Documentary
Films
Lmntl is pleased to offer two wonderful
documentaries by San Francisco filmmaker Sally Gati. Both are
available on DVD (email to check on VHS availability). $25.00
each.
Traditions For Sale highlights the Matyo folk embroidery done in Mezokovesd,
Hungary. Filming in the early 1990's, Ms. Gati was able to record
the stories of some of the older generation of folk artists who have
since passed away. The film also features the
Kovacs family,
whose products are sold through this website. The following is the
blurb from the video cover:
"Traditions For Sale " is a documentary focusing on some very
special Hungarian folk artists, who, because of the new capitalistic
climate, have been reviving their folk arts. You will be able to
see how an "irono" creates floral designs. You will look on as
older women do detailed embroidery work on goods to be sold in souvenir
shops in Budapest. You will meet a woodcarver who handmakes
furniture to sell overseas, and you can watch his son paint the colorful
flowers that decorate items they sell in their folkstore. You will
hear Hungarian folk music as men and women in Matyo costumes put on an
authentic recreation of a wedding for tourists. Everywhere in the
world, people want to take something of the traditional culture away
with them. You can see it happening in Hungary, all in 50 minutes.
Starting Over in America; The Story
of the Hungarian 56ers traces the journeys of a few of the
courageous young Hungarians who fought for their freedom in 1956, then
escaped to the US when the uprising was crushed by the Soviets.
They made the most of the opportunities offered by their new home, building successful
lives and careers. The following is the blurb from the video
cover:
"Starting Over in America; The Story of the
Hungarian 56ers
" is a 57-min. documentary of personal stories
told by thirteen Hungarian refugees who came to the U.S. following their
failed 1956 Revolution against the Soviet Union. These funny, sad,
and uplifting stories tell of their disappointment at the defeat of
their dream for a free Hungary yet they have the power to reawaken in us
what is possible in America and let us see how their hopes were made new
again. (written, directed, edited, and narrated by Sally Gati in
collaboration with her husband Frank Gati, one of the 56ers.)
For more information on Sally Gati's films,
visit her website at: http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~sgati/gatiproductions/starting_over/
