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Istvan Gaal
Along with artists such as Istvan Szabo and Pal Gabor, Istvan Gaal was a leading member of the 'Hungarian New Wave' in the 1960s, and had briefly worked as technician to please his father.
Along with artists such as Istvan Szabo and Pal Gabor, Istvan Gaal was a leading member of the 'Hungarian New Wave' in the 1960s. The son of an electrician, the 1933 born Gaal worked briefly as a labourer and technician to please his father before embarking on his career as a filmmaker.
While at Budapest's Academy of Theatre and Cinematography during the 1956 revolution, Gaal made his diploma film Polyamunkasok / Surfacemen (1957), the first of his several award-winning shorts.
Gaal's first full-length festure Sodrasban / Current (1964) won praise for its austere, sensitive treatment of young students. The film was the first of an unofficial trilogy that explored peasant culture and was followed by Zordar/ The Green Years (1965) and Baptism (1967).
