Iszka Utazása

Iska lives a life of hopeless penury in one of the remotest and gloomiest corners of Europe. The film follows this girl's story during a phase of her life where the ground threatens to fall from beneath her feet as she struggles for survival. She earns a living recycling pieces of old metal she has found at a rubbish dump that she regularly scours, combing for things that can be re-used. The money she earns goes on the schnapps that Iska has to buy for her parents. She is obliged to beg the mine workers for food. She and her sister are discovered on the coal heap one day and are put into a home. Shortly afterwards her mother appears, wanting to take her daughter home. Iska obeys - she is still too dependent on her desolate home. No sooner is she back on the streets than she begins to daydream of the sea, that she longs to visit. With a new friend at her side, it looks as though her dreams might come true. But then things begin to go awry. Just as she is about set off for new shores, Iska suddenly finds herself in the clutches of human traffickers ...
The leading role in this film is played by Mária Varga, whose own life contains many parallels to the fate encountered by Iska. Her naivety and her unbroken will to survive in a hostile environment on the edge of Europe lends this film its unique atmosphere.