HU OSA 313-0-1 Raw Film Stock and Found Media Footage

Identity Statement

Reference Code
HU OSA 313-0-1
Title
Raw Film Stock and Found Media Footage
Date(s)
1970 - 1980
Description Level
Series
Extent and medium (processed)
9 Digital container, 0.01 linear meters

Context

Name of creator(s)
Ajtony, Árpád

Content and Structure

Scope and Content (Narrative)
The series consists of found footage produced by various media agencies and Ajtony's own film fragments.
The largest part of Ajtony’s film heritage consists of numerous newsreel fragments and of some unedited raw material.
The ‘media junk’ is a special newsreel collection, consisting of excerpts from professional international news agency footage from all over the world at around 1975. The colorful newsreel pieces are mainly revolving around politics and sports, with a strong interest in the Vietnam War, the United Nation and French governmental & diplomatic visits to various locations.
After many hours of cleaning, sorting and digitizing, the films they were thematically arranged by OSA into eight topical compositions: Demonstrations, French visit, Military, Politics, Sport, United Nations, Vietnam, and Miscellaneous.
Ajtony’s own 30 minute-long unedited moving image seems to be home movie fragments and raw material for potential projects. While there is no hard evidence, the comparison of Ajtony’s own fragmented footage and of the style of his first short film Drama suggests that Ajtony had a plan to weave the news fragments and his own footage into a film project. Ajtony’s motivations for collecting the media junk and creating his own film fragments remain a mystery, as the writer didn’t leave any instructions or description.
Accruals

