The European Union Film Festival (EUFF) in Ottawa kicked off at the Ottawa Art Gallery on Friday with a Hungarian-produced drama-comedy film titled Some Birds. The cinematographer of the film, Marcell Nagy, was present at the Ottawa premiere and hosted a Q&A with the audience following the film’s screening.
Directed by Dániel Hevér with a screenplay by Zsanett Kertész, Some Birds tells a bittersweet story of an elderly man who forms an unlikely friendship with a teenage girl at his nursing home. The film was a heartfelt opener to the festival, touching on how society often misrepresents those who are aging.
Bela values his independence, but after suffering a fall, his son places him in a nursing home. There, he meets Zoé, a teenage girl volunteering at his facility who is also dealing with a similar form of abandonment by her mother. The two bond over their shared feelings of loneliness and find that they have more in common than they thought, despite their age gaps. Bela decides to find a way to leave the care home once and for all, and with Zoé’s help, he hopes it can be an easy process. However, Bela must come to terms with the difficulties he faces with aging, and learn how to accept that he needs support.
László Scacsvay portrays Bela as a defiant but kind-hearted man struggling with society’s perception of him as an aging senior. Throughout the film, he contemplates how many, including his own family, believe they know how he feels and what’s right for him. His sarcastic and prickly attitude provides for many quick-witted, humorous moments.
When Bela becomes accustomed to the nursing home’s environment, he forms a close friendship with his roommate Ödön, played by Péter Barbinek. The two share great chemistry and are a hilarious pair on-screen, especially during their performance as zebras in the retirement home’s drama production of “The Zebra Queen.”
Lilla Kizlinger shares an equally strong on-screen chemistry with Scacsvay’s Bela. As Zoé, Kizlinger portrays the rebellious teenager with stoic mannerisms, reflecting the character’s complicated situation at home and being neglected by her mother. She often opts to tune out the world with her favourite electronic pop and her earbuds, a pastime she eventually shares with Bela as the two become friendly.
As Bela and Zoé engage in various antics, such as shipping a huge toy dinosaur to Bela’s grandson or sneaking into the nursing home’s kitchen late at night to make somewhat delectable food for Bela, we see Zoé’s spirit begin to shine a bit brighter. Her demeanour often reflects Bela’s in terms of her sarcastic talk and view on the world, making them a dynamic pair.
Nagy’s cinematography choices highlight the contrast between Bela and Zoé’s living situations. While the setting of Bela nursing home is portrayed on screen in more saturated tones, Zoé’s home life with her mother is often more muted. Many of the shots in the film centered around urban spaces, reflecting how confined Bela felt being put in the nursing home. However, in the scenes where Bela and Zoé are shown on outings in the city, these spaces become less urbanized and more open and natural.
“That was an intention to have this kind of contrast. Most of the time [in the] movie, we tried to capture the remaining of socialism – in the colours, light, and architecture as well… At the end of the movie, we go to nature. They can have a breath of fresh air, kind of like freedom,” Nagy explained.
Nagy told attendees at the opening night of EUFF that he wasn’t originally signed on with Some Birds until nearly three months before it started shooting. This was his first feature film as a cinematographer, and Nagy said that his experience as an actor has given him the intimate knowledge required to shoot a film.
“I think somehow [the actors] trust me because of my background, because they know that I experienced that feeling to be in front of a camera,” he said. “Generally, the cinematographer and the actors’ relationship is a special bond.”
Ottawa EUFF is being held at the Ottawa Art Gallery until November 30, featuring an impressive line-up of 28 films, one from every EU member state, plus Ukraine.
For more information or to view the full schedule, please visit European Union Film Festival 2024.
