22/11/2005

Surfing on the successful waves of his first feature, the animated film The District! (Nyócker) which will be distributed in France at the beginning of 2006 by CTV Intl with10 prints, young Hungarian filmmaker Áron Gauder is preparing his next piece: Egill. This adaptation of a 10th century Icelandic saga, which calls for more technical animation than the The District!, is an ambitious project and the producers (Erik Novak and Tamas Liszka for Lichthof Productions and SzimplaFilm) are currently seeking an international co-production.

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Egill follows the misadventures of the Viking poet Egill Skallagrimson who was a real person. Shipwrecked off the British coast and condemned to death, Egill meditates on his past life during the long night before his execution and decides to write an ode to the King to obtain his pardon. After youthful years in Iceland which saw him develop his artistic talent and a violent temperament, Egill went to Norway where he was found guilty of a murder which provoked the anger of queen Gunnhildur. Fleeing, he wandered along the Slavic coasts and then married Asgerd. But his turbulent life brought him back to Norway, to the land of his enemies. Duels, black and white magic, sea-voyages, love and vengeance pepper his journey.

With The District!, which was made with 500 000 dollars in 18 months, Aron Gauder made an astonishing feature debut. A great success in Hungarian theatres, the film also seduced festivals the world over, winning the Visual Expression Prize at the Hungarian Film Week, triumphing at the 2005 Annecy Festival and won at Kiev, Ottawa, Sitges (Festival Internacional de Cinema de Catalunya) and at Seoul (SICAF).

(Translated from French)