Enikö Löwensohn

The first directed Hungarian film footage shot with actors debuted in Uránia Hungarian Theatre of Science on 30 April 1901. These short motion pictures were not stand-alone works but illustrations for a lecture on the history of dance. However, all footage featuring the most popular actors of the period has been lost but stills taken during filming have survived – this creative animation short film uses these to present the unknown story of the birth of Hungarian film.

More than one third of the works made during the 120 years of Hungarian film history are considered lost, ruined or deliberately destroyed. But how did all this happen?