Vakvagany (Benjamin Meade, 2002)

After programming this film in 2002 it’s become one of our favourite documentaries - and it’s not surprising given the many hues and layers behind this always surprising work. Director Meade stumbles across a trunk filled with home movies made by the Locsei family’s after World War II in Hungary. But as Meade becomes more and more familiar with the footage he senses that things are perhaps not at all what they seem. From there he employs three experts to examine the footage and provide their own idiosyncratic interpretations. Enter crime writer James Ellroy, filmmaker Stan Brakhage and psychiatrist Dr. Roy Menninger who pour over the material. The deeper they get the darker things become and the innocuous home footage takes on chilling turns and unexpected interpretations. It’s from here the viewer is drawn into the most unusual conversations as our three guides navigate these strangely haunting films that take on ever increasing sinister overtones. In its excellent review of the film, Film Threat says “Proceed with caution, but do proceed. You’ll see nothing else like this for quite some time — guaranteed.“