Tibor Hajdu

The first directed Hungarian film footage shot with actors debuted in Uránia Hungarian Theatre of Science on 30 April 1901. These short motion pictures were not stand-alone works but illustrations for a lecture on the history of dance. However, all footage featuring the most popular actors of the period has been lost but stills taken during filming have survived – this creative animation short film uses these to present the unknown story of the birth of Hungarian film.

Marika is a young and beautiful girl, her family runs a fabric shop called White Peacock. Their life turns upside down when the train and the promise of the modern world arrives in their little hometown. However, not only the train arrives in the girl's life, but also two men: the rational and cunning Jenő Toll and the intelligent and dreamy Baron Pankotay. In Marika, the two men, new, strange feelings and family pressure break the usual balance. Marika must make a decision when the modern world threatens both the security and livelihood of her family. Her decision surprises everyone.

In 1849, the liberation war against the Habsburg Empire is close to its end in Hungary. Having hidden from military draft, Barnabás leaves his hometown and walks across the country to find and save his wounded brother who has been hiding with a guerilla group deep in the forest. Despite their exhaustion, lack of food or information, they are still fighting for their cause. Barnabás finds his brother alienated and distrustful. The tension between the boys further increases when they turn out to be attracted to the same nurse in the camp. Hoping he can earn his brother's trust and take him home, Barnabás decides to stay and lie about his past. In the meantime, he has to face the cruelty of war.

The story takes place in the near future, in the recently collapsed "Eastern Union". There are no law enforcement, everyone acts without consequences. In the middle of this confusion, a mother struggles to protect her baby and despite all the ruthlessness endangering them, she still tries to believe in a more human world.