Not Expected

Conditions of Access and Use

Conditions governing access
Not Restricted
Languages
Arabic, English, Greek Modern (1453-), Hungarian, Vietnamese
Call Number Description
Digital container #1
313-0-1:1/1
ajtony_arpad_media_junk_misc.mp4
[Found Footage Collection of Arpad Ajtony: Miscellaneous Images] / [Ajtony Árpád talált filmek: vegyes]
Squid fishing. Bird disease in Africa. New water facilities in Hungary (location uncertain). A DC-10 Plane crash at JFK International Airport, New York. Bomb blast in Argentina, a committee meeting. Bingo, Asia.
Media junk, fishing, fish farm, environmental protection, bird disease, airplane, terrorism.
English language, Date of production: 1975, Duration: 8 min. 48 sec.
Digital version available | HU OSA 313-0-1_001
Digital container #2
313-0-1:2/1
[Found Footage Collection of Arpad Ajtony: Demonstrations] / [Ajtony Árpád talált filmek: tüntetések]
Street demonstrations, most of them in Athens, Greece. Anti-abortion rally in London. Small protest against the neutron bomb. Aftermath of the student strike in Mexico City's university (UNAM).
Media junk, demonstrations, anti-abortion, neutron bomb, student movements.
English, Greek Modern (1453-) language, Date of production: 1975, Duration: 9 min. 7 sec.
Digital version available | HU OSA 313-0-1_002
Digital container #3
313-0-1:3/1
ajtony_arpad_media_junk_vietnam.mp4
[Found Footage Collection of Arpad Ajtony: Vietnam] / [Ajtony Árpád talált filmek: Vietnám]
Various footage of Vietnam, the education system, life at the docks, a pro-Vietnamese protest in Greece, signing of a Swedish-Vietnamese treaty and the arrival of humanitarian aid to Vietnam.
Media junk, docks, demonstrations, treaty, aid.
Vietnamese, Greek Modern (1453-) language, Date of production: 1975, Duration: 4 min. 33 sec.
Digital version available | HU OSA 313-0-1_003
Digital container #4
313-0-1:4/1
ajtony_arpad_media_junk_french_visit.mp4
[Found Footage Collection of Arpad Ajtony: French visit] / [Ajtony Árpád talált filmek: francia diplomácia]
François Mitterrand's presidential visit to Algiers, Algeria. Meeting with the representatives of the Front de Libération Nationale.
Media junk; Front de libération nationale FLN; presidential visit.
Date of production: 1975, Duration: 8 min. 45 sec.
Digital version available | HU OSA 313-0-1_004
Digital container #5
313-0-1:5/1
ajtony_arpad_media_junk_military.mp4
[Found Footage Collection of Arpad Ajtony: Military] / [Ajtony Árpád talált filmek: hadsereg]
Footage showing a military parade in Marrakesh, an air base in Turkey, a British military base in Belize, a friendly gathering of female military personnel from various NATO member states and a presidential meeting with Valéry Giscard d’Estaing.
Media junk, military, parade , fighter jets , presidential visit.
English language, Date of production: 1975, Duration: 7 min. 36 sec.
Digital version available | HU OSA 313-0-1_005
Digital container #6
313-0-1:6/1
ajtony_arpad_media_junk_politics.mp4
[Found Footage Collection of Arpad Ajtony: Politics] / [Ajtony Árpád talált filmek: politika]
Footage showing the unpredicted victory of the Party Québécois, press conference of its founder, René Lévesque followed by a footage of an unidentified politician's speech (no sound). Interview with Süleyman Demirel, Prime Minister of Turkey about American Military bases in Turkey. Fragment of a press conference given by members of the Polisario in Algeria (no sound). Interviews with Farah Pahlavi, Empress of Iran and Hussein bin Talal, the King of Jordan. Shimon Peres's speech about the situation between Lebanon and Israel. A press conference in Arabic. A trial of a sect leader in Arabic followed by a press conference and a committee meeting. Meeting of Helmut Schmidt Chancellor of West Germany, Hans-Dietrich Genscher Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of West Germany and James Callaghan and Anthony Crosland, Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, respectively. A public speech given by Helmut Schmidt. A Science treaty signed by the United States, a press release by Henry Kissinger. Footage showing streets in China with posters of anti-Chiang propaganda. Two film fragments of an official German visit to France.
English, Arabic language, Date of production: 1975, Duration: 39 min. 12 sec.
Digital version available | HU OSA 313-0-1_006
Digital container #7
313-0-1:7/1
ajtony_arpad_media_junk_UN.mp4
[Found Footage Collection of Arpad Ajtony: U.N.] / [Ajtony Árpád talált filmek: ENSZ]
Various footage concerning the United Nations (UN) and its resolutions addressing Zionism and Israel. Donald Rumsfeld's testimony on Capitalism and Communism. The late Prime Minister of Luxembourg Gaston Thorn shares his views on the General Assembly's decision about Zionism at a press conference. The later overthrown first president of the Seychelles James Mancham talks about the coming independence of his country.
English language, Date of production: 1975, Duration: 14 min. 20 sec.
Digital version available | HU OSA 313-0-1_007
Digital container #8
313-0-1:8/1
ajtony_arpad_media_junk_sport.mp4
[Found Footage Collection of Arpad Ajtony: Sports] / [Ajtony Árpád talált filmek: Sport]
Various sports footage, inlcuding tennis, skiing, long distance running, marathon, rallying, motor racing, football, boxing, horse racing, the Olympics and the Formula 1.
English language, Date of production: 1975, Duration: 35 min. 53 sec.
Digital version available | HU OSA 313-0-1_008
Digital container #9
313-0-1:9/1
ajtony_arpad_media_junk_ownfootage.mp4
[Árpád Ajtony's Own unedited footage] / [Ajtony Árpád saját nyersanyag]
Various black&white or color film fragments shot most probably by Árpád Ajtony himself, showing a man talking, pictures hanging on a wall, various women, some are naked, a child, some toy soldiers, a man walking between the rails at a factory, a man talking and smoking, a black woman waking up, a naked man painting the shelves, the same black woman making tea.
Silent language, Date of production: 1975, Duration: 30 min. 20 sec.
Digital version available | HU OSA 313-0-1_009