Today we’d like to introduce you to Dora Endre.
Dora, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a young Hungarian film and theater artist who enjoys facing challenges and look for creative solutions under all circumstances. I have been lucky enough to study arts and communications in Budapest, Florence and New York. For the past few years, I have been working on film projects, music videos, ads and (off-Broadway) plays largely as a director/writer. I have always had an utmost desire to travel, meet people, get familiar with different cultures while constantly working on creating something out of nothing.
My overly active fantasy was discovered by my teachers and family. very early on. I remember writing short scripts so that me and my friends could act them out in the neighborhood, working on a book in second grade, stiching it together and creating a montage as its cover. I recall giving small ‘concerts’ for kids and their parents at our bus stop in the mornings then going to school and assist teachers in putting together school events and plays. I was at high school when I completely fell in love with the theatre. I saw it as a place where people get unified and by igniting conversations about socially important, relevant topics they give a green light for change.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh, it has been everything but a smooth road so far. But the fact that I am coming from a hard-working, middle-class family and a country where mediocracy is not being tolerated has helped me tremendously. I enjoy being pressured by work, time and money. It has forced me to know how to wear many hats, deal with overlapping tasks, constantly self-educate myself while still being nurturing and attentive with artists, clients, investors. Mostly, I have been working as a freelancer, which essentially means that I am a one person “company”. This again makes you adaptable, good at self-management, do research 24/7 and seek for opportunities for permanent artistic and personal evolvement.
Also, you learn it very quickly that sacrifices are essential elements of the path you have chosen and that hard work always pays off. But of course, there are often times, days, moments when you feel like this is too rough of an industry and the business itself sometimes works against your creative flow. Personally, I find those moments incredibly valuable for the future. Because as one of my favorite sportsmen, Zach Miller said “I like getting to that point where it’s hard, and then, pushing harder.” I think those are the moments when real growth happens.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I like to think of myself as a creative person with a huge dose of curiosity, nothing more. But if we have to label what I do then I would have to say I am a stage/film artist. Most recently, I have been fortunate enough to direct a short film in the magnificent Positano. The story is about retrograde amnesia and that strong sense of nostalgia that hits you whenever you return home. The film had its premier at the FilmRendezvos in Lisbon this past October.
Also, this Fall I had the chance to revisit a play I had worked on in the past in New York, it was “My Name is Rachel Corrie” (written by Rachel Corrie, created by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner). This time, I directed it in Europe and it had a very warm welcome from our audiences. It is an outrageous shame that the play is barely known, as a matter of fact, it has only been stage three times in New York, including our off-Broadway show.
Apart from all this, I have recently finished writing the final draft of a script for a relationship-centered film based on the unique style of Virginia Woolf with a special focus on “The Waves”. It is being produced by Florian Bouxin and will soon be shot with the beautiful backdrop of Normandy. And last but not least, for the past months we have been working tirelessly on a piece about a complex relationship in the shadow autism with my team in Hungary. We have just found our lead actors and will go into production early next year.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I must always be head over heels with the project that I am working on at any given moment. But I believe seeing people being affected by plays I have directed have been truly special experiences. Long rehearsal processes, sleep deprivation, incredibly rich and complex texts, creative staging periods, finishing with seeing that our audience was massively impacted by the show, knowing that they took something away from it, has always been uplifting. This is why I am in this crazy industry to give something meaningful for people.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.doraendre.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @dora_endre
- Other: www.imdb.me/doraendre
Image Credit:
Kata Nagy, Pratya J. Photographer, Bianka Durcsan, Bela Attila Kovacs, Rob Villano
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