As far as I know you’re currently living and working in the field of animation in Austria, but since you have experienced working and studying in Hungary as well, what would you say are the differences between the animation scene in Austria and Hungary?

When I first got to know the animation film scene in Hungary, I was fascinated by the enthusiasm that many people have for this wonderful art form. In Austria, animated film is not yet so widespread, there are few opportunities to study it and the tradition is very different from that in Hungary. In Austria we have a long, rich history in the field of artistic experimental film, but in the field of animation we can learn a lot from Hungary.

You’ve studied painting at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. When did you turn to animation filmmaking, and what influenced you in your decision?

Between 2012 and 2018, I studied painting at the University of Applied Arts. In 2015, I took a course on animated film and was immediately captivated by drawing small figures and their movements.

What I liked more about animation than painting was the possibility to combine several of my passions: drawing, playing guitar, voice acting, making up little stories, making people laugh.

I was so inspired that from then on, that I worked for hours and hours on little scenes, forgetting everything around me.

You’ve done your masters in animation at MOME (Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest). Why did you choose this particular institute? Do you have co-creators from there who you have been working with ever since?

In 2017, my question was, where do I go on Erasmus? I looked around Europe for opportunities to study animation. MOME was recommended to me by many people and my research also concluded that it is a very good institute.

Moreover, the film 'Symphony No. 42' by Reka Bucsi, its humor and style, was a particular influence. When I saw it, I knew I had to go to Budapest.

After my Erasmus semester, I went back to Vienna, got my degree there and immediately returned to the MOME to start my Master's degree. Although I now live in Vienna again, I am friends with fellow students from Budapest and follow their work with much admiration. There is no collaboration now, but there will be for sure!

In most of your animation films you work as the director, the scriptwriter and the music composer, even as a voice actor – is this a conscious decision? What do you think are the benefits and difficulties of working alone on a film?

My working method differs from film to film. Sometimes I like to work alone in my studio for weeks without telling anyone in detail what the film will be about. Most of the time I don't use a storyboard, no animatics, improvise a lot and get new inspiration every day while sitting at my desk. I feel like I'm a very sensitive person when it comes to feedback and criticism and I’m quick to doubt my own ideas. It helps me then, especially in the early stages of the process, not to talk about it, but to be alone with my ideas for a while. 

On the other hand, during my time at the MOME I saw how great and inspiring it can be to involve people and to work in a team. I really enjoyed the regular presentations and the exchange with the teachers and fellow students. It showed me that I definitely want to realise projects in a team more often in the future.

In your animated shorts there are some recurring elements like the passing of time, aging and the cycle of nature ( ‘In The Upper Room’, ‘In the Living Room’). Is your everyday life truly affected by these questions?

I think subconsciously the life of all of us is influenced by these elements. In everyday life, we often manage not to think about it, because one is so busy with other things. The beautiful thing about art then is to bring these themes out of the depths and show them in a special way.

I am touched by films where I feel that there is a true core, something autobiographical, something that the person has experienced, as a basis.

It is the same in my films, often there is something personal behind it, which is then expanded with many fictional, symbolic details. If there wasn't this personal background in my films, I probably wouldn't feel like working on it for months and years.

Speaking of your movie ‘In The Upper Room’ – which has won the 10th Primanima’s Grand Prix –, why was it important to you to bring that movie to life?

It was still very early in the Master's program at MOME when, in an inspiring course with Éva Katinka Bognár, we were given the task of thinking of a story from our childhood. I remembered a moment with my blind grandfather, whom I visited regularly but too rarely. I asked him once, when I was a teenager, if he didn't want to know what I look like? He replied that he knew exactly what I look like. 

With this memory as the basis, it was subsequently a pleasure to build a story around it because I was so personally involved and had so many beautiful memories with my grandfather. When I first sent 'In The Upper Room' to my family, I was very nervous of their reaction.  When my dad wrote to say he was so touched by the way I showed his dad, I knew it was worth making a film about this personal story.

What are you working on nowadays?

At the moment I am working on a film about dreaming. I dream a lot, talk at night, and sometimes sleepwalk through the flat. Every now and then I lie awake at night and worry about life before these worries have disappeared again the next morning. So, the night is a source of inspiration and brings many little stories for a short film.

Now I'm in the phase where I'm trying to find a more concrete plot and connect the individual ideas. I have also started animating and I think this film could be my first film that is maybe a little bit scary and dark. But knowing me, a little humor will not be missing.

This year, on the 11th Primanima, you are part of the International Section’s Jury. What kind of criterias will you follow as a jury member?

Besides the technique, the story, and the direction, I will pay attention to which films touch my heart and inspire me in one way or another. I am very much looking forward to seeing the projects together with the other jury members and I am sure that, like every year, there will be many great films that deserve to receive an award.