he Book of European Short Pitch. - Nisi Masa

jULIA SzEPHELyI
INCELLA GOING TO BUy BREAD
Tel: +351 914 323 909
E-mail: anaisabelalmeida@gmail.com
Intention
In this grotesque short movie the protagonist is the
house itself and the ensemble of its tenants. The
characters, even Incella and her family, represent archetypes
but all of them have distinctive attributes (a
dachshund, a saucepan, a walking frame). The most
recurring location of the movie is the stairwell, where
the neighbours meet and where the elevator stands
(with Incella in it). Being jumped around by the fussy
crowds of tenants the stairwell becomes the metaphor
of intellectual impotency. The building with its helpless
community, the empire of István the caretaker, represents
Hungary.
22
HUNGARy
The visual style and the material surroundings reflect
the timeless state of Hungary and the disposition of
people here to keep stalling. The approach is not that
of kitchen sink realism, it is slightly elevated and cartoonish,
both in terms of visual style (set-design, lighting),
and acting. The non-hierarchical, ensemble cast
is visually expressed by the long takes of the film, enabling
the characters to enter and exit a scene, maintaining
the illusion of perpetual action, while nothing
significant happens.
Synopsis
Incella is the teenage daughter of a greengrocer. She
is a confused and vulnerable creature. Prompted by
her alcoholic mother, she leaves to buy bread, when
the elevator of the run-down Budapest apartment
block breaks down and gets stuck for three days.
As no-one reacts to the alarm bell, Incella sits and
waits patiently. The family notices with interest that
the elevator is broken, and after a day... that Incella
is missing, too. The family and other tenants come
to help - under-informed policemen, lost repairmen,
a thin-mouthed social worker and a colourful group
of vacuous ladies - all expecting István, the almighty
caretaker, to come up with the solution.
Finally, Győző, an 8-year-old little friend suffering from
Down syndrome hears Incella’s voice coming from the
elevator and rescues her. After 3 days in her prison,
Incella escapes. But to what end...? It seems she had
a better time inside.
PRODUCTION FACTS
Production company:
AZT-Media (www.aztmedia.hu)
Locations, casting: in progress
Possible co-production companies: Hungarian
Rental Houses
Other Funds: application in progress (NKA,
MTVA)
Other info: script received grant from FilmJus
(annual scriptwriting grant)
Looking for: other producers, post-production
capacity.
“After no one reacts
to the alarm
bell, she sits
down and starts
to wait patiently.
Patiently.”
Director Biography
I graduated from the University of Drama
and Film, Budapest as a scriptwriter, and
have also studied at the HFF Konrad Wolf
Potsdam-Babelsberg. Currently I work for
AZT-Média, a Hungarian production company,
as a writer and creative consultant.
I’ve written two feature length scripts,
several shorts, directed a few shorts and
some non-commercial ads – two of them
award-winning. I directed TV spots for the
French Mezzo TV and also participate in
projects as co-writer and consultant on
dramaturgy. With a few colleagues from
the University we founded the Science
Fiction Scriptwriter Lab. Most recently
we’ve been working on developing an
original TV-series format.