The Sweetchili hobby project is performing well at film festivals
Late evening. The MLM team opens the meeting with a joint session on one of the upper floors of the trendy office building, while at the same time, three young workers crawl out from the belly of a broken white van in the parking garage.
The two parallel storylines are connected by a simple, everyday object. A small blue lunchbox, which is filled with different meanings in the conference room on the upper floor of the office building, compared to next to the dilapidated van in the underground garage. On one storyline, it is exalted as a symbol of the warmth of home and the care of our loved ones, while on the other side, it appears as a „plastic food coffin” symbolizing exploitation.
It’s as if the two plots run in a parallel universe, where „up and down” hardly differs: the leaders are authoritarian, violent people, the proclaimers of unquestionable truths. In an atmosphere of fear, the completely demotivated employees become compromising due to lack of other options and play for survival.
There are no heroes in either universe. The only sympathetic character, a member of the MLM team, dares to express his confusion: his „rebellion” and „downfall” reflect the value-lost world where a person becomes a disposable tool.
The small box gradually fills with meaning on both threads, transcending reality, understanding, and transforms: on one side, it almost becomes a tool of salvation, while on the other, it is demonized.
Where do the two parallel stories converge, and can the outcome bring catharsis in a distorted world dominated by hatred and fanaticism, where human values fade away and the end always justifies the means?
Award-winning hobby project
The short film Detto was realized as a hobby project, through a friendly collaboration in 2020, without any state or other support. It was a nonprofit venture made entirely out of love for the profession. The available one million forints mostly covered the actors' fees, which were accepted at a discount. The post-production was completed in July this year, also in the creators' free time.
Gábor Bárány, the head of Sweetchili Film, who was the producer and one of the cinematographers of the short film, sees the project as a kind of mission:
„We consider it important, and we are also professionally ambitious about creating cultural value. We believe that the film's message is important and relevant, and we would like it to reach as many people as possible. We encourage everyone to share it on social media, spread it freely, let’s make it public property.”.
The editing and post-production were also done at Sweetchili Film and the filming location was provided by the ACG advertising agency – also for free.
The screenwriter is Ervin Sallai, the director is András Vörös, who was recently very successful with the Prisoners titled television film's screenplay.
It is joyful news that the short film Detto was selected for the competition program of the Barcelona Indie Filmmakers Festival and the 65th National Independent Film Festival. In October 2020, Detto won the special award at the Malter-Vándor Film Festival. Congratulations to Gábor and the rest of the crew!
