Sceneggiatura / Screenplay: Gábor Reisz, Éva Schulze
Fotografia / Photography: Kristóf Becsey
Montaggio / Editing: Vanda Gorácz, Gábor Reisz
Musica / Music: András Kálmán, Gábor Reisz
Suono / Sound: Richard Fűlek, Péter Balogh
Scenografia / Art Director: Zsófia Tasnádi
Costumi / Costume Designer: Rebeka Hatházi
Interpreti / Cast: Gáspár Adonyi-Walsh, István Znamenák, András Rusznák, Rebeka Hatházi, Eliza Sodró, Lilla Kizlinger, Krisztina Urbanovits
Produzione / Produced by: Proton Cinema
Coproduzione / Co-produced by: MPhilms
Con il sostegno di / Supported by: Slovak Audiovisual Fund
Distribuzione internazionale / World Sales: Films Boutique
Distribuzione per l’Italia / Distributed in Italy by: I Wonder Pictures
It’s summer in Budapest, high school student Abel is struggling to focus on his final exams, whilst coming to the realisation that he is hopelessly in love with his best friend Janka. The studious Janka has her own unrequited love with married history teacher Jakab – who had a previous confrontation with Abel’s conservative father. The tensions of a polarised society come unexpectedly to the surface when Abel’s history graduation exam turns into a national scandal. The film premiered at the Venice FF, where it was awarded the Orizzonti Prize for Best Film.
“For a long time, I have felt suffocated by the atmosphere of my divided country, which permeates my everyday life. In 2021, the University of Theatre and Film Arts, Budapest lost its autonomy when it was completely reorganised from above as directed by the State, and the professors and students did not agree with this at all. The demonstrations soon took a party politics turn and overnight the entire institution’s community was labeled as opposition by politicians and the government-controlled media. This is what prompted the main idea of Explanation for Everything … I believe that if normal, human communication ceases, no one can grow; after all, this is one of the foundations of a livable society. My former professor and co-scriptwriter, Éva Schulze, and I launched off from here to develop Explanation for Everything in 2021. An important aspect during the writing process was to understand and illustrate the intentions and lostness of both sides.” (G. Reisz)
Gábor Reisz
Film director and writer, Gábor Reisz was born in 1980 in Budapest. He graduated from ELTE in Film History and Theory in 2006, and Film Directing at University of Theatre and Film Arts in 2013. His debut feature For Some Inexplicable Reason became a cult film in Hungary and was a big success at the box office and on the international festival circuit as well. In 2015, he was invited to the Cannes Film Festival’s Résidence program, where he developed his second feature Bad Poems, Best Hungarian Film of 2018. One of the selected projects at First Cut+ in Trieste in 2023, Explanation for Everything is his third feature film.
Selected filmography
2007 Jót és Semmit doc. cm / sf 2008 Öltöző cm / sf 2009 Valakinek a valamije cm / sf 2010 Külalak cm / sf 2014 VAN valami furcsa és megmagyarázhatatlan (For Some Inexplicable Reason); Premi / Awards: Sofia IFF – Miglior regista / Best Director 2018 Rossz versek (Bad Poems); Premi / Awards: Torino FF – Premio speciale della giuria, Premio Scuola Holden / Special Jury Prize, Scuola Holden Award; Hungarian Film Week – Miglior regista, Miglior film / Best Director, Best Film 2023 Magyarázat mindenre (Explanation for Everything); Premi / Awards: Venezia, Mostra del cinema – Premio Orizzonti per Miglior Film / Venice FF – Orizzonti Award for Best Film
