Black Comedy | Hungary
Why Lift-Off programmed this film:
Our initial response to Sty was that we felt it had the best story set-up we had ever seen. Strong character development without a single line of dialogue.
One of our judges simply said “this is the best short film I’ve ever seen“.
Sty is available to download now as part of the Lift-Off Film Festival Collection 2010-15 via Vimeo On-Demand.
Our global audiences responses:
Our audiences fill-out in-depth feedback cards, which are then posted to all of our filmmakers.
At London Lift-Off we asked: ‘What moment stood out for you in this film?’
The best response we had for Sty was…
“The moment I suddenly realised that I was in a cinema in Soho, not a pig farm in Hungry. That was soooo real and hilarious!“
There’s nothing quite like the sound of schnapps being drunk…
We first screened Sty at Las Vegas Lift-Off Film Festival 2015, and the audeince were really blown away by the level of quality this film has throughout. The story structure and the pace works amazingly well. It appears in most part to be filmed primarily using natural light.
The acting is clearly masterful. The two central characters have their own separate backstories and depth. The dialogue, quite rightfully takes a while to start, and within these gaps we can see that the protagonist has a drinking problem – something the antagonist slightly uses to manipulate and suggest to the audience why he was the particular “butcher” to be picked in the first place.
The sound and the music works great and not in an ironic way. The creeping build up of the music gives us a sense of problem, and its sustained pauses a brilliant addition to the comic timing. Add to this the sounds of the farm, the sty’s creaky door, the rustle of the feet through the earth, the sound of the schnapps being drunk. All of this creates a atmosphere within the narratives location bubble, a believable world where the impending bizarre is to be bought – purchased by the audeince – with hilarious effect.
The key to black comedy is detail. Árpád Hermán has created a world with detail. From the characters car, to the daughters existence and suggested innocence through to the reveal of her bicycle. The art direction wasn’t ignored and this is what makes the film as good as it is.
Watch it yourself and tell us how you felt, we’d love to know your thoughts…
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