Hungarian Film Magazine THE 2018 CANNES ISSUE
Women in Action
How Hungarian cinema has been formed by female directors?
Incubator Program Steps onto the International Stage Debute feature 'One Day' by Zsรณfia Szilรกgyi in Critics' Week
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Through the Eyes of Hungarians Hungarian cinematographers from Cannes to Hollywood
Hungarian Film Magazine All you Need to Know about Hungarian Cinema
THE 2017 BERLINALE ISSUE
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Hungarian Film Magazine
Find all the articles online here: www.issuu.com/hungarianfilm
THE 2018 BERLINALE ISSUE
Find the magazine on the website of the Hungarian Film Fund: www.filmfund.hu
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All Eyes on the Oscars
IldikĂł Enyedi’s ‘On Body and Soul’ is Among the Nominees
The Birth of ‘Genesis’
Ă rpĂĄd BogdĂĄn is Back at Panorama with his Latest Feature Published by
Meet the New Leading Ladies Alexandra BorbĂŠly, Best European Actress; RĂŠka Tenki, Shooting Star
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Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ hungarian.film.fund
photo by Péter Kőhalmi
A Man and a Woman Hungarian films are directed by talented and creative women and men. They tell fascinating and original stories with a strong visual approach. Hungarian films are produced by talented and creative women and men. They are organised and inventive, have great negotiation skills and a good sense of business. There is no reason to differentiate between female and male artists. You are not successful in the world of film because you are born a man or a woman. You are successful because you have talent. Zsófia Szilágyi is in Cannes with her first film ‘One Day’. It is about a day in the life of a young mother of three. A day that is not easy, not at all. The daily routine is exactly the same as any other day of the week, but this time it is very different. The film is internationally represented by Films Boutique. Gergely Pohárnok is back in Cannes as the cinematographer of Valeria Golino’s film ‘Euphoria’ in Un Certain Regard. His interest in detail and his subtle touch in capturing emotional vibes make him a true artist. A man and a woman represent Hungarian filmmaking in this year’s Cannes Film Festival programme. And this makes me both happy and excited. We are proud of our Hungarian filmmakers, who continuously represent our country and industry at international film festivals. The Cannes Film Festival is one of them. The only thing we will miss this year is a little Sunset in Cannes.
Ágnes Havas CEO, Hungarian National Film Fund
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Content 3
A Man and a Woman
Opening Words from the CEO of the Hungarian National Film Fund
6 News
8 The Hungarian Film Community
20
12 Flying Start for 2018
Projects supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
14 Hungarian Film Week
'On Body and Soul' wins 5 awards
18 Ready, Set, Fast Forward!
Looking back at some of the milestones of the training scheme and the Fast Forward Program
20 More Talents Show Up
24
Incubator Program, Third Year
22 How Young Filmmakers See the World
The 5 New Winning Projects of the Incubator Program
24 Jennifer Lawrence
One of the most important tourists in Budapest
26 2018 in Numbers
32
Service productions in Hungary
28 V4: Strengthening Historical Roots Through Films
Film projects the V4 countries have been recently collaborating on
30 From Cannes to Cannes 32
The Whole Film Depends on Her
Interview with Zsófia Szamosi, protagonist of ‘One Day’
34 Through a Hungarian Lens
Portrait of Gergely Pohárnok, DP of Un Certain Regard-participant ‘Euphoria’
36
Long-lasting Female Voices
The New Wave of Women in Hungarian Cinema
38 The Invisible Labour of Women
Zsófia Szilágyi, the director of ‘One Day’, participant in Critics’ Week
40 Incubator Program Steps onto the International Stage
Exciting titles are also expected in the near future
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1968: the year Cannes Film Festival was cancelled
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The only year two Hungarian feature films had been selected for the competition
46 Coming Soon
Upcoming films various genres and authors, long-awaited first features and comebacks
52 New Films from Hungary
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Feature Films
63
Feature Documentary
66
TV Documentary
68
TV Drama
69
Educational Documentary
70
Short Documentary
71
Short Film
76
Short Animation
79
Short Animation Series
80 World Sales
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April 30 is the Day of Hungarian Film
Hungarian Films also Big in Romania The greatest Hungarian boxoffice hits of 2017 are also a success in Romania. ‘Kincsem – Bet on Revenge’ collected a whopping 40,821 admissions, while last year’s number two Hungarian movie, ‘The Whiskey Bandit’, was also a close second in Romania, with 37,773 tickets sold. The whiskey robber was born in Romania, and portions of the movie were indeed set there.
As of this year, the 30th of April is officially the Day of Hungarian Film. More than a hundred organisations (including cinemas, libraries, cultural institutions and schools) had joined in the celebration of Hungarian cinema with screenings of both classic and contemporary Hungarian films. Events were held in cities and villages alike. April 30 was chosen as the date because it is the day the very first Hungarian film, A táncz (‘The Dance’), was released in 1901. The main location of the Day of Hungarian Film was the Uránia cinema – the exact same building on whose roof terrace A táncz was filmed! One of the highlights of the event was the premiere of the restored version of the Hungarian feature animation ‘Szaffi’. Attila Dargay’s 1985 classic, which is also known to foreign audiences as ‘The Treasure of Swamp Castle’, once again enchanted children and adults with the new version made by the Hungarian Filmlab in guidance with the Hungarian National Film Archive.
These two movies are now the biggest Hungarian hits in Romania – the previous champion was the Academy Award-winner ‘Son of Saul’, with 24,786 admissions.
News
Ágnes Havas is One of Variety’s 50 Women
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Ágnes Havas, the CEO of the Hungarian National Film Fund (HNFF), is one of the 50 women to appear on Variety’s International Women’s Impact Report 2018. The film magazine presented the list on March 8 in honour of International Women’s Day, and Havas shares that honour with powerful women like author J. K. Rowling or actresses Salma Hayek and Emma Watson. The Variety article mentions that in the seven years since Ágnes Havas and Andy Vajna set up the HNFF, it has backed local box-office hits including ‘Kincsem – Bet on Revenge’, Oscar-winning ‘Son of Saul’ and Oscar-nominee ‘On Body and Soul’. HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
Teens tested their knowledge on Hungarian films Hungarian cinema is once again the word on the street – but what about teenagers? It turns out they love and know local films too. The HNFF organised a contest, the Hungarian Film Test, to find a student with the most extensive knowledge on Hungarian cinema. 17,000 students took an online test and 460 made it to the semifinals. The winner, Béla Tóth, is a 20-year-old university student. Lajos Örökös-Tóth (19) came second and Roland Kókai (15) received the bronze medal. Congratulations to all!
Hungarian Christmas Story goes to Annecy ‘Noah’s Tree’, a puppet animation set at Christmas and currently in development, is selected to be pitched in June at Annecy, the animation genre’s leading festival. The Annecy International Animation Film Market, aka. MIFA, received a record number of 468 submissions this year. In the TV series/TV special category, only seven other projects will compete alongside ‘Noah’s Tree’ for the attention of buyers and various industry representatives. Directed by Péter Vácz, the 25-minute TV special tells the story of 13-year-old Noah who realises that the only way to get rid of the tree that is growing from his chest is if he learns to express his emotions about his parents' divorce before Christmas.
