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The Death of Dracula
08/07/2019 05:21 PM
During the workshop, paricipants could examine Super8, 2X8mm, DS8, and16mm film cameras, and shoot test footage on Foma, Kodak and Orwo B & W film stocks. After developing the footage themselves, attendees chose the cameras with which they began to shoot the first episodes of a feature length film.
The original film, titled The Death of Dracula (Drakula Halála) was producesd in 1921 as a Hungarian-Austrian-French co-production, one year before F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu. Given its production date, it may be considered the first Dracula" film in the world! Directed by Károly Lajthay, the co-writer of the Script was Michael Curtis (known at the time as Mihály Kertész) who began his film carrier in the city of Cluj.
"The original and copies of the film were destroyed during the Second World War. Although we could not locate the original screenplay, a few years ago, my friend and colleague János Szántai (writer, poet, jurnalist, film critic, screenwriter) turned my attention to a book of the same title, published by Lajos Pánczél. As the book was published after the film, I consider the book to be written based on the film. So we took this book as the basis for the reproduction of the script." - declares Dr. Róbert Lakatos, the coordinator of the film project, teacher in the Film Department of the Sapientia University, and President of the Association of the Hungarian Filmmakers from Transylvania.
"The film's book has 13 chapters. The workshop concept is that each chapter will be directed by a different director. This year we are completing the first five chapters. In the future, depending on the financial options, we will continue shooting until we finish the feature length film."
In planning the set design, Dr. Radu Igazság (UNATC Bucharest) helped the participants, with audiovisual dramaturgy. Dr. György Pálos (ELTE from Budapest) acted as consultant. Visiting Professor Dr. Rebekah Jorgensen played a major role in organizing the production teams and the production, and the development of the film material was further supervised by Dr. Mira Marincaș of Sapientia.
The role of Dracula is performed by Tibor Pálffy, Doctor Tillner is played by Lehel Salat, and Mary by Enikő Molnár. The directors who completed their sections include Szabolcs Benedek, Gyopár Buzási, Attila Gödri and Flóra Kovács, assisted by Directors of Photography: Ádám Török and Endre Dózsa. Special thanks to Timothy Sós for production management, Edit László and Orsolya Tóth, but also Boema Restaurant on Iuliu Maniu Street for providing their garden as shooting location! Finally, many thanks for all the extras and Sapientia production students who with their participation and work helped make the shoot possible!
Click here to access the picture gallery about the film shooting.
