premiere
The 39-minute film of one of the prominent personalities of Hungarian conceptual art was produced between 1973-75. Kentaur’s twelve chapters of identical structure follow the everydays of the workers building Socialism – factory workers, engineers, or pensioners searching for the luck of others at the lottery sorter. The film’s determining character is a disturbing dissonance that derives from the tension between the images familiar from the tedious propaganda films of the era, and the post-synchronisation of dialogues and ideologies leaning toward the witty, philosophical, and often grotesque. The dehumanising daily drudgery and the critique piercing the mercilessness of the work render Kentaur just as topical to today’s viewer as it would have been 34 years ago.
Until now, only a very select few could see Tamás Szentjóby’s film, as it was banned in 1975, prior to its completion and final printing. György Durst, secretary of the Béla Balázs Studio at the time, found the confiscated work print in 1983, and immediately made a copy to rescue its value. The digital reconstruction of the seriously damaged film material occurred in 2009 on the initiative of, and coordinated by, the Ludwig Museum / ACAX. The immediate reason for the restoration was the invitation of the film to be a part of the 11th Istanbul Biennial, where its presentation received significant international attention. Kentaur can be seen by the Hungarian audience for the first time in its original and completed form.
Entrance is free of charge! | We call attention to the fact that those who arrive late will not be allowed to enter the hall during the screening.
Supporters of the film restoration:
Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art Budapest / ACAX | Agency for Contemporary Art Exchange,
tranzit. hu – the tranzit programme is supported by the Erste Bank Group