Recently and quite by happenstance, I learned of an animated documentary called Pelikan Blue. I’ve always considered myself a Pelikan enthusiast, a history lover, and a fan of cinema. Pelikan Blue unexpectedly combines these interests with a visual style similar to the 1990s MTV cartoons prevalent during my teenage years. The Iron Curtain, popularized by Winston Churchill in 1946, was a political, military, and ideological barrier that divided the communist Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies from the democratic West during the Cold War. When the Iron Curtain began to fall in the late 1980s, it brought new freedoms, like the ability to travel to a previously restricted Western Europe. However, traveling was very expensive, posing a challenge for people eager to explore. Pelikan Blue is a humorous yet nostalgic story of three young Hungarians who started creating fake train tickets utilizing Pelikan’s blue carbon copy paper in order to travel but speaks more broadly to the experiences of a whole generation of Hungarians. The documentary is currently making the rounds on the film festival circuit.

Left: Pelikan Blue poster. Right: A photo of writer/director László Csáki

Originally titled Kék Pelikan, Pelikan Blue is a Hungarian documentary from Umbrella Entertainment and Cinemon Entertainment. It is Hungary’s first full-length animated documentary with a run time of 79 minutes. Written and directed by László Csáki, known for his chalkboard drawing style, the film premiered at last year’s Tallinn Black Nights festival in Estonia, where it won best film in the critics’ pick competition. The documentary was produced by Ádám Felszeghy and Miklós Kázmér. Pelikan Blue has gone on to win a number of accolades along the festival circuit, most recently taking home the Golden Dove Award (main prize) for the best feature-length animated film at the 67th DOK Leipzig Festival. It began preview screenings in Hungary at the end of February, followed by a wider release in April. The film made its North American debut in May at the Hot Docs – Canadian International Documentary Festival. It is unclear if a wider, international release will happen, largely owing to how difficult animated documentary as a genre is to sell to distribution houses.

The film starts with the narrator giving a brief background before introducing the three main characters: Ákos, Petya, and Laci, young Hungarian men wanting to travel to the West after the fall of the Iron Curtain but lacking the financial means to do so. At that time, the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) used a simple, low-tech method for international train tickets, writing them by hand using blue carbon paper. Stamps were used to secure their authenticity. Each of the three men lend their unique talents to the enterprise but it is Ákos who leads the trio in a plan to forge the tickets using bleach, carbon paper, and copied stamps.

Carbon paper is a thin sheet of plastic film with a solvent ink coating on one side used for copying documents, originating in the time before photocopiers. When placed between two pages, the writing on the first is transferred to the second, creating an exact duplicate. Today, its use has largely been relegated to receipts. Pelikan’s carbon paper comes in several varieties but, based on the animations, I suspect the product utilized was Hand Carbon 500H. How did the forgers use such a product to their benefit? Starting with the cheapest available international ticket, they found that the ink could be removed with bleach (e.g. Domestos and some lemon juice). Pelikan’s carbon paper could then be used to create a fake ticket that looked real enough to fool inspectors.

After a successful trip to Scandinavia, the friends continued their travels, exploring Western Europe in the early 1990s. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before their endeavors would be more widely noticed. Encouraged by their friend Rozi and motivated by Petya’s desire to impress a girl, their personal efforts turned into a clandestine service for friends and eventually grew into a much larger and financially lucrative operation. The growth of the enterprise and the increased prevalence of forged tickets would eventually catch the eye of inspectors as well as the police who would ultimately crack the scheme. The story’s structure jumps between two timelines, one from the 1980s and 1990s, and another from the 2010s.

Despite its recent release, the film’s story began over a decade ago as a comic strip at the Jurányi Gallery in Budapest. It would later become a short film and garner support from the National Film Institute Incubator Program. Csáki focused the narrative by asking people how forged international train tickets impacted their lives. Alongside the ticket forgers, the movie includes interviews with people who used the counterfeit tickets, the former director of the Hungarian State Railways, and police officers from the 90s. In total, over 40 hours of interviews were gathered for this film, enriching the story by providing insight into the political and social context of the time and its psychological effects.

Many interviewees preferred not to show their faces but were willing to lend their voices, making animation an ideal way to share their stories. It enhances the fast-paced narration that drives the plot and brings the story to life. The animators were very scrupulous in ensuring that the fashions and locations depicted kept that 90s period feel. Music from well-known Hungarian cult bands, such as Bonanza Banzai, Kispál és a Borz, and Hiperkarma helps create nostalgia. The documentary didn’t use archival footage; instead, it featured live-action scenes shot with a Super 8mm camera and Kodak film to capture an authentic 1990s feel. These live-action shots were blended with animation to enhance the film’s impact.

Reviews of the film have been very positive from both critics and festival goers. Cineuropa notes that by “Combining a documentary foundation, an animated style, and elements of a fiction film, Csáki skillfully blends all three to tell a wonderful, nostalgic, and heartwarming story” and called it “the type of film that leaves a permanent smile on the viewer’s face.” Although the film is about a crime, it does not glorify it. A protagonist mentions, “My mother told me that stealing from another man is a crime, but stealing from the state is glorious.” The film has a light and carefree feel, which contrasts with its crime story and mirrors the public’s relaxed attitude towards this behavior which was seen as justified in the pursuit of freedom and independence.

Towards the documentary’s end, Ákos is quoted saying: “People can thank Pelikan blue indigo for their freedom.” It underscores the power of everyday objects to shape history in unexpected ways. Though it focuses on a uniquely Hungarian experience, the film appeals to anyone who values liberty, especially as we see an increase in global leaders with fascist tendencies. While not specifically about Pelikan’s fine writing instruments or their inks, the documentary demonstrates how something as simple as carbon paper, used to forge train tickets, could become a symbol of personal agency in the face of oppressive economic forces. Pelikan’s role, though indirect, highlights the broader theme of how ordinary tools and seemingly small acts can contribute to monumental shifts in society. By sharing this story, the film does more than document history—it invites viewers to reflect on the value of the things we take for granted and their potential to make a difference in the world. A complex and lesser-known history like this is why I find the Pelikan brand compelling and I hope the film becomes more widely available.

Details:

• Release date: April 4, 2024
• Country of origin: Hungary
• Official site: https://www.facebook.com/kekpelikanfilm/
• Language: Hungarian (English Sub-titles)
• Production companies: Umbrella Entertainment and Cinemon Entertainment
• Run time: 1 hour 19 minutes
• Genre: Documentary, Animation
• Director/Writer: László Csáki
• Producers: Ádám Felszeghy and Miklós Kázmér
• Co-producer: Réka Temple
• Cast: Norman Lévai (Ákos), Olivér Börcsök (Rozi), Ágoston Kenéz (Laci), Kornél Tegyi (Petya), Vivien Rujder (Kati the Girl)
• Director of Photography: Arpad Horvath
• Editor: Daniel Szabó
• Composers: Ambrus Tövishazi, Miklós Preiszner
• Awards:
  • Main prize at the Animix International Animated Film Festival in Tel Aviv
  • Pulcinella Award for best full-length animated film from the Cartoons On The Bay Festival in Pescara
  • Young Jury Prize at the DocsBarcelona festival
  • Special Jury Prize at the IFF Art Film Fest in Košice and the Animafest in Zagreb
  • Special Professional Prize and the Audience Award at the Animator Festival in Poznan
  • Best Feature Film and the Teen Jury Prize at the Animest International Animated Film Festival
  • Golden Dove Award (main prize) at DOK Leipzig 
  • Nomination for Best Documentary Film at the European Film Awards