Benjamin Hanf created a video inspired by an animated masterpiece about 20th century Hungarian history, Mind the Steps! by István Orosz. In his commentary to A madarakat etetni tilos [No Bird Feeding], Benjamin explanes how his work connects to the original.
My response to ‘Vigyázat, lépcső! [Mind the Steps!]’ imitates what I understood to be key motifs in István Orosz’s original piece. Orosz uses monochrome, sound, and the motif of stairs to portray a cynical retelling Hungarian history and stinging critique of the socialist regime of the 1980s. As Hungary falls victim to unending foreign occupations and strife, the characters are forced to navigate the escherian stairwell of the unreal but familiar apartment building that they share. My piece borrows these aesthetics to reveal a familiar apartment building in black-and-white, with unfamiliar angles, movements, and sounds, imitating the environment and narrative that Orosz creates.
by Benjamin Hanf
Budapest through Streets, People and Cinema 