Cinema for me is…

Mila in 11 frames

1. What film made you fall in love with cinema?
Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, FR, 2000). In my elementary school years, I had it on DVD, and there were times when I would just insert it to listen to the main theme music playing in the menu.

3. What does Europe mean to you?
When I think about my future, I envision Europe as a cohesive unit capable of constant change, while still ensuring security. In my everyday life, I see the cultural heritage and opportunities.

4. In 2024, I think it is important to vote in the European elections because:
We are responsible for representing our values and having a say in who represents us.

5. What do you like the most about your country that makes it unique? 
Our language, and thereby our poets, who will forever remain our secret because there is no other language capable of expressing such subtle nuances as Hungarian does.

6. Your favorite film theatre? What do you like about it? 
My favorite cinema is BEM (Budapest). They screen old classics and arthouse films. It is a place where I have seen many influential films for the first time, such as Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr & Agnes Hranitzky, HU, 2000). One Easter, they held a Béla Tarr marathon, and I went in before the resurrection with a bottle of beer to watch it. Afterwards, I walked in the rain through Budapest from Buda to Pest, crossing the Danube, and I felt that I couldn’t be any closer to cinema than that.

7.  What is your dream job in the film industry?
I am a first-year student majoring in directing, and it is my great dream to direct films. However, over the past few years, I have also found great joy in editing. Currently, I am trying to explore as many positions as possible and gain diverse perspectives on filmmaking. I thoroughly enjoy the freedom I have as a young filmmaker, being able to participate in projects in any capacity that can contribute the most to the final outcome.

8. Which film director would you like to be? 
I wouldn’t want to be anyone else but myself, but I would gladly observe the world for a while through Emir Kusturica’s (Arizona Dream, Underground, …) eyes.

9. Which film character do you most identify with? 
I couldn’t single out one specific character. I believe that every good film experience evokes a profound empathy for its characters. However, once the film concludes, it is the conflicts, decisions, and questions raised that deeply resonate with me, prompting reflections on my own life rather than the fictional characters themselves. In my childhood, though, I adored Snow White and wanted to watch it every day. My parents allowed it on the condition that I watch it in a different language each day. I specifically remember loving the Czech voice actress.

10. Your favorite soundtrack or song? 
‘Itt Van Pedig Senki Se Hívta’ is a Hungarian song from the film Eskimo Woman Feel Cold (János Xantus, HU, 1984) which in English means: ‘Here he is, even though nobody called for him’.

11. If you had to live in a movie, which one would you like it to be? 
I would be very curious to experience what it would be like to live in a Buharov (Land of Warm Waters, Slow Mirror, ..) or Jodorowsky (The Holy Mountain, Santa Sangre, ..) film, but most likely, I would feel the most at home in a Nouvelle Vague film.

Mila Taraczky is the Ambassador of Tisza Mozi. Find out more about the cinema here.