Janos Kis Hungarian Avant-garde Filmmaker, Photographer has been living in France, USA, Japan, Israel and Cambodia. He studied Sociology at Janus Pannonius University of Pecs & Cinematography at the School of Hungarian Society of Cinematographers "HSC Film Crew School". He captured political and social topics, includes Holocaust remembrance, various protests, trial of a Nazi war crime suspect, survival of Toul Sleng S-21 Khmer Rouge prison, migrant workers, asylum-seekers, refugees, child labor, landmine victims, children with congenital disorders, etc...
Regardless of the subject matter, Janos is interested in depicting obvious and essential details of life that are often overshadowed by larger, more newsworthy circumstances. He also has extensive experience as freelance documentary line/field producer while directing his experimental contemplative films.
Janos is a keen avant-garde filmmaker of slow cinema. He is known about his "Contemporary Contemplative Short Films" using minimalist or no camera movements, extreme long takes, if possible original sounds of the environment, natural and low light to capture the zen of life and the unexpected occasions of daily life. He's been directing more than 50 contemplative shorts.
Sunday of Zen (a homage for Abbas Kiarostami) Official Selection Finalist Cefalu film festival 2018 Italy.
Fear Official Selection Finalist at 30. Girona Film Festival 2018, Cataluniya, Spain. The entire film was shot on original locations in Auschwitz and Birkenau.
The Bay Honorable Mention Award Underground Film Forum (LAUFF) Los Angeles 2019 for the vision and the film's unique contribution to cinema.
The Bay Honorable Mention Award Experimental Forum Los Angeles 2019
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Official Selection Experimental Forum Los Angeles 2020
Benoit Rouilly critic and expert on Contemporary Contemplative Cinema (CCC) wrote a extended review on "The unbearable lightness of being" one of Janos' film shot in Cambodia. The scene is reminiscent him to the opening of Bela Tarr's and Agnes Hranitzky's world famous Satantango and on some point to Andy Warhol, James Benning and Nikolaus Geyrhalter's work. Click here to read the article
Janos also provides pre-production and fixer services such as location scout, creative shooting ideas,data collections and researches, logistics, accommodations, interpreting services and all the necessary permits for foreign film crews and journalists in "Indochina" with a deep knowledge of South East Asia (especially Cambodia).
Janos was the line producer and fixer, pre-production manager of multi award winning Hungarian feature documentary "Another Planet" shoot in Cambodia about child labor.
As a line producer he was hired by the Vertigo Pictures (Singapore) to work with award winning directors on "The Bicycle Diaries" travel documentary series Episode 6. This time Singapore's one of the most famous TV host was riding a bicycle on various locations from the sea, across the capital to the mountain hill tribes and introduced Cambodia to the Channel News Asia's audience.
Janos contributed as fixer, field/line producer and production manager with Silver Screen International on Singapore's most popular Indian (Tamil) language documentary travel show "Rayil Sneham" Cambodian episode broadcast by Mediacorp/ Vasantham. The film captured the everyday lives of Cambodian people, Angkor Archaeological Park, historical sites, culture, tradition,hill tribes, pepper plantations, Sea salt cultivation, local markets, Killing Fields, Tuol Sleng (S21) Genocide Museum, as well as culinary specialties, the old railway stations sometimes off the beating track.
Janos was the fixer for Channel News Asia International desk (Singapore) during the broadcast on Garment industry crisis in Cambodia and was chosen as line producer for the popular Belgian Reality TV Show series "Jobs without frontiers" Cambodian episode. In this episode four Belgian tattoo artists flew to Cambodia to discover and mastering the secret of ancient Yantra Tattoo Art from local masters.
Janos also worked as Field/Line Producer and provided full pre- and production services for the television documentary series about destruction and protection of cultural heritages shooting for History Channel Germany in Cambodia. The film contains interviews of one of the last interrogated survivor of Tuol Sleng (S21) prison, Cambodia most famous classical dancer, choreographer, a group of young generation of Khmer fashion designers as well as the archaeological restoration works of Angkor Wat.
Janos conducted researches, identified sources on human rights cases (eviction, child labor, pedophilia, drug trade, mental illness, etc) for British,Polish, German, Swiss, Singaporean, Hungarian, Belgian clients too.
In 2012 Nikon Pro Magazine published an interview with Janos and dedicated him “The guy behind the scenes who make it all possible" and called him one of the top fixer of the industry.
He's article about Cambodia's film industry has been published on The Location Guide.
Janos is member of the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia.
His photo and video works appeared in Phnom Penh Post, Eye See Media, Global Voices, CrowdVoice, Nikon Pro Magazine, Amerikai Nepszava, Handicap International, Open Democracy, Peace Dialogue, Moments, Chabad Cambodia, The Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism, Open Society Archives (OSA), etc...
Janos spent a year working on a Holocaust documentary about the real story of the last survivals of Haganah Ship Exodus 1947. Unfortunately during the long pre-production research tragically 3 of the survivals passed away and the production was canceled.
As the only photo- and videojournalist, Janos joined the crowds of Syrian, Iranian, Afghan, Bangladeshi migrants and refugees and traveled together by night bus from Budapest Keleti Transit Zone till the Austrian border then continued photographing and filming their odyssey until Nickelsdorf, Austria. The film contains footage and short interviews with refugee families, governor of Burgerland, Austria and about the previous events inside Keleti Transit Zone and the train station.
Exhibition: a charity fundraising held at Wat Ketseraram for Srey Pov "The Little Nun" who suffers from Down syndrome. The goal was to bring the project to a unique venue and make it a humanitarian effort to benefit the pagoda and help its disabled resident. Janos photographs about landmine victims and children with congenital disorders are exhibited as an ongoing presentation at Handicap International Cambodia.
He's the author of a novel "Dick Monday's Tokyo Adventures", and writing synopsis for short films.
If you are a film producer or director and would like to cooperate, please do not hesitate to drop me a line.
