It is not Enough to be Hungarian, You also need to have talent

The talented Hungarian filmmaker Gabor Csupa has been honoured at the Bangkok International Film Festival (18-23 January 2005) for his contribution to the animation film industry. During the event, the filmmaker last movie "THE IMMIGRANTS" was also shown as a World Premiere.

The decision to celebrate the Hungarian filmmaker can appear as a friendly sign addressed by the festival organizers to the Eastern and Central European cinema industries that have recently joined the ASEM group(*).

The homage was surely also addressed to celebrate the man who stood behind the production of “THE SIMPSON”. Gabor Csupa is also probably the last of a too long list of great Hungarian Filmmakers who left behind them the country they were born; the “Hungarian People's Republic”.

Not that Gabor was an active opponent to the regime which ruled the country until 1989. His generation of young animator understood that the system will not allow them to make animation with pleasure. “What his animation if you always have to stand painful situation connected to political paranoia.” At that time the script of the film would remain for at least 3 month in the hands of Government who would return it with cuts.

"It was the time for us to leave" he added with a mix of emotions in the voice. The idea was to reach an animation studio in Sweden where Gabor and his colleagues knew some guys. The group of animator had to turn into an “IMMIGRANT” group. Heading North through Austria and Germany, the group eventually found himself in a Danish jail. The young people were suspected of drug trafficking after trying to go across the last border of their long journey.

But sometime later came the real good working condition “we though we've hit the jackpot”. Gabor worked in Sweden for three and half year. Just as he was about to pack in to Germany where he expected to find more job than in Sweden, he met Arlene Klasky at a party. Since then, the two names are generally connected KLASKY CSUPO became one of the leading animation studio on Sunset boulevard Los Angeles.

Their latest production “THE IMMIGRANTS” depicts the life of Joska the Hungarian and his Russian friend Vladislav while both are struggling to survive in the US.

How can two former Soviet workers adapt in a world where the only rule seems to be the profit? Joska and Vladimir have different solutions to the question.

Using the animation in such a funny way, Gabor Csupo found also his own solution. And this is what was celebrated by the festival organizers; “His passion has helped Klasky Csupo, Inc. to become one of the world's leading animation studios, garnering numerous Emmys and Cable Ace Awards. That is why the 2005 Bangkok International Film Festival is proud to honour him for his work in the field of animation, and celebrate his incredible contributions to the television and film industries”.

AN INSPIRING MODEL OF TWO SENSITIVITIES

It is said that during the years 1930–1940 a billboard was placed in Hollywood with the sentence of Alexander Korda “It is not enough to be Hungarian; you also need to have talent.” The sentence may soon change with another group of Nationalities: Thai, Cambodia, Vietnamese…

In regard to the animation film, Eastern Europe artist with Western experience is an inspiring model for the Asian Animation Film Industry. The various Czech, and Polish animation film presented at TAFF 2005 edition reflects also the will from the Thai part to present some of these inspiring models.

I have asked Francois Da Silva, of EUROPACORP Luc Besson Company

(More in the France Resource Directory) what are the reasons of his presence in Thailand?

“First I came here as a Jury member of the Thailand Animation Festival. The event went along side with the TAM – the Thai animation market. It is just amazing how important it is! Of course you have all the game and telecom companies but that is not all”. Mister Da Silva also visited two major animation companies here in Bangkok: KANTANA and IMAGIMAX. These companies are producing a lot and, with the best technologies. These companies are also exactly at the point where they want to have a part in the creation.

Now, if you look what kind of films are presented in the competition of the major European film festival during the last five years, you will find that there is always at least one feature animation film. Such was again the case in Cannes in 2004 with “INOSENSU”

“I am sure that the West will soon discover that Thai are not just little soldiers producing tons of drawings, but also creating!” he said.

(*) From ASEM 5 the process will bring together all of the European Union including the ten new EU Member States (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia) and all of ASEAN (the Association of South East Asian Nations) including three ASEAN countries as new members of ASEM (Cambodia, Laos, Burma/Myanmar) as well as China, Japan and Korea, who were already in ASEM. (Read more)

by Gyora Gal Glupczynski