The Hour between Dog and Wolf

Rudo, a carefree stripper on his first Central and Eastern European dance tour, seeks the thrill of being wanted. As his companions drift away and wild romances leave him empty, he spirals into a haze of drugs and parties in search of something real.

Rudo is an irresponsible male stripper who is about to go on his first dance tour through the small towns of Central and Eastern Europe with a group of strippers. He finds comfort in his new profession, where people pay for his company, granting him a temporary escape from his fear of abandonment and hurt. But his world begins to crumble, as the other group members seem to be going their separate ways. Spontaneous romantic experiences on the road don’t fulfil him as he’d expected, so he starts looking for euphoria somewhere else, mainly in drugs and endless parties.

Director's note

The environment of male striptease serves as a metaphor for a search for the identity of a character, whose daily routine is changing costumes and pretending. The road movie reflects constant movement - escape and search, the road means freedom but also uncertainty. The feeling of loneliness experienced by Rudo represents a testimony of a young hopeless generation – nihilism and the lust to live in the present moment without responsibility, as the future seems to be nonexistent. This feeling is carved into the world that Rudo explores in the story, which carries a message and also hints hope towards the end. The film contrasts the cheap with the holy by paralleling the environment of Eastern European small towns and dark nightclubs. Discobars, villages, Christian gatherings, these are places I know by heart and I’d like to portray them with a perspective and light humor. I also think it's important to talk about drugs and their role in self-discovery if we want to talk about the generation of today's young adults. I want to bring a different view on masculine fragility and its place in today's society. The strippers are very confident in their appearance and behavior, but their profession also requires immense openness and vulnerability. I‘m interested in exploring the struggle of balancing these opposing attitudes. I want to explore the boundaries where cynicism meets apathy, the difference between dog and wolf, good and bad, and the vagueness of these terms.

Producer's note

We often see female characters written by men, but the reverse is less the case. Terézia's view of her characters and this specific male community is characterized by the female gaze. The female gaze is not the "feminine" equivalent of the male gaze, which supports the patriarchal status quo and the sexual objectification of women and their bodies. Its strippers are not just attractive dancing muscular bodies. Her view of them is more intimate, raw, and emotional. Rudo represents a young generation that can feel vain and alone in the sea of possibilities that today's world offers. Loneliness is a fundamental part of being human, linked to the longing for love, friendship or simple understanding, and it is something that everyone can identify with. I find the framework of the generational statement within the male stripper community and the Central and Eastern European reality, in which the existential story of young Rudo is set, enriching in the context of European cinema. An Hour Between Dog and Wolf is a bold debut from a young director that promises a fresh take on the realities and dilemmas of being a young person. I am confident that Terézia's talent and her strong directorial vision, together with her original story, will lead to the creation of an exceptional and original film that will resonate on the national and international stage.