A teacher starts an absurd struggle to justify herself as she is accused by a parent of promoting homosexuality among students after recommending Agnieszka Holland’s Total Eclipse to her 17-year-old students to better understand Rimbaud’s work.
“I’m very interested in how a seemingly insignificant event can shatter previously well-functioning relationships and human fates within a small community,” Moldovai told FNE. "The plot has several threads, in terms of its genre, it is a social drama in which everyone, from students to teachers and parents, becomes directly or indirectly involved."
"I wanted to shoot in Transilvania from the beginning. Since the incident happened in Transilvania, I felt it would inspire me to shoot the film there and make it more authentic”, the director also said.
The teacher who stands up for her truth is played by actor/drama teacher Ágnes Krasznahorkai. “I was looking for someone about whom we can believe that she has the human dignity, good faith and idealism that guide the protagonist,” Moldovai said. The cast includes Hungarian and Romanian actors such as Tünde Skovrán, Soma Sándor, Ágnes Lőrincz, Zsolt Bölönyi, Eszter Tompa and Áron Dimény. The acting is realistic, however DOP András Táborosi subtly lifted the film from reality with his symmetrical shots.
Total Eclipse is produced by Attila Béla Kovács, András Muhi and Katalin Moldovai through Hungary’s Magma Cinema in coproduction with Hungary’s Salamandra Film. Romania’s Spot Film provided servicing. The National Film Institute - Hungary granted 186,122 EUR / 67 m HUF for the production of the film. In 2020, Total Eclipse won the Incubator Programme established by the National Film Institute - Hungary to help young directors make their first feature films.
Total Eclipse is set to be released in Hungarian cinemas in 2022.
Katalin Moldovai graduated from the Budapest Metropolitan University. In 2019, her short film As Up to Now / Ahogy eddig was selected for Cannes’ Cinéfondation.
Production Information:
Producer:
Magma Cinema (Hungary)
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Coproducers:
Salamandra Film (Hungary)
Credits:
Director: Katalin Moldovai
Screenwriters: Zita Palóczi, Katalin Moldovai
DOP: András Táborosi
Cast: Ágnes Krasznahorkai, Tünde Skovrán, Soma Sándor, Ágnes Lőrincz, Zsolt Bölönyi, Eszter Tompa, Áron Dimény
