A DUO OF HUNGARIAN FILMMAKERS INTRODUCED BENCE FLIEGAUF’S NEW FILM

The new film by Bence Fliegauf Forest – I See You Everywhere was brought to Prague IFF – Febiofest by two actors, Péter Tamás Fancsikai and Gábor Pál Terence Gelencsér. Both of them, however, contributed to the film – which premiered with success at this year’s Berlinale – in other ways as well: one as a musician, and the other in the role of editor.

“I have been an actor since my teenage years, but I had only worked with Bence as a producer before – until he offered me an acting role in this film. And since I also compose music for videogames, we started talking about creating the music for Forest – I See You Everywhere,” said Péter Tamás Fancsikai, adding that he was a huge fan of Fliegauf’s 2003 debut Forest, which the new film loosely draws from. For editor Gábor Pál Terence Gelencsér, Forest – I See You Everywhere is his first large production: “I’ve learned so much working on this film,” he said about the process. He too appears on-screen in the film, which consists of seven psychological dissections of everyday situations: “I have some acting experience, so I said to Bence that he should just let me know if he needs me to act.”

The film was made during the pandemic, which did not impact the final result too much, though – most of it takes place between two or three characters, inside of apartments. “We didn’t shoot during the actual lockdown, but we had a small crew and independent production, so we were pretty flexible,” commented Peter. “We were stuck at home, doing nothing, so working on this film gave us meaning in a world where nothing else made sense,” said Gábor. Forest – I See You Everywhere is Bence Fliegauf’s first film since Lily Lane six years ago. “The conditions for independent film in Hungary have been less than ideal for a while now – the current political class doesn’t support independent thinking, so there’s no way of getting financial support from official sources,” Peter pointed out.