László Csáki
(1977 - )
film director
László Csáki graduated from the Hungarian University of Art and Design’s Department of Visual Communication in 2002. He is an interdisciplinary artist, who feels equally comfortable creating animated film, live-action short film, documentary, music video or an advertisement. His photography, marquetry and print-based artworks were presented at solo and group exhibitions in Hungary and abroad. From 2005 to 2015, he was a lecturer of animation and media design at MOME, and from 2006 to 2008 he was the head of the media design programme. Since 2013 he has been teaching animation at the Budapest Metropolitan University. His first feature length animated film called Pelikan Blue, which is about the forged rail ticket fever in Hungary following the collapse of the Soviet empire, when young people tricked the system to travel to the West.
László Csáki's Films
Pelikan Blue
2023
Surely everyone who grew up before 1989 on the “eastern side” of the Iron Curtain will relate to this astonishing animation. The film follows three young Hungarians, who decide to travel to the West with fake train tickets. What starts as a fun idea turns quickly into a lucrative black-market job model. Soon the authorities are on their tracks. The film is based on an original idea by Gabor Sipos, who produced the Oscar-winning “Son of Saul”. The visual style is unique and matches the topic, we immediately feel transferred to those times. The documentary footage is chosen wisely and is very entertaining. This outstanding animation makes you relive those “dark” times hoping that they never return.