Természetes fény

Natural Light
1943, World War II. A long winter is about to begin in the endless territories of the occupied Soviet Union. István Semetka is part of a special Hungarian unit tasked with travelling from village to village looking for partisan groups. While heading towards a remote village one day, the company falls under enemy fire and their commander is killed. As the highest ranking officer, Semetka must take over. Wading through a vast swamp, he guides the survivors back to an occupied village where they reconvene with their division.
Dénes Nagy’s powerful feature debut Natural Light is not just a war movie. Drenched in livid, humid light that makes faces look like they were painted in mud, it tells of a descent into the unknown by men who face constant moral dilemmas. What should one do to survive? To what extent should they put themselves first? How guilty are you if you witness horrible events you didn’t cause? As all their convictions about right and wrong are weakened, the men must decide whether to adapt or do the right thing.
by Dénes Nagy
with Ferenc Szabó, Tamás Garbacz, László Bajkó, Gyula Franczia, Ernő Stuhl, Gyula Szilágyi, Mareks Lapeskis, Krisztián Kozó, Csaba Nánási, Zsolt Fodor
Hungary / Latvia / France / Germany 2020 Hungarian, Russian 103’ Colour

Part of the Berlinale Summer Special

With

  • Ferenc Szabó (Semetka)
  • Tamás Garbacz (Szrnka)
  • László Bajkó (Koleszár)
  • Gyula Franczia (Major)
  • Ernő Stuhl (Vucskán)
  • Gyula Szilágyi (Csorin)
  • Mareks Lapeskis (Mihail)
  • Krisztián Kozó (Kozó)
  • Csaba Nánási (Nánási)
  • Zsolt Fodor (Fodor)

Crew

Written and Directed by Dénes Nagy
Cinematography Tamás Dobos
Editing Nicolas Rumpl
Music Santa Ratniece
Sound Design Jocelyn Robert
Sound Dominique Gaborieau
Production Design Márton Ágh
Costumes Márton Ágh
Make-Up Barbara „Bibi“ Kund
Assistant Director László „Samu“ Bednárik
Casting Dénes Nagy, Zsófia Muhi, Dace Jokste
Production Manager Vera Vodál, Mārtiņš Eihe
Producer Sára László, Marcell Gerő
Executive Producer Melinda Erdős
Co-Producers Inese Boka-Grūbe, Caroline Piras, Melanie Blocksdorf, Viktória Petrányi, Olivier Dubois, Gints Grūbe, Felix Blum
Associate Producers Alexander Bohr, Gábor Rajna, Árpád Szirmai, Attila Faragó
Co-Production Mistrus Media Riga
Lilith Film Paris
Propellerfilm Berlin
Proton Cinema Budapest
ZDF/Arte Mainz

Dénes Nagy

The filmmaker graduated from the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest in 2009. During his degree course, he spent a year as an exchange student at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). In 2012, he participated in Berlinale Talents. His short film, Soft Rain, had its premiere in the 2013 Quinzaine des réalisateurs at Cannes and went on to screen at numerous international festivals where it won several awards. His documentary Another Hungary premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and his most recent documentary, Harm, at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

Filmography

2009 Berlinskaya fuga; short documentary 2013 Lágy eső (Soft Rain); short film · Másik Magyarország (Another Hungary); documentary 2015 Seb (Harm); documentary 2020 Természetes fény (Natural Light)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2021