Zoltan Szalkai
Encyclopedia
Zoltán Szalkai, a Hungarian film director, was born in 1961. He studied agriculture and geology before turning to a career in directing documentary films.
One of the best known of these are On foot through gulag land, a 6-part film series, made on location in Russia
. The film is centred on the many encounters he had when walking across Russia, meeting people from the forced labour camps and discussing their experiences with them. His approach is interesting in that he grew up himself in Hungary
and was taught the communist version of history.
Szalkai has also filmed in Vietnam
, Indonesia
and Alaska
.
One of the best known of these are On foot through gulag land, a 6-part film series, made on location in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The film is centred on the many encounters he had when walking across Russia, meeting people from the forced labour camps and discussing their experiences with them. His approach is interesting in that he grew up himself in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and was taught the communist version of history.
Szalkai has also filmed in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
External links
- Biography of Zoltán Szalkai from Media Works, Digital Film Academy
- Walk on Gulagland Kolyma - Description of the documentary from Istvan Toth's pages
- Zoltan Szalkai homepage in English
See also
- GulagGulagThe Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
- KolymaKolymaThe Kolyma region is located in the far north-eastern area of Russia in what is commonly known as Siberia but is actually part of the Russian Far East. It is bounded by the East Siberian Sea and the Arctic Ocean in the north and the Sea of Okhotsk to the south...