Sing (Mindenki)
2016 · 25m · Hungary
Directed by Kristof Deák
Genres: coming-of-age, drama, family
Tones: contemplative, tender
In 1991 Budapest, a new girl joins her elementary school's celebrated choir, only to be told by the beloved teacher to mouth the words silently. When the choir is invited to compete in Sweden, the children devise a quiet rebellion against the injustice.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Everyone expects the kids to *find their voice*—so Deák makes their rebellion a refusal to speak at all, a silent scream inside the cathedral of discipline. It's genuinely perverse in the best way: the underdog victory tastes like absence.
A deceptively formal film about formality itself—the choir's rigid geometry becomes the language through which dissent speaks, each silent mouth a perfectly composed frame in a larger argument about art, authority, and collective grace.
The film pivots entirely on that one directive—mouth the words—and everything that follows (the choreography of compliance, the held breath before rebellion, the synchronized silence) radiates from that single wound of exclusion.
Reviews
Sing, for all its beautifully observed moments of bonhomie between the off-key heroine and her main conspirator.
A captivating and thought-provoking short film that explores themes of conformity and individuality within a children's choir, with its strength lying in powerful performances from the young actors.
Festivals
- Academy Awards 2017, Best Live Action Short Film (Winner)
- Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2016, Grand Prix / Best International Short
- TIFF Kids International Film Festival 2016, People's Choice Award for Best Short Film
- Chicago International Children's Film Festival 2016, Adult's Jury Award - Live-Action Short Film
- Filmets Badalona Film Festival 2017, Winning Short Film (43rd edition)