Inaction
We are in the present day, in Hungary. The film takes place in a quiet part of a small town, in
a Kádár-era concrete block apartment. We experience the atmosphere and the story through
the eyes of 75-year-old Grandfather (Nagy Ferenc). The film will include a flashback and a
montage.
At the beginning of the film, we see an elderly man talking to his doctor on the phone. It turns
out he is terminally ill. After the phone call, he starts to have lunch, but his meal is
interrupted by two unexpected guests. His son and grandson (Balázs) are the two
unexpected visitors who, after school, decided to stop at grandfather’s house so that his son
could fix a faulty pump. The father immediately goes to repair it, leaving the grandfather and
the grandson alone in the living room.
The grandfather tries to start a conversation, but it's initially challenging as Balázs is
extremely reserved, only looking at his phone. Eventually, grandfather manages to start a
conversation during which it is revealed that one of Balázs's classmates is being bullied, but
none of them are doing anything about it. After learning about this, grandfather reflects on it
and begins to tell a story to Balázs. The story, interwoven with fictional elements, is about a
boy whom grandfather abandoned in the past, and this abandonment cost the boy his life.
Grandfather's intention is not to blame but to teach and guide Balázs with the experience of
his life, as our grandparents often do. However, Balázs's father interrupts the story, so
Balázs does not get to know its conclusion, only the viewers.
The film attempts to explore one of the greatest sins of our society in the present day
through the dialogue between the grandfather and his grandson, which is inaction. Many
times, collectively, we are unable to act in certain situations because the awareness that
others could do something as well takes away the immediate weight from our shoulders. The
fundamental issue, in my opinion, is that in these situations, we often are unwilling to
recognize our complicity, even though if we could reach this point, we might be able to act in
similar situations in the future. In our story, grandfather’s character is precisely such a case
who did not act but learned from his mistake and years later tries to seize the opportunity to
rectify the irreparable.
With my film, I aim to reflect on accepting our flaws, learning from them, and recognizing the
toxic consequences of social inaction that spans across generations.
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Bence FördősDirector
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Bence FördősWriter
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Bence FördősProducer
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Károly RupnikKey Cast"Grandfather"
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Zoltán Dunca-StadlerKey Cast"Grandson"
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Gábor VáradiKey Cast"Dad"
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Project Title (Original Language):Tétlenségünk ára
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Project Type:Short, Student
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Runtime:18 minutes 29 seconds
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Completion Date:December 18, 2023
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Production Budget:500 USD
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Country of Origin:Hungary
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Country of Filming:Hungary
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Language:Hungarian
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:Yes - Eszterházy Károly Katolikus Egyetem
My name is Bence Fördős and I'm 22 years old. I saw a Christofer Nolan movie when I was 11 years old, and I’ve been a movie lover ever since. I am currently studying motion picture at university in Hungary, but I already have an economics degree too. I have a lot of thoughts I want to reveal to the world and I found a way to do that in filmmaking. When I create it I always inspire from my own feelings. I usually listen to music, walk around the city and think about a particular topic I want to make a movie about. So far I have directed 4 no-budget short films and I loved the process of making them all. I have seen nearly a thousand movies from all over the world and from different eras. I know I don't have much experience yet, but I hope that one day in the future I will have the opportunity to direct a film.