A Hungarian film has defeated Black Panther in cinemas ‘Black Panther’ is a global phenomenon, but the Marvel epic was beaten in Hungary by ‘A Kind of America 3’, the trequel to the 2001 local comedy. Both films roared into cinemas on the same opening weekend in mid-February, but the Hungarian comedy was crowned the winner, with 116,030 viewers, more than 30% ahead of its American competitor. The film’s opening weekend viewership will be tough to beat for future Hungarian titles: this is the best opening for a local movie since A miniszter félrelép (‘Out of Order’) back in 1997! The trequel reunited the stars of the first two films as well as the director, Gábor Herendi. People continued to go to cinemas to see it. In fact, ‘A Kind of America 3’ remained at number one for three weeks and, after 10 weeks in cinemas, the film has now reached more than 370,000 admissions – and counting. Léa Seydoux joins the cast of Enyedi’s new film Fresh from her Academy Award-nominated movie ‘On Body and Soul’, Ildikó Enyedi is prepping her new film, ‘The Story of My Wife’, which just landed two well-known actors for its lead roles. The international star Léa Seydoux has signed up to play the lead role – the actress of ‘Blue is the Warmest Colour’ will be joined by the Norwegian actor Anders Baasmo Christiansen in the twisted love story, which is an adaptation of the novel of the same name written by the Hungarian writer Milán Füst. The film is to be produced by the trio behind ‘On Body and Soul’: Mónika Mécs, András Muhi and Ernő Mesterházy of Inforg-M&M Film. Germany’s Komplizen Film (‘Toni Erdmann’), France’s Pyramide Productions and Italy’s Dorje Film are on board as co-producers. Shooting is set to begin early next year in various countries. HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
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The
Hungarian Film Community Hungarian filmmakers have many reasons to celebrate: after its Academy Award nomination, 'On Body and Soul' won five prizes at the Hungarian Film Awards; new Incubator Program films have been launched; and service productions and Visegrรกd co-productions are fostering Hungarian film industry.
Réka Tenki
HUNGARIAN FILM SUPPORT SYSTEM FEATURE-LENGTH FILMS SUPPORTED BY THE HUNGARIAN NATIONAL FILM FUND
Live Action Feature
Feature-Length Animation
Feature-Length Documentary
ANIMATIONS, SHORTS, DOCUMENTARIES, TV SUPPORTED BY THE MEDIA COUNCIL’S HUNGARIAN MEDIA PATRONAGE PROGRAMME
Short and Experimental Film
TV Documentary
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TV Film
Animated TV Series
Short Animation
Educational Documentaries
Online Content
HOW CAN INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTIONS APPLY TO THE HUNGARIAN NATIONAL FILM FUND? There is no separate call for minority co-productions, but all projects are encouraged to apply with a Hungarian co-producer on board. Each film is judged by the quality of the screenplay and the potential of the project.
APPLICATIONS
1. Script Development
2. Project Development
3. Production
APPLICATION PROCESS Continuous Applications (No fixed deadlines)
Decision in 60 days
with feedback from readers
and the decision of the Committee
More info: www.filmfund.hu
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
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Set of 'BUÉK' by Kriszta Goda
Off to a Flying Start in 2018 What the Hungarian National Film Fund supports this year
As we mentioned in our Berlinale edition, in 2017 the Hungarian National Film Fund (HNFF) awarded production grants to 11 projects for a sum of EUR 12.5 million. And already in the first quarter of 2018, the HNFF has provided support for six projects. Three of these are previously announced grants for the winners of the Incubator Program, but the other three are newly supported films. These three include the directorial debut of the actress Kata Dobó, who will direct a comedy based on a Ray Cooney stage hit, and the latest film by Kriszta Goda (‘Children of Glory’, ‘Home Guards’), which will be a Hungarian remake of the Italian phenomenon ‘Perfect Strangers’. The third film to receive funding is a documentary 'Ruben Brandt, Collector'
project by Eszter Hajdu; the new film by the helmer of ‘Judgement in Hungary’ will tell the story of the musician Tamás Barta, who died young and in mysterious circumstances in the United States in 1982. Project development grants were given to two projects (Péter Rudolf’s latest film and Nóra Lakos’ debut film), but spring is expected to be a busy season, as many productions are lining up for shoots during the summer. Script development grants were presented to 14 projects in the first three months of the year. This number shows a noteworthy increase, as throughout the whole of last year a total of 30 films received support for script development. Of the 14 projects, the most significant support went to István Szabó’s script, which will be produced by Pál Sándor. Other filmmakers include Barnabás Tóth, Dániel Erdélyi and György Pálfi as well as first-time feature directors Szilárd Bernáth, Márk Radnai and Pici Pápai. A number of other grants were also awarded to a wide range of projects. Three film festivals (the Mediawave International Film and Music Gathering, the National Student Film Festival and Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival) were given support, and the HNFF also promoted the presence of the film ‘Genesis’ at Berlinale as well as that of the team behind ‘On Body and Soul’ at the Oscars. Distributors can apply for marketing grants of up to EUR 100 000 for each HNFF-funded film. This year the animated movie ‘Ruben Brandt, Collector’ has received the most so far (EUR 80 000), with ‘Genesis’ and Orsi Nagypál’s ‘Open’ both receiving a significant amount as well.
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FROM ANY OF THESE CATEGORIES?
DO YOU WANT TO SHOOT A FILM? Does it meet the Hungarian cultural test criteria?
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WHAT CAN HUNGARY PROVIDE FOR YOU?
tax rebate of your overall production spendings
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1 000 000
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* Max. 1.25x of the Hungarian spend
More info: www.filmfund.hu
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The Winners of the Hungarian Film Awards ‘On Body and Soul’ won five prizes at the award ceremony of the 4th Hungarian Film Week, which was held on the 11st of March, in one of the most prestigious theatres in Budapest, Vígszínház.
