Péter Forgács: Archivist of Memory

Péter Forgács is best known for his haunting films that reorchestrate found footage. Most of these amateur 8mm home movies were shot by Central Europeans - among them Jewish families - during the Nazi era of the 1930s and 1940s and post war Soviet era of the '50 in East Europe; documenting ordinary lives that were soon to be ruptured by an extraordinary historical trauma that occurs off-screen. Forgács was able to acquire these most precious assets of families lost, refashioning them into a new genre. Through these home movies, Forgács places the historical emphasis on the contrast of an emotional private family history with public history.

Internationally celebrated as a media artist, Forgács has created more than 30 films over the last twenty years. Forgács' parents returned to Budapest from the British Mandate of Palestine in 1946 and his Jerusalem-born mother gave birth to Péter four years later in 1950. He first achieved recognition with his Private Hungary series and his mesmerizing narratives were introduced to SFJFF audiences ten years ago with the World Premiere of the live music performance of the award-winning Freefall, the tenth film in this series.

Since the completion of his Hungarian testimonials, his investigative eye has journeyed throughout Europe. This year’s program includes the San Francisco premiere of Miss Universe 1929, in which a Viennese beauty’s life is changed by the obsessive camera of her adoring cousin; The Maelstrom, about a Dutch family living a full and joyful life on the cusp of their destruction; and a reprise of the surprising journey of war refugees captured by the camera of the ship captain in Danube Exodus (SFJFF 1999).

Last year, Forgács was awarded the Erasmus Prize at The Hague for his contributions to the cultural life of Europe. Bravo to Péter Forgács, whose excavation of the past provides us with a living history.

- Janis Plotkin

SFJFF’s Freedom of Expression Award honors the unfettered imagination, which is the cornerstone of a free, just and open society. Péter Forgács will accept his award following the screening of Miss Universe 1929 on Monday July 28.

This year, SFJFF is pleased to present a new sculpture for this prestigious award.  The Freedom of Expression Award statuette is the creation of San Francisco-based, Moscow-born sculptor Misha Frid, whose design, made expressly for SFJFF, symbolizes "the never-extinguished flame of Jewish daring and creativity."

Previous Award winners

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival's Freedom of Expression Award was launched at the 2005 Festival as part of its silver anniversary. Previous winners include Walter Bernstein and Norma Barzman, two veteran screenwriters who survived the darkest years of the Hollywood Blacklist; local independent filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt; prolific and political Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai; and provocative Berlin-based filmmaker Dani Levy.