The Firemen's Ball with György Pálfi

Sam Clements is curating a fictional film festival. He'll accept almost anything, but the movie must not be longer than 90 minutes. This is the 90 Minutes Or Less Film Fest podcast.

In episode 165 Sam is joined by filmmaker György Pálfi, writer and director of Hukkle and Taxidermia. His new film Hen [Kota] is in UK cinemas from 22 May 2026. A big thank you to Mark Baczoni for translating the conversation. 

György has chosen The Firemen's Ball [Hoří, Má Panenko] (73 mins). Directed by Miloš Forman, the Czechoslovak New Wave satirical comedy was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1969 Oscars, and was the last film Forman made in his native country of Czechoslovakia.

Sam and György discuss filming Hen from the point of view of a chicken, his film Hukkle being selected for the podcast by Ari Aster, and why The Firemen's Ball still resonates today. 

Listen to Ari Aster talk about György's film Hukkle on this podcast.

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Produced by Sam Clements and Louise Owen. Guest stars György Pálfi. Additional editing and sound mixing by @lukemakestweets. Music by Martin Austwick. Artwork by Sam Gilbey.  We are a proud member of the Stripped Media Network.