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The 4th Hungarian Film Week, which is marked to celebrate the Hungarian films, was held between 7th and 11st of February. Besides the 5 main categories (feature film, tv film, documentary, short, animation), awards were given in 18 professional categories. The members of the Hungarian Film Academy voted by secret ballot on the 5-5 films and filmmakers that received the most votes earlier. Ildikó Enyedi's Oscar-nominated feature film, ‘On Body and Soul’ won five awards, including the Best Feature Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
BEST FEATURE FILM 'On Body and Soul' directed by Ildikó Enyedi, produced by Mónika Mécs, András Muhi, Ernő Mesterházy
BEST DIRECTOR – FEATURE FILM Ildikó Enyedi/ 'On Body and Soul'
BEST SCREENPLAY – FEATURE FILM Ildikó Enyedi / 'On Body and Soul'
The cast and crew of 'On Body and Soul'
BEST ACTRESS – FEATURE FILM Alexandra Borbély / 'On Body and Soul'
BEST ACTOR – FEATURE FILM Péter Rudolf / '1945'
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – FEATURE FILM Réka Tenki / 'On body and Soul' Mónika Mécs
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – FEATURE FILM István Znamenák / 'The Citizen'
BEST EDITOR – FEATURE FILM Zoltán Kovács / 'The Whiskey Bandit'
BEST SOUND EDITOR – FEATURE FILM Gábor Balázs / 'The Whiskey Bandit'
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER – FEATURE FILM Marcell Rév / 'Jupiter’s Moon'
Gábor Herendi
BEST MUSIC COMPOSER – FEATURE FILM Tibor Szemző / '1945'
BEST COSTUME DESIGN – FEATURE FILM Ibolya Bárdosi / 'Kincsem – Bet on Revenge'
Péter Rudolf
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BEST PRODUCTION DESIGNER – FEATURE FILM Márton Ágh / 'Jupiter’s Moon'
BEST SPECIAL MAKEUP – FEATURE FILM Anna Tesner, Judit Halász, Réka Görgényi / 'Budapest Noir'
BEST MAKEUP & HAIR – FEATURE FILM Rita Fekete, Ildi Makk, Kata Jónás / 'Kincsem – Bet on Revenge'
Ádám Freund
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM 'A Woman Captured' directed by Bernadett Tuza-Ritter
BEST SHORT FILM 'Earthly People' directed by Ádám Freund
BEST ANIMATION FILM 'WireLess' directed by Szandra Pataki Réka Tenki
BEST TV FILM 'Traitors' by Péter Fazakas
BEST SCREENPLAY – TV FILM Norbert Köbli / 'Traitors'
BEST DIRECTOR – TV FILM Péter Fazakas / 'Traitors'
BEST ACTOR – TV FILM Géza D. Hegedűs / 'Traitors'
Bernadett Tuza-Ritter
BEST ACTRESS – TV FILM Dóra Sztarenki / 'Traitors'
AUDIENCE AWARD 'Kincsem – Bet on Revenge' / Gábor Herendi
Marcell Rév
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M A F I L M
S T U D I O S
n our services
sound stages, standing sets, props, costumes and armours
n Budapest Studios
– 10 minutes from the City Centre n 800
sqm stage with standing green screen and water tank, 400 sqm stage with green screen, n further smaller studios, rehearsal- and supporting rooms n Mafilm Audio – audio post-production studio, Dolby Digital sound mixing
n Fót Studios
– 10 km from Budapest – 57 acre facility n 1600
sqm and 1000 sqm sound stages, 55 m long, 6 m height exterior green screen n 11 000 sqm medieval standing set (exterior and interior sets) – expandable, extendable on demand The Phantom of the Opera, Anna Karenina, Cyrano, Brother Cadfel, A Kid in King Arthur’s Court, Evita, The Hunchback, A Knight in Camelot, Crime and Punishment, Mary Mother of Jesus, The Prince and the Pauper, Spy Game, I Spy, Dinotopia, Underworld, Being Julia, The Lion in Winter, A Christmas Carol, Fateless, Copying Beethoven, Eragon, Robin Hood, Amusement, John Adams, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Season of the Witch, Le Rafle, The Pillars of the Earth, Memories of Anne Frank, The Dept, The Raven, Bel Ami, World Without End, Asterix, The Centenarian, Kenau, Alatriste, Houdini, Spy, The Last Kingdom, Casanova, Napoléon
CONTACT
Hungarian National Film Fund MAFILM Studios • H-1145 Budapest, Róna utca 174. Phone: +36 1 252-2870 • E-mail: production@mafilm.hu • www.mafilm.hu
Ready, Set, Fast Forward! Halfway through the pilot year of the Fast Forward Program we look back at some of the milestones of the training scheme. by Ádám Harangozó Hungarian cinema has had a very successful run with award-winning films and national box office hits. However, these results can only be maintained if the next generations get the chance to refine their skills and obtain up-to-date knowledge. In September 2017 the Hungarian National Film Fund introduced the Fast Forward Program (FFP), an innovative series of free, practice-oriented workshops and open lectures to help junior industry professionals and film students keep up with demand. Beyond traditional film school curricula and internship opportunities there is a growing need for specialised knowledge to help film professionals develop new skills, learn about self-promotion and encourage lifelong learning within the industry. For example, the craft of scriptwriting is the core element of all film courses – but are screenwriters prepared to deliver a “killer pitch” at forums to market their projects? The comprehensive skills and knowledge offered by FFP trainings make our film professionals more creative and resilient. The trainings are led by well-known professionals who provide up-to-date and realistic insight into the industry as well as an informal networking opportunity. The open lectures are offered to a wider audience and also welcome aspiring amateurs and students; however, the workshops are intensive, practiceoriented learning opportunities for a smaller group of people who are already at a particular level in the given topic. In these workshops participants receive a more personalised learning experience that often includes one-on-one mentoring or consultation. 18
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Zanussi's masterclass
Here is a short overview of some of the highlights from the 2017/2018 Fast Forward Program. What does Hollywood Require from a Script Supervisor? A continuity supervisor could easily be described as the glue that holds the filmmaking process together. Carmen Tabányi has been working in the United States for 15 years. She showed the magic tricks of script supervisors in two 6-day workshops that took place at the Film Archive. Script supervising was also supported by the fund’s training scheme. Acting for and with the Camera
photos by János Posztós
experience of working with EAVE, SOFA and the Forum section of Berlinale. Participants of the Incubator Program were lucky to continue working with Sibylle Kurz in a special pitching workshop. How to Make a Good Low-Budget Film Katriel Schory, the executive director of the Israeli Film Fund, has worked on more than 230 feature films. In his inspirational speech he offered insight into the magic of producing low-budget films. 1.5 Hours in 60 Seconds Creating effective trailers and promos is great fun. Especially when the director and editor Steven Lovy shows you how. During his 3-day workshop participants learned how to compress the essence of a film into a single minute, to get the rhythm right and to use editing and graphics software. Acting for and with the Camera
Zanussi’s Cinema: Masterclass on Film Directing Learning from living cinema legends can be a defining moment for any film student, and for many having the opportunity to listen to Krzysztof Zanussi undoubtedly represented precisely that. In his lecture hosted by the Polish Institute, Zanussi shared his views on narrative art in a postmodern world before consulting with young filmmakers and reviewing their film projects and plans.
