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VANCOUVER PREMIERE // VANCITY THEATRE EXCLUSIVE
Based on the true-life experiences of the director and his brother (the film’s star, now a performer with Cirque de Soleil), the brilliantly shot and fluidly edited White Palms is a gripping drama set in the high-pressure world of competitive gymnastics. Having suffered as a boy under a brutal Communist-era coach, Hungarian gymnast Miklos moves to Canada in 2001 in search of a new start, ending up as a coach for Olympic hopefuls in Calgary. But he soon finds himself unwittingly perpetuating the same cycle of abuse among his own pupils. Redemption appears in the form of Kyle (Canadian Olympic medallist Kyle Shewfelt), a teen with championship potential and a major attitude problem. The friendship and rivalry between the student and teacher forms the basis of a gripping and extraordinary film, one that leaps back and forth between time periods, and exposes a clash of different cultures and values.
While some of the material in the film is extremely intense, the overwhelming feeling of empowerment that accompanies Dongo (Miklos) reclaiming his life and moving forward is refreshing. Reminiscent of the best sports films in which down-and-out competitors overcome difficult challenges to achieve a goal, it is not hard to see why this film was Hungary's Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006. With his third film, Hajdu hits a stride that signals the arrival of an intelligent new Hungarian cinematic voice.
Szabolcs Hajdu was born in Debrecen, Hungary, in 1972. He studied at the Theatre and Film Art University in Budapest, then worked as an actor. Afer his first short, he made his first feature, Sticky Matter, in 2000, which won the Best First Film Director award at the Hungarian Film Week and the Special Jury Prize at the Molodist International Film Festival in Kiev in 2001. His second film, Tarama, in 2003, won the Special Jury Prize for Best Visual Design at the Hungarian Film Week in 2004.
Screeners Available
Official site: http://www.fehertenyer.hu/index_en.php
Interview with Szabolcs Hajdu on
Europeanfilms.net: http://european-films.net/content/view/219/62/
Photos at: http://www.vifc.org/fileshare/login.php
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