STAFÉTA

Zsuzsa is a university student who is gathering material for her thesis. However, her faith in the renewal of educational programs and methods clash with the stubbornness and opportunism of the scholastic bureaucracy. The editor of the university paper refuses to publish her pedagogically innovative article to avoid irritating the "old boy" academic "barons". Zsuzsa's relations with Zoltan, her fiancée, are also rather tense, even though she is carrying their child. Their relationship has a definite turning point when Zoltan, who has just graduated, makes a hypocritical confession of academic Realpolitik to Zsuzsa and then accepts a position as a lecturer, which is offered to him by the same conservative teacher who was the target of her article. She leaves him and, at dawn, takes a train that no one had wanted to board and that is going to a destination that no one will see.

"Staféta speaks about the representatives of another generation of that stratum of 'intractable ones' who are equally active and productive. I think that life is more difficult for the young 'intractable ones'. The older ones have the resources of their past experiences. [...]We have to seek the correct forms for the present situation. This is something that does not on/y depend on the youth, but also on the present circumstances and on the generation of adtilts that has created those circumstances. This also depends on whether or not we give youth a chance to take part in real social activity, and not only in just virtual and formal social activity, i.e. that 'provinggrounds for activity' that grows out of the plant nurseryschool. I think that this is the problem of the youth worldwide." (Interview of Istvan Zsugan with Andras Kovacs, "Filmvilag", 16/1970)

Regia, soggetto e sceneggiatura: Andras Kovacs.
Director of photography: Elemér Ragalyi.
Art director: Judit Vidéki.
Music: Ensemble Olympia.
Cast and characters: Ilona Bencze (Zsuzsa), Andras Bálint (Zoltan), Andras Csiky (Barabas), Anita Semjén (Lia), Elek Szabo (Péter Blaskó), Istvan Verebes (Jeno), Péter Dobal (Tibor), Gyula Cosmos (Géza), Laios Balazsovits (Fattore). Production company: MaFilm (Studio 1), Budapest.