Mexican-American actress and director Yareli Arizmendi’s workshop offered a space for actors to discover working with the camera and to learn how to control their performances in this specific medium. Theory and practice revolved around hitting the mark, finding light and eyeline, managing energy and becoming familiar with different angles and lenses. 1.5 hours in 60 seconds
The Art of Pitching Presenting a project in an impressive way while retaining the essence of the idea and being consistent with one’s own personality at the same time – that is the art of pitching according to Sibylle Kurz. The skills required for selling an idea were the focus of her lecture, which drew on her More on Education and Training • To alleviate the shortage and increase the competitiveness of local film production, a complex initiative called the Film Training Program was launched by the Film Fund in 2016. The legal and financial foundation of the programme was outlined in the Motion Picture Act in 2016, according to which productions receiving indirect financial support in Hungary are to contribute to the film training fund. The act imposes a 0.5% levy and also obliges productions over EUR 32,000 to employ interns. • Filmesgyakornok.hu is the Film Fund’s website, channelling students and newcomers into the internships of running film productions. The site lists productions with available placements and provides news and information about the film industry and educational opportunities. Producers can access a database of potential applicants by exploring their educational background and professional experience.
The FFP’s pilot year continues with more exciting events and, for those who missed the lectures, video recordings can be accessed online.
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More Talents Show Up Incubator Program, Third Year In 2015, the Hungarian National Film Fund (HNFF) released its Incubator Program to help young directors create their first feature film. The main ambition of the programme is to make their debuts as simple as possible: directors can apply with a treatment, and after a pre-selection a jury and a professional audience choose the best projects at a pitching forum. The HNFF then provides a low-budget financial support amounting to a maximum of EUR 70,000 for each feature documentary, EUR 200,000 for each feature film and EUR 265,000 for each animation – excluding the 25% tax rebate.
The ten projects that were nominated were:
This support also includes project development workshops, consultations and professional assistance provided by both the HNFF and the mentors. In the first two editions, ten projects received production support, including ‘One Day’ by Zsófia Szilágyi, which has been selected for this year’s Critics’ Week programme at Cannes. (You can read more about these projects on pages 40–41.)
• ‘Stolidity’ by Levente Kölcsey
Without a doubt, the Incubator Program is attractive for young directors. Proof of that is that 67 treatments responded to the first call in 2015, a number that increased to 69 in 2016 and to 71 in 2017. From the submitted applications, five film professionals (Krisztina Esztergályos, scriptwriter; Isti Madarász, director; Gábor Reisz, director; Judit Stalter, producer; and Éva Zabezsinszkij, scriptwriter) chose ten projects to move forward to the script development stage of the HNFF. After writing their scripts and attending workshops to enhance their presentation skills, the directors were given the chance to pitch their projects in front of a professional audience.
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• ‘The Camp’ by Judit Oláh • ‘Esther’s Daymare’ by Dániel Vízkeleti • ‘Hi, Sári’ by Sára Haragonics • ‘Missing 10 Hours’ by Krisztina Meggyes • ‘The Last Bus’ by Bálint Nagy and Nándor Lőrincz; • ‘Let Zsiga Die’ by Krisztina Ágói • ‘Things Worth Weeping For’ by Cristina Grosan and Nóra Rainer-Micsinyei
• ‘A Pack Of Our Town’ by Hajni Kis • ‘Where Did I Ruin It?’ by Márton Szirmai. They were presented at a pitching forum in March in one of the coolest arthouse cinemas of Budapest, Toldi Mozi, where five of the ten talents were then selected to receive scriptwriting and production support. The forum was a full-house event that included stimulating professional discussions and debates. Three projects were chosen by an acclaimed jury: Márk Bodzsár, director, Zsuzsanna Kálomista, distributor, Mónika Mécs, producer, Zsolt Pápai, film historian; Károly Ujj Mészáros, director and two more by the professional audience of the forum. The five winning projects are: 'Things Worth Weeping For'; ‘A Pack Of Our Town’; ‘The Last Bus’; ‘The Camp’; ‘Where Did I Ruin It?’.
photos by Jรกnos Posztรณs
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How Young Filmmakers The 5 New Winning see the World Projects of the Incubator This year, five young directors have been given the chance to make their debut feature thanks to the Incubator Program of the Hungarian National Film Fund. by Zsófi Herczeg
HNFF’s Incubator Program provides support for the production of these five selected films: a maximum of EUR 70,000 for each feature documentary, EUR 200,000 for each feature film and EUR 265,000 for each animation.
The HNFF Incubator Program was launched in 2015 to support talented young directors who have not yet made their first feature or whose short films have not yet been screened at international film festivals. For the third Incubator Program 71 entries had arrived by the October 2017 deadline, of which 10 were selected for the pitch forum. The HNFF granted the 10 finalists EUR 6,400 each for script development, and with the collaboration of the fund’s development team they worked on their script for several months before the forum, which was held in March this year.
Here is a short summary about each of the five winning projects. The first is 'Things Worth Weeping For' by Cristina Grosan and Nóra Rainer-Micsinyei. The story follows Maja, who
Five of the 10 projects have been given the chance to become the first feature of their talented young directors. Three were selected by a professional jury: director-screenwriters Márk Bodzsár and Károly Ujj Mészáros, film distribution specialist Zsuzsa Kálomista, producer Mónika Mécs and film historian Zsolt Pápai. The other two were selected by the audience, which was made up of directors, producers, film critics and filmmakers. The
'Things Worth Weeping For'
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‘A Pack of our Town’
wants to move to Berlin with her boyfriend. As she forgets her ID card at home she has to spend another night in Budapest, during which she is forced to face problems she never wanted to have to deal with. The film is about people in their 30s who try to meet serious grown-up expectations when their lives do not actually have much in common with typical adulthood; some of their friends are still living like teenagers. The film intends to examine this controversial state that is full of conflict, tension, self-righteousness and absurd situations. Hajni Kis’s biographically inspired film, ‘A Pack of our Town’, shows the complex relationship between a father and a daughter. Gyuri, an exconvict, works as a bouncer at a night bar. One
'The Last Bus'
day his ex-girlfriend shows up with their teenage daughter Niki and forces him to look after her while she is off working abroad. At the beginning the relationship between the two is filled with conflict, but they slowly manage to break down their barriers and grow closer to each other. When Niki’s mother returns, Gyuri realises that he never wants to leave his daughter again, and for that he is ready to take some radical steps. Of her film, Hajni Kis says that she believes this story could touch many people, because everyone has lived through some kind of similarly ambivalent bond. The film by Bálint Nagy and Nándor Lőrincz, ‘The Last Bus’, discusses the subject of sexual abuse. Dénes and Nóra have spent years trying to adopt a baby, and now they are finally given the chance to become parents to an orphan. But one night Nóra is sexually abused by a stranger. The police cannot do anything as she is the only witness to the crime, and there is no further evidence to support her case. The couple faces the culture of victim-blaming, which also breaks the trust in their marriage. The directors have a personal connection to the topic, as a mutual friend of theirs has been through similar tribulations. They said that in their film, however, violence itself will not be the focal point, but rather the way in which the couple’s immediate environment and the justice sector reacts to what happened. In Judit Oláh’s documentary ‘The Camp’, the director tells the story about one of the most
'The Camp'
decisive experiences of her own childhood: a summer camp during the declining socialism era. The three-week long thematic camp flew children to an imaginary country, Epipo, which was an antithesis of the outside world. The whole story revolves around Pál Sipos, the former leader of the camp, who had a tremendous impact on the children he was entrusted with. Several years later he was forced to flee the country because of his sins. The director and the former citizens of Epipo, who are now adults, try to figure out how the camp worked and who Pál Sipos really was, but they also address the subject of power. Márton Szirmai’s project entitled ‘Where did I Ruin it?’ is an animated adventure film whose protagonist, László Kozma, is the creator of the first computer in Europe. One day he wakes up to find that he has been wrongfully sentenced to 15 years in prison. His common sense spends all day trying to think of how he got there.
