Experiencing Interruptions?

Heating

The film tries to reconstruct the process of charcoal burning, a traditional craft that has almost disappeared by now in Hungary. Charcoal burning had a centuries-long tradition. The activity flourished mainly in forested regions that were close to metallurgical centres. Good quality charcoal was vitally important for producing metal with a low sulphur content.

Charcoal consumption has dramatically increased in the 19th century due to the prevalence of linen weaving industry. Manglers were substituted with irons using charcoal as fuel.

While the increased demand in the charcoal production resulted in considerable deforestation in the past, traditional charcoal burning either seized to exist or fell back to a great extent by now.

The film follows the process of charcoal burning from the construction of a charcoal kiln till the opening-up of the pile of wood after a few days with the assistance of Géza Szarka.

  • Robert Gyökér
    Director
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 30, 2010
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Hungary
  • Country of Filming:
    Hungary
  • Language:
    English, Hungarian
  • Shooting Format:
    AVI
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • XV. Faludi International Non-Professional Film Festival and Photo Competition
    Budapest
    Hungary
    November 10, 2011
    3. prize
Director Biography - Robert Gyökér

I had started my career as a professional musician. After having spent five years in the Lebanese National Symphonic Orchestra I was admitted to University of Miskolc. I gained my Master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology in 2011 with specialization in ethnographic filmmaking under the guidance of Gyula Gulyás.

Since graduation, I am conducting long-term anthropological fieldworks on regular basis focusing on the everyday life of marginalized communities living in economically depressed regions of Hungary and self-organized communities trying to articulate their values in the midst of the consumer society. The outcomes of these researches are realized as independent ethnographic films.

Currently, I am a PhD student at the Department of Ethnography and Cultural Anthropology of University of Pécs. My field of research is the examination of value systems and identity politics of self-organized communities.

As a lecturer, I am giving courses in Visual Anthropology and Application of Video Technics in Anthropological Inquiry at University of Miskolc.

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