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On 1 May 1957, a few months after the crushing of the ’56 revolution, hundreds of thousands of people celebrated János Kádár, the party and the invading Soviet troops across the country. Thanks to the harsh repression, the disappearance of revolutionaries and resistance fighters, and the hopelessness of the situation, a large part of Hungarian society had given in. Thus began the Kádár era, which lasted for more than three decades.

László Nemes Jeles’s new film is set in the spring of 1957, during the period of the rebuilding of communist power, a period that we should talk more about in order to understand our recent past.

Andor is a 12-year-old boy, raised alone by his mother (Andrea Waskovics). The boy has grown up with the hope that his father, who disappeared in the war, will one day return. One day, a man (Gregory Gadeboist) shows up at their house claiming to be Andor’s father, but the boy refuses to accept the stranger as his father. However, the man moves in with them and the boy is forced to confront his illusions. As the rift between mother and son deepens, Andor is determined to save his family from the man at any cost.

Orphan wrapped filming last September, shooting for 53 days, mainly in Budapest and Hatvan. The script is co-written by László Nemes Jeles and Clara Royer, produced by Ildikó Kemény and Ferenc Szále for Pioneer Pictures, cinematographer is Mátyás Erdély, production designer Márton Ágh and costume designer is Andrea Flesch.

The film will be distributed domestically by Mozinet and internationally by MUBI.