‘Where did I Ruin it?’
This is an adventurous story of a rising European man, where the audience witnesses how he escapes from prison thanks to his master plan. ‘Where did I Ruin it?’ is a movie that tackles the subject of dictatorships with some charming humour. Inspired by the 800-page book by László Kozma, the director wanted to prove, through an unknown Hungarian man’s fate, that he could make an exciting, humorous and high-quality animated film – under modest conditions – about how power and history can easily break a person’s ambitions and opportunities. These five projects will have to be finished within the next two years, during which the young directors can call on the HNFF’s professional support. At the pitch forum Ágnes Havas, CEO of the HNFF, said that the growing number of applicants year after year is a clear sign of success. She added that the Incubator Program not only helps make debut films but it is also a great platform to build a community for young and talented filmmakers who reflect on the world, on the activities and on the events around them.
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Jennifer Lawrence one of the most important tourists in Budapest
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by Bálint Kovács One of the most well-known character actors in Hollywood is the capital city of Hungary: Budapest. The city is a co-star in major films such as ‘The Martian’, ‘Atomic Blonde’, ‘Spy’, ‘Mudbound’, ‘Munich’, ‘Inferno’ and ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’, and in series like ‘The Borgias’ or the upcoming National Geographic production with Antonio Banderas, ‘Genius: Picasso’. Besides the two major and well-equipped film studios, the capital city has such eclectic architecture that it can star as either Belle Époque Paris, Nazi-led Germany or modern-day Russia. The most recent blockbuster shot almost entirely in Hungary is Francis Lawrence’s ‘Red Sparrow’ starring Jennifer Lawrence as Dominika, a Russian spy trained to seduce men. The city plays two roles simultaneously: both itself and Russia. Perhaps comically for Hungarian viewers, there is a scene in which Jennifer Lawrence has to fly to Budapest from Russia, so she travels from Budapest’s Liszt Ferenc Airport only to land at the same Liszt Ferenc Airport. Indeed, Budapest plays an important role in the movie; it is not only a background setting modified by CGI: Russian and American spies play cat and mouse across the city throughout the whole movie. So most Hungarian viewers watched ‘Red Sparrow’ in excitement, trying to catch every corner of Budapest. But where exactly does Jennifer Lawrence play hide and seek with Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ciarán Hinds? and Jeremy Irons? Here is a map to show you the filming locations.
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Much of Budapest’s public transportation vehicles look as if they are 50-60 years old (which is sometimes the case), but in ‘Red Sparrow’ Dominika travels with the latest edition, the so-called Fonodó tram (meaning ‘enwreathing’, as it has been made from multiple tramlines put together).
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Dominika follows Nate (Joel Edgerton) to his favourite swimming pool in order to make contact with him. The indoor scenes are shot in a city not far from the capital called Dunaújváros. That said, in the movie the pool’s doors open out onto a street in Budapest.
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As Dominika’s uncle, he promises to give her everything she and her mother needs if she is willing to do anything he wants in return. The location where they have this joyful conversation is the Lotz saloon on the top level of an 100-year-old shopping centre in the city centre.
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Budapest’s iconic striptease bar, Hallo Bar, has attracted locals and tourists since the socialist era (it opened its gates in 1976). It plays itself in this movie. It is no surprise that Dominika’s evil, corrupt and alcoholic boss drinks here, until the moment she outmanoeuvres him. Could there be a better location to kick him in the backside? We think not.
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Nate has a flat in Budapest which almost becomes Dominika’s as they increasingly get involved with each other. It is situated far from the council houses of the suburb, but the interior is just as ancient and oldfashioned. In the sexscene, the TV is on in the background and a well-known Hungarian spokesperson can be heard talking about the lottery draw.
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Dominika was not born a spy; her dream was to become a professional ballet dancer. She almost got her big break at Russia’s number one theatre, Bolshoi, in Moscow – played by the Hungarian State Opera House.
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The New York Café is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cafés in the world. However, in the movie it functions as a 5-star hotel where Dominika has to carry out her first job: unlike many other tourists, it probably will not be Jennifer Lawrence’s favourite hangout.
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Budapest’s Schöpf-Merei Hospital was founded in 1884, outlived the Belle Époque and the socialist era, which have both left their mark on the building. In ‘Red Sparrow’ it acts as a Russian hospital where Dominika takes her ailing mother.
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The Semmelweis Medical University in Budapest has a magnificent room in one of its buildings, where there is a huge 150-square-metre stained-glass window. In the film, this is the American Embassy of Budapest.
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Budapest Calling If you go to the cinema or watch TV at home, chances are you will eventually find something made in Hungary. Hits from the past year include ‘Red Sparrow’, ‘Atomic Blonde’ and ‘Blade Runner 2049’, and this summer Budapest will once again be a hotspot for stars as the city welcomes Arnold Schwarzenegger, Timothée Chalamet, Will Smith and Jason Momoa. by Gábor Osváth Antonio Banderas 'Genius'
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'Hidden'
The new ‘Terminator’ movie is easily the biggest shoot that Hungary will host in 2018. ‘Deadpool’-helmer Tim Miller is in charge of rebooting the franchise, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton reprising their roles. The film will undoubtedly be made with a high level of secrecy, but the filmmakers have James Cameron’s blessings, and the director himself will be on board as the film’s producer.
Another large-scale tentpole currently in pre-production is ‘Gemini Man’, to be directed by Oscarwinning Ang Lee and starring Will Smith. The action sci-fi is scheduled for release in October 2019, just a few weeks before the new 'Terminator' sequel/reboot rolls into cinemas – and exactly one week before the new ‘The Crow’ is set to be released. The Nick Cave-penned new adaptation of the comic will also be made in Hungary with Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa starring in the lead role. The Netflix film ‘The King’ is also preparing for a June start. David Michôd (‘Animal Kingdom’, ‘The Rover’) directs the movie, which stars Timothée Chalamet as the title character of Henry V and Joel Edgerton as Falstaff. Edgerton co-wrote the film with Michôd, and
'The Alienist'
it will be a quick return to Budapest for the Australian actor after filming ‘Red Sparrow’ here last year. Brad Pitt’s Plan B is producing the movie. Oscar-nominated Marjane Satrapi recently wrapped her 9-week shoot of ‘Radioactive’ with Rosamund Pike in the role of Marie Curie, and the National Geographic series ‘Genius’ had a months-long shoot with Antonio Banderas as Pablo Picasso. Other TV projects include ‘The Last Kingdom’, ‘Strike Back’, ‘Jamestown’, ‘Mars’, Canada’s ‘Ransom’ and even portions of ‘The Crown’ and ‘Homeland’. The company Proton Cinema, which last year shot ‘Terminal’ with Margot Robbie and Jonas Åkerlund’s ‘Lord of Chaos’, has once again got some big productions lined up. Two of these include Sweden’s urban fantasy-thriller series entitled ‘Hidden’, which is currently shooting, and the Robert Lantos-produced ‘The Song of Names’, to be directed by the Canadian François Girard (‘The Red Violin’), which is currently in its prepping stage.
