Sanyi the Rooster (Sanyi Kakas)

Lotte Salomons

In the southeast of Hungary lies the town of Békéscsaba, where poverty, loneliness, and political division shape daily life. On a cold Saturday in December 2020, a rooster escapes from the market. He settles on a square in the heart of the city and rises to become a national hero. Moved by his stubborn drive for freedom, the residents take him under their wing. What begins as a small act of kindness grows into a sense of unity and hope. But when the rooster dies, theories about his death begin to circulate, and the newly formed community suddenly unravels into mistrust and accusations.

the Netherlands 2025, '20

DIRECTOR: Lotte Salomons

CAMERA: Stern Nordsiek

MONTAGE: Madelief Joore

MUSIC: Jamie Alpherts

PRODUCERS: Raphael Hogers, Nova Nagel, Kes Raven

PRODUCTION: Nederlandse Filmacademie

FESTIVALS & AWARDS:

Warsaw IFF (2025): Winner
Nederlands FF
Tampere FF
DocAviv
Shortcutz

Lotte Salomons

Lotte Salomons (The Hague, 2000) graduated from the Netherlands Film Academy in 2021 as a documentary filmmaker. For her graduation, she made both the documentary Bellum and the animated film Verlangen, which was awarded the Topkapi Films Fiction Prize and the Prize of the Circle of Dutch Film Journalists. Her short film Monsters onder het bed was selected for multiple festivals, nominated for Best Short Documentary, and won the Children’s Jury Award at the Olympia Film Festival in 2024. Lotte's films are conceptual and take different forms. The form arises from the content and from her motivation to explore a specific theme. She focuses on the complexity of human relationships, particularly parent-child dynamics, and investigates themes such as the longing for security and the inability to find fulfillment. Her films are often experimental in nature and emerge from an intuitive feeling, which she shapes through image, sound, and language. She aims to create films that move the viewer on a sensory and emotional level.