Overdose – Run for a Dream (Overdose – Vágta egy álomért)

In a country of weakened economy and uncertain identity, the miracle arrives in the body of a galloping horse. A Slovak-Hungarian scrap metal dealer pays 2000 guineas for a no-name ugly runt of a horse. Only one year later it is worth 200 times as much. Soon, the name Overdose appears amongst the fastest horses of this planet.
This unbeatable horse becomes the symbol of chance. After each win unexpected collective emotions rise and mingle with obscure business interests.
The film follows 4 years in the lives of the characters surrounding the horse. It observes the dramatic changes in their relationships and the feelings and reactions of a community, here in Hungary.
It is a story about passion and hope and about the mental state of a nation in the reflection of a “prey-animal”.

“It was nice to be working on news that had nothing to do with daily politics and was a real success story,” Gábor Ferenczi said. “In 2008 a Slovakian Hungarian businessman suddenly found himself in the limelight of Hungarian media attention. He was telling the media how his most beautiful dream had come true, hearing the Hungarian national anthem played all round Europe each time after Overdose won a race. Then there was a race in Paris which, although he had won it, a re-run should have taken place because of the bad start. I was touched by what the trainer said about this. ‘How was I supposed to explain to him, “although you’ve won, sorry, you have to do it again, please…”?!’ It was those two circumstances that got us going: we wanted to find out how this out-of-the-ordinary ‘film’ would end, and how the people waiting for this to happen all their lives would react to the miracle…”

In 2009 Overdose unexpectedly became injured. His hooves got inflamed which resulted in laminitis and, being one of the dreaded diseases of English thoroughbreds, specialists soon gave up on him. However, after 15 months of recuperation, Overdose the wonder horse, made a comeback. In the meantime, five major Hungarian companies co-operated to bring back Overdose, now hailed as the symbol of the nation; the team that had managed his 12 unbeaten series broke up; interests and emotions clashed.

The documentary takes us behind the scenes during the illness, recovery and comeback of Overdose; we are introduced to his owner, trainer, work rider, and the dramatic story of many emotional threads of the horse’s strenuous career.