Two TV highlights from last year include the AMC’s ‘The Terror’, which premiered in March to great reviews, and TNT’s ‘The Alienist’, which brought record ratings for the channel. As we mentioned in our Berlinale issue, these two shows were the biggest productions in Hungary last year after they spent an estimated EUR 41.4 million and EUR 67 million, respectively.
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'Out'
V4: Strengthening Historical Roots Through Films The expression ‘Visegrad Group’ might not be wellknown outside of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, but these four countries often embrace their shared history and culture by involving each other in various events. Let us take a look at some film projects the ‘V4’ countries have recently been collaborating on! by Gábor Osváth
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The feature film ‘Out’ is one of the rare, natural Visegrad co-productions: its director was born in Slovakia in a Hungarian minority and later studied at Prague’s FAMU before making his debut film, a co-production between Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Estonia. György Kristóf’s film, described by Variety as an "eastern European Candide", debuted in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2017. Hungary’s own Mirage Film and KMH Film co-produced it, while the Hungarian National Film Fund (HNFF) backed the project on the Hungarian side. The film’s many Hungarian participants include the lead actor Sándor Terhes and the DOP Gergely Pohárnok (turn to pages 34–35 to read more about him!). ‘Eter’, the latest film by the veteran Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi, was also made as a Central/Eastern European co-production. Zsolt László in 'Eter'
Many important Hungarian crew members collaborated on the Polish-LithuanianUkrainian-Hungarian co-production set in the early 20th century, which co-stars the prolific Hungarian actor Zsolt László. Besides the oneweek shoot in Hungary, the film was also shot in Poland, Ukraine and Italy. Its Hungarian producers are Judit Stalker, Gábor Sipos and Gábor Rajna, the trio behind Laokoon Filmgroup, the company that made ‘Son of Saul’. The HNFF gave support to the project worth EUR 186,000.
'White Plastic Sky''
Sometimes a film does not always have to be a formal co-production to involve key partners from our closely neighbouring countries. Márta Mészáros’ most recent film, ‘Aurora Borealis’, involved multiple Polish partners including actors Ewa Telega and Lesław Żurek and cinematographer Piotr Sobociński, Jr. All members of the Visegrad Group have a very strong animation scene as well, and as co-producing this genre is easier than doing a live-action, there have naturally been more and more V4 animation co-productions. ‘Superbia’ is probably the most well-known so far; directed by Luca Tóth, the short film’s main funder was the Hungarian Media Patronage Programme. It became the all-in Visegrad collaboration when the Czech Republic’s Maurfilm and Slovakia’s Artichoke joined as co-producers, and Poland’s New Europe Film Sales came on board to sell it. ‘Superbia’ debuted at the Cannes Critics’ Week in 2016, with more than 80 international festivals to follow. 'Superbia'
The feature animation ‘White Plastic Sky’, funded by the HNFF’s Incubator Program for debut filmmakers, is currently in production with, once again, Juraj Krasnohorský of Slovakia’s Artichoke as well as France’s Paprika Films. (To read more about Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó’s exciting project, turn to page 40.) Every year the region’s animation scene gets together at the Visegrad Animation Forum (VAF), organised as part of the Anifilm International Festival of Animated Films in
Trebon, the Czech Republic. The event that takes place in early May is a usual meeting place for everyone who works in the animated field in the V4 countries, but the workshops and pitches are also open to producers from the extended region (to include the Balkan countries as well as Ukraine, Bulgaria and the Baltics). The pitching sessions for short films and series/TV specials are always a highlight, and this year Hungary has a strong presence once again, with a total of four projects selected to compete for the prizes. And, for the very first time, the VAF will organise a pitching competition for upcoming animated feature films. The sixth edition of the VAF is coming up between 1–3 May. For younger filmmakers from the Visegrad Group, the Visegrad Film Forum (VFF) offers workshops and lectures for film students. Organised every April at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia, the VFF aims to get Slovakian, Czech, Polish and Hungarian students to meet with their peers as well as with established international filmmakers. This year had a particularly strong line-up, with the editor Mick Audsley (‘12 Monkeys’, ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’), cinematographer Slawomir Idziak (‘Three Colours: Blue’, ‘Black Hawk Down’) and production designer Eggert Ketilsson (‘Dunkirk’) arriving to Bratislava to give lectures. This year Hungary was represented by students of the University of Theatre and Film Arts of Budapest. HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
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From Cannes to
Cannes This year's Cannes Film Festival premieres the first Incubator Program film, entitled 'One Day', in its Critics Week's selection; and Un Certain Regard welcomes 'Euphoria', the Hungarian DP Gergely Pohรกrnok's second collaboration with the actor-director Valeria Golino.
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'One Day'
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'One Day'
The Whole Film Depends on Me
Interview with Zsófia Szamosi, protagonist of ‘One Day’, a participant at Cannes
Zsófia Szamosi was a member of Budapest’s coolest theatre company with Béla Pintér, she has gained a national acclaim in the Hungarian version of HBO’s ‘In Treatment’, she was the antagonist in the Oscar-winning Hungarian short film ‘Sing!’ and she won many prizes with Árpád Sopsits’s serial killer-drama, ‘Strangled’. This year Zsófia Szilágyi’s first feature, ‘One Day’, is the Hungarian participant at the Cannes Film Festival. The film stars Szamosi in the main role, playing Anna, a 40-something-year-old mother of three. by Anita Libor Millions of people saw you on stage as Kristóf Deák was handed the Oscar for Best Short Film for ‘Sing!’. Could you ever get excited about anything ever again? Of course! Cannes? Yes, please! I’ve been there once as a tourist, and I always thought how cool it would be to go back with a film. I am the lead in ‘One Day’ and the whole film depends on me and my acting, so I am more than curious to find out about its reception. I will travel together with my five-month-old baby girl. The film is about a mother who has three children. When you were shooting you were not yet a mother, but you were when you first saw it. Did you see the film differently or did you feel differently about it after becoming a mother yourself? Indeed, the first time I watched it was as a professional, not as a mother. I was constantly thinking back to the shooting, about how we were stuck in a traffic jam when we were doing the car scenes. That was the
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hardest part, actually, because there really was traffic. I had to play the part, with children in the car – which is a challenge in itself – let alone have to drive in rush hour and be mindful of the camera all at the same time. It was a real nightmare.
a long e-mail from her explaining why I didn’t get the part. I was still in the States when she wrote again to say that she had finally decided to chose me.
