The ELTE–NFI University Film Club continues the series of screenings and discussions. We welcome university citizens from all faculties of ELTE.
In January 1914, a travel basket washed ashore on the icy Danube, containing the body of a strangled woman... The police set to work with 120 detectives to identify the murdered woman. The corpse was that of Elza Mágnás, a famous and notorious courtesan of Pest. Who killed Elza and why? For months before World War I, this question kept Budapest in a fever, and even 100 years later, it still preoccupies the public. The film, which recounts the last days of Elza Mágnás, lifts the veil on this mystery.
The film, with its unique visual style, focuses on three women: Elza Mágnás, who lives a semi-public life, her bigoted maid, Rózsi, and the young and naive servant girl, Kató. The bizarre, passionate relationships and slippery power games between them are further complicated by the men who appear around Elza, leading to a shocking denouement. In 2016, the film won the Hungarian Film Awards for Best TV Movie, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Cinematographer.
Date: 24 September 2025, 18:00
Venue: University Square campus (1053 Budapest, Egyetem tér 1-3. fszt., corridor next to the cloakroom)
Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBdwB65UcQI&t=88s
Starring: Patrícia Kovács, Dorka Gryllus, Laura Döbrösi, János Kulka.
Our guests in the post-screening discussion:
Attila Szász, Béla Balázs Award-winning Hungarian television and film director, screenwriter, producer, director of the film, and Zsolt Viktor Maróti, history teacher, author and columnist for Újkor.hu. Among other things, he deals with the criminalistic characteristics of Budapest, which became a world city at the turn of the century.
Due to limited seating, please register in advance here:
https://www.ajk.elte.hu/content/felvilag-szasz-attila-filmje-2015.e.1915
Correspondence about the film club is welcome via eltenfi.filmklub@elte.hu.
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