WORK IN PROGRESS
METAMORPHOSIS
PRODUCTION DETAILS:
PRODUCTION COMPANY: OTHER FILMS
DIRECTORS: Peter AKAR, Ambrus Fatér
PRODUCERS: Rita Balogh, Barbara FRANK
EDITOR: Marianna RUDAS
LENGTH: 80 min
EXPECTED TIME OF DELIVERY: 2025
TOTAL BUDGET: 221 000 EUR
FINANCING IN-PLACE:
79 156 EUR – National Film Institute
33 924 EUR – National Film Office, Tax Rebate
IN SEARCH:
Co-producer, Broadcaster, Distributor
LOGLINE
When Anna (38) takes over her mother’s two-Michelin star restaurant she wants to change the authoritarian nature of the kitchen and create a democratic and sustainable community, but once she loses the stars, she needs to prove whether she is worthy of the legacy at all.
SYNOPSIS
When Anna (38) takes over her mother’s well-established restaurant business everyone thinks she is
spoilt and that she is not fit for the job. To add fuel to the flames, she decides to tear apart the two
Michelin-star restaurant and try to reinvent it with a new philosophy: she wants to end the chef-
centered autocracy in the kitchen, and build up a democratic model led by an artistic community where
all the staff members make the decisions together. But does equality work when the team has to
decide on tastes and when the main goal is to please the high-class guests and the culinary world?
Our feature length documentary follows Anna’s journey from the moment she shut the restaurant, until
the new one opens in the future. This is about a 3-year period. Her closest colleague is the egocentric
creative head of the company, Marcell. He grew up poor and walked the ladder from being a waiter to
be in the heart of this fine-dining business. To create something special and to receive the allured
Michelin star would mean he has succeeded in his life.
Marcell finds the introverted chef, Akos (32) and makes him the head of the kitchen, as he believes
he has a special talent. But the growing pressure gets the worst out of him, as he slides back to his
former drug addiction and eventually ends up having a nervous breakdown. Marcell and Anna agree
not to fire him and to give him a second chance, as they believe creating true art requires a certain
level of insanity. Unbeknownst to them, this starts an uncontrollable earthquake in the staff.
Can Anna prove her worthiness to her mother and to the culinary industry, and can she finally be
happy? Will Marcell ever be looked upon as someone who belongs to the artistic world? Will Akos be
able to function as a chef of a Michelin star restaurant, and is he really a genius?
PETER AKAR, DIRECTOR
AKAR graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts, Hungary (SZFE) as a screenplay writer and went on to study documentary directing at the MA course of the National Film and TV School in the UK. He has made several documentaries for British TV stations such as Channel 4 and STV. His film Sing Your Heart Out has won the Grierson Award and the Royal Television Society’s Award. Apart from documentaries he has worked on TV series both as a writer and a director.
AMBRUS FATÉR, DIRECTOR
FATÉR graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts, Hungary (SZFE) as a director. He gained experiences in commercials, music videos and fiction films. His graduate movie, Collapsed lung won critical acclaim internationally, as well a couple of prizes. Throughout the years he developed the expertise to tell stories in a unique way. https://www.faterambrus.com/about
RITA BALOGH, PRODUCER
In 2014, she co-founded the Budapest International Documentary Festival. In 2016, Rita set upher production company, OTHER FILMS to produce and promote international films. Her latest feature,Whose Dog Am I? was screened in Warsaw IFF, Tallinn Black Nights FF, etc. Rita is also a filmmaker,making documentaries with a focus on building bridges within societies. She is a participant of the Emerging Producers program of 2024.
BARBARA FRANK, PRODUCER
Producer of documentaries and online series with long-time experience in content creation at the
biggest Hungarian commercial TV. In 2021 she established Compact TV an independent creative company focusing on full scope production of factual series for different online platforms. The company was awarded the best online production hub of 2021 and 2022 at the Online Audio & Video Awards Hungary.
MARIANNA RUDAS, EDITOR
Marianna is the editor of the European Film Awards shortlisted documentary WHO I AM NOT. Previously she edited COLORS OF TOBI, a Silver Eye Award nominated documentary. The films she has edited have competed at major festivals such as
SXSW, BFI Flare, CPH:DOX, DOC NYC, Sheffield DocFest, Sarajevo, IDFA and won awards at the Thessaloniki, Docs Barcelona, Guadalajara and Krakow Film Festivals. She is passionate about telling intimate, authentic stories about social issues.