This film is completely built on your performance. How did you meet the director?
It was hard, because the relationship between an actor and a director is built on mutual trust. But then later in the rehearsals we managed to touch common ground: we spent three weeks practising the scenes and practising with the children. I would meet them at day care and at kindergarten and we would play together so they would get used to me, to my hugs and to my affection. Becoming intimate needs time, even for me. Between the rehearsals and the shooting I returned to the United States for the Oscars, where we won the Best Short Film award. It was a really strange time in my life: one day I was rehearsing a constantly overwhelmed, broken down-looking mother of three and the next I was attending fittings for my evening gowns for the Oscars.
Zsófia was first looking for actresses who already have children, so I was not originally considered for the part. My name only came up later, when she was running out of time. This was before ‘Sing!’ received the Oscar, right? Yes, but I don’t think it mattered to Zsófia that my reputation improved after winning the Oscar either. I was scheduled to tour for three weeks in America with the Béla Pintér Company, so she and I made a quick pilot study before that. It was not like a usual casting with one or two scenes; they were hour-long shootings. Then while I was in America I got
Interesting. How did the shooting go after a beginning like that?
Were you given any guidelines for the role? I could see the minimalist style from the script and the pilot. There is no action in this film like you might find in another movie. I was constantly asked: what are you shooting? What is it about? I would say that it’s a story that covers a typical day from a mother’s perspective. And people would always expect more, like ‘Ok, so that’s the context, but what’s the story?’ All I could add was that the character’s marriage was in crisis. It’s strange to have a film without a real synopsis, but that didn’t render the shooting any easier.
photo by Gábor Valuska
What was the hardest part?
though I was the lead, everything was adjusted to the children’s needs, not to me or to my comfort. Just like in the movie. Shooting took place during the theatrical season, so it was really hard for me to go act in a play after 12 hours of shooting. And, to my biggest surprise, it turned out that I was also pregnant. Thank God I wasn’t aware of it earlier, because I had to hold my 2-yearold on-screen baby in my arms for hours on end! It would have been quite hard to secretly spare myself of that while carrying out hard work. You and your little one look really happy in the movie.
Shooting does not usually follow a chronological order, but in this case it was particularly difficult because there are only a few minutes’ difference between scenes, and yet I still have to show an inner change. But how? I have no lines, I have no big breakdowns. The director always made it clear what my emotional state should be, because an actor needs to receive a lot of guidance from their director. The film is in the director’s imagination, so an actor is much more defenceless on set than in theatre, for example. On stage I can clearly see the structure I take part in, but in a movie I only see small slices that we eventually puzzle together.
Markó is a really cute boy and he really adored me. We spent some great times together before the shooting. But we also had some pretty tough scenes. Never in my life have I used a nasal aspirator on a baby, and here I had to try it with somebody else’s baby, which we could only record once.
What was it like to have three children on set? Like day care?
Where do you think the on-screen couple went wrong in their marriage?
This film was made under the Incubator Program funded by the Hungarian National Film Fund, so we had very little money and no buses or trailers to hang out in when there was no actual shooting. We shot in a flat for three weeks, and there was a little place in the cellar where you could rest between takes. But then came the part with the three children, and all the noise and everything that comes with that. It was really tiring, and even
strange that a director who does not have any children herself should want to address this theme. I think that’s the reason why this film stays so objective and does not judge the couple. The husband is not an antagonist, he also puts himself on the line and feeds and baths the children just as their mother does. It’s just that in this partnership they lose each other, their love and their marriage. They forget to pay attention to one another. I found this film really interesting because it takes risks. The audience will find it either very interesting or very boring, there is no third option.
Did all the women-related topics about invisible work affect you in any way? Yes, it made me think about a lot of things, about how easy you can slip into another life and how fragile a relationship is.
I don’t think they did anything wrong. It’s just that when you have three children, the attention gets scattered across everything. And it’s not a film that focuses on the social life of Hungarian intellectuals; there are no clear answers. It’s
one day I was rehearsing a constantly overwhelmed, broken down-looking mother of three and the next I was attending fittings for my evening gowns for the Oscars.
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Through a Hungarian Lens On the 12th of April, just as the 71st Cannes Film Festival was announcing its line-up, the Hungarian cinematographer Gergely Pohárnok found out that a film he had shot, an Italian feature called ‘Euphoria’ directed by Valeria Golino, had been selected to Cannes. This was his second collaboration with the actor-turned-director after ‘Miele’ (2013) and his fourth film competing in the Un Certain Regard section after 'Taxidermia', 'Miele' and 'Out'. by András Huszár
photo by Gergely Pohárnok
The 49-year-old DP’s credits – whose younger brother also works in the film industry as a special make-up effects artist – go back almost 20 years. He started out as a photographer, and soon after the collapse of communism in Hungary he joined a liberal newspaper, Magyar Narancs, working as its photo editor between 1992 and 1995. He then went on to study cinematography at the Hungarian School of Theatrical and Cinematic Arts. Ever since his film debut in 1999, he has been steadily working with some of the most exciting Hungarian helmers, including György Pálfi, Roland Vranik, Benedek Fliegauf and Virág Zomborácz. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Pohárnok is not just the undeniable aesthetic beauty of many of his shots, but rather his versatility, a seemingly effortless, formal dexterousness and a willingness to adapt. His imagery might be both stylised and unadorned, distinct without being obtrusive, restrained and
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at the same time empathetic; fluid in motion or geometrically precise in fixed compositions, eyepopping with expressive use of colour or instead stark in black and white. Highlights result from his partnership with the auteur György Pálfi, whether it is the chiaroscuro lighting in the mordantly funny, grotesque body horror of ‘Taxidermia’, as if painted by a horny, gore-loving bastard child of Rembrandt; the microcosmic scale of capturing small animal life in the experimental ‘Hukkle’; or the variations in style from sitcom to sci-fi, as seen in ‘Szabadesés’. Over the last decade, Pohárnok has shot several films abroad, primarily in Italy, where he spends 3-4 months every year delivering features and commercials (or teaming up with bombastic Academy Award-winner Paolo Sorrentino for a sponsored short film). When asked in a telephone interview about the differences between Hungarian and Italian shooting styles, Pohárnok claims that they are mostly very similar. “You
need to shoot as much material as you can in the shortest time possible, which is very expensive”, says the DP, adding that Italian filmmakers tend to have more room for improvisation. “The whole country is chaotic and messy, and the general response to that is embracing the unplanned. It’s very liberating: since everyone is bound to make mistakes this way, you don’t have to be afraid of making them to be a bit more playful.”
