Sarah Dobai’s film features a text based on sections of a childhood memoir of events in Budapest in 1944.
The Donkey Field, weaves a link between a racist attack on a young boy on a piece of common land known locally as ‘the donkey field’ and the story of the persecution of Marie and Balthazar in the acclaimed film Au Hasard Balthazar (Robert Bresson, 1966), with scenes which re-enact and reframe Bresson’s allegorical story about the scapegoating of innocent subjects. Partly shot on the streets of present-day Budapest, under a regime criticised for its anti-immigrant policies and harsh treatment of refugees, The Donkey Field underlines the relevance of the boy’s story to other, more recent stories of displacement and victimisation.
Sarah Dobai is a London-based artist with family roots in Budapest. She works with photography, film, publication and performance. She will come to CAST for a screening event and Q&A on the evening of Thursday 24 March.
The Donkey Field was produced with the support of Arts Council England, University of the Arts, London and The Elephant Trust. It is presented at CAST as part of the IWM-funded Second World War and Holocaust Partnership Project at the Museum of Cornish Life, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.