Aglaja, explores the circus world and stars Erika Marozsan.

Adapted by the director from Aglaja Veteranyi’s novel Why the Child is Cooking in the Polenta, the film centres on a very young girl who grows up in a family of circus artists from eastern Europe. Their life of interdependence is a constraint and curse, as well as a source of joy, until the day the small community is torn apart.

The screenplay was pitched in 2007 at the Connecting Cottbus co-production market.

Produced by András Muhi for Hungarian company Inforg Studio, Aglaja has a budget of around €2.7m. This includes co-production support from Poland’s Koncept Media Radek Stys (25% investment) and Romania’s Hai Hui Entertainment (10%), €220,000 in backing from Eurimages, and funding from the Hungarian Motion Picture Public Foundation, the Foundation of Hungarian Historic Film, the National Cultural Foundation (Hungary), the Polish Film Institute and the Romanian Film Centre (CNC).

Lensed by talented DoP Tibor Máthé (four-time winner of Best Cinematographer at Hungarian Film Week, including in 2007 for Opium: Diary of a Madwoman), the film had a 40-day shoot and is set to be released theatrically in 2010.

It should be noted that Inforg Studio is currently overseeing post-production on Benedek Fliegauf’s new feature, Womb (see news).

(Translated from French)