Torn from the Flag

“The crack in the Berlin Wall began with a hole in a flag in Budapest.” Thus runs the inscription on the statue of the “Freedom Fighter of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution” on Cardinal Mindszenty Plaza in downtown Cleveland. Klaudia Kovacs' inspirational film tells the story of the circumstances leading up to that event in October 1956, when Hungarians rose up against Soviet occupiers. The hole torn from the Hungarian flag was where the Soviet symbol used to be; TORN FROM THE FLAG was made to honor the 50th anniversary of the revolution, and it emphasizes the role of resistance in history, then as now. Found and archival footage of bloody riots in the streets of Budapest are intermingled with current interviews of surviving figures who took part in the revolution. Among those interviewed are a Soviet soldier, a former member of the Hungarian communist secret police, a UN expert, European Parliament member Otto von Habsburg, and Henry Kissinger. Two of Hollywood's top Hungarian cinematographers, Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond, contributed their skills to the project. A must for people of Hungarian heritage, TORN FROM THE FLAG was supported by several Cleveland-based expatriate groups. (In English, Russian, Hungarian, Italian with English subtitles) –BB