''The Struggle'' () is a 1977 Hungarian animated short film directed by

Marcell Jankovics Marcell Jankovics (21 October 1941 – 29 May 2021) was a Hungarian graphic artist, film director, animator and author. He is best known for the animated films '' Johnny Corncob'' (1973; the first animated feature of his native country) and ' ...

. It tells the story of a sculptor whose statue begins to hack its creator with a

chisel A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, stru ...

. The film is two minutes long. It was awarded the

Short Film Palme d'Or The Short Film Palme d'Or (french: Palme d'Or du court métrage) is the highest prize given to a short film at the Cannes Film Festival. Since the creation of the Cinéfondation La ''Cinéfondation'' is a foundation under the aegis of the Cannes ...

at the

1977 Cannes Film Festival The 30th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 27 May 1977 in film, 1977. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Padre Padrone'' by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. A new non-competitive section, "Le Passé composé", is held at this festival only and focuses ...

Plot

A young sculptor with the features of a Greco-Roman statue is carving a statue in stone. As the statue takes form, it comes alive. A struggle begins where the statue fights back and carves the artist with a

. As the artist refines the features of his statue and makes it appear young and muscular, the statue carves the artist and makes him take on the features of an old and frail man. When the statue is finished, the artist falls to the ground.

Production

The film was produced by Hungarofilm and

Pannonia Film Studio Pannonia Film Studio (also known as MAFILM Pannónia Filmstúdió) was the largest animation studio in Hungary, based in the capital of Budapest. It was formed in 1951, becoming independent in 1957. The studio is said to have closed sometime aro ...

. Unlike Jankovics' feature films it was made quickly.

References

1970s animated short films 1977 animated films 1977 films Films directed by Marcell Jankovics Hungarian animated short films {{1970s-short-animation-film-stub