White’. After receiving praise for his stunning, bravura photography on ‘Jupiter’s Moon’, directed by Kornél Mundruczó (a household name in Cannes), Marcell Rév’s most recent credits are the HBO movie ‘Paterno’, starring Al Pacino, and this year’s Sundance sensation ‘Assassination Nation’.
“The arthouse market is flooded with an immense amount of movies, and an A-list festival presence or an important award can successfully bring a director, an actor or a DP into focus.”
The same goes for Valeria Golino, a twotime director who likes to err on the side of spontaneity rather than resort to meticulous overplanning. “She hates doing storyboards, and she prefers making decisions for individual scenes on set”, Pohárnok tells us. “We talked through the basics in prep, of course, about the overall visuals, how much handheld would be used, etc. But we had a lot of freedom and a lot of leeway filming ‘Euphoria’, allowing for happy accidents.”
However, Pohárnok is not the only Hungarian lenser who has been enjoying international success in the last couple of years. On the contrary: he is part of a larger group of DPs who are on the rise. Gyula Pados (‘Kontroll’, ‘Fateless’), who is the same age as Pohárnok, worked his way to Hollywood blockbusters, framing The Rock in ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ and shooting the second and third instalments of the ‘Maze Runner’ franchise. Mátyás Erdély established a harrowing subjectivity for the Holocaust drama ‘Son of Saul’ by using shallow focus and, even before that, he had worked on festival darlings like ‘Miss Bala’ and ‘James Gergely Pohárnok and Valeria Golino at work
This wave of success and recognition is not without historical precedent. In the aftermath of Soviet troops crushing the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, hundreds of thousands of people fled the country. Amongst them were a couple of young, emerging cinematographers, Vilmos Zsigmond and László Kovács, who emigrated to the United States and became essential and influential figures of the New Hollywood movement in the 1970s, scanning the who-is-who of the era’s leading American directors. (Zsigmond’s most popular films are ‘The Deer Hunter’ and ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’, and Kovács is most famous for ‘Easy Rider’ and ‘Five Easy Pieces’.) It is very exciting to see a new generation of cinematographers receiving offers to work on big-budget spectacles, European arthouse films and American indie hits, as well as continuing to lense Hungarian films. (Pohárnok’s next collaboration with Pálfi and Erdély’s sophomore film with László Nemes are both due to be released this year.) “I’m so stoked for these guys breaking into the international big leagues”, enthuses Pohárnok about his peers. “They are incredibly talented people and deserve every ounce of success.” He partly attributes this recent expansion to the fact that filmmaking is an internationally permeable, relatively open profession, though if you want to break through, you better make a splash at a film festival. “The arthouse market is flooded with an immense amount of movies, and an A-list festival presence or an important award can successfully bring a director, an actor or a DP into focus.” What about his own success? Has it become routine for him to have yet another film at Cannes? “No, there’s no getting used to that”, laughs Pohárnok, who now lives in Berlin with his family and alternates between jobs in different countries. “This is a big deal, I couldn’t be happier.”
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HUNGARIAN WOMEN IN CANNES
1968 'How Long Does Man Matter?' Judit Elek
1977 'Nine Months' Márta Mészáros
1982 'Boomerang' Zsuzsanna Zsáky
1984 'Maria's Day' Judit Elek
1969 'Binding Sentiments' Márta Mészáros
1980 'The Inheritance' Márta Mészáros
1984 'The Door' Mária Horváth
1969 'Island on the Continent' Judit Elek
1981 'The Unhappy Hat' Mária Sós
1984 'Diary for My Children' Márta Mészáros, Grand Prix
LONG-LASTING FEMALE VOICES The New Wave of Female Directors in Hungarian Cinema With regard to contemporary Hungarian cinema, it is fairly unquestionable that a certain trend of fresh female voices seems to be evolving. Zsófia Szilágyi, arrives to the Critics’ Week as a freshwoman with her directorial debut, ‘One Day’. by Janka Barkóczi
photo by Kallós Bea / MTI
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1989 'My Twentieth Century' Ildikó Enyedi, Golden Camera 1993 'Child Murders' Ildikó Szabó, FIPRESCI prize
1996 'To Speak the Unspeakable: The Message of Elie Wiesel' Judit Elek 2006 'The Vírus' Ágnes Kocsis, Cinefondation, 3rd prize
Auteurs of this wave work in various forms, from animation to full-length features and documentaries, but their independent, open spirit makes them somewhat connected with each other. The links among them are not only horizontal but also vertical, as it is not rare to see artists with great oeuvres meeting new talents at the same vibrant scene. Their interests and tones of expression may be different, but deep empathy towards human nature as well as critical thoughts flavoured with a bit of tasteful humour can be recognised as common ground. The direction that this artistic view takes characterises the stories they tell. The members of the more mature generations take great pride in throwing the audience back to the historical past. In 2015 Ibolya Fekete drew a bigger picture of Hungary’s history in her epic and lighthearted family tale entitled ‘Mom and Other Loonies in the Family’. And Olga, the successful lawyer in ‘Aurora Borealis’, discovers dark secrets from her family’s past; in her story the veteran director Márta Mészáros raises rarely touched questions of motherhood, body issues and rape as a war crime. The film encourages critical dialogue regarding sensitive social issues and bravely tells hidden but living stories from the post-Soviet region’s memory. Ildikó Enyedi’s ‘On Body and Soul’ also circles around the possibility and impossibility of communication, though keeps a more private and gentle tone. The movie, which was the Hungarian nomination for the Academy Awards in the Foreign Language Film category, creates a universal atmosphere of love and understanding of the mystery of the human soul. The significant group of young female animators from the inspiring milieu of the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest cannot be disregarded either. Réka Bucsi examines the eternal complexity of relationships among creatures and events in her widely awarded works ‘Symphony No. 42’ and ‘Love’. Nadja Andrasev also applies strong symbols that are twisted with an erotic touch in her graduation film, ‘The Noise of Licking’. Luca Tóth goes even further by creating the sultry, surreal world of ‘Superbia’ in which the traditional characteristics of gender are mixed up in this wild, faraway land and where the inhabitants act uninhibitedly beyond all conventions. Gender issues and questions of female identity are concentrated in the coming-of-age shorts of
2006 'Fresh Air' Ágnes Kocsis
2014 'The Execution' Petra Szőcs
2010 'Adrienn Pál' Ágnes Kocsis, FIPRESCI prize
2016 'The Noise of Licking' Nadja Andrasev, Cinefondation 3rd prize 2016 'Superbia' Luca Tóth
a collection of promising female directors. Fanni Szilágyi introduces the charismatic redhead teenage sisters of ‘End of Puberty’ as they stand up against the world through a very personal way of rebellion. The film is an adaptation of the short story written by Réka Mán-Várhegyi, another unique female author, this time from the domain of literature. Hajni Kis charmed the public with ‘Beautiful Figure’, which followed a similar path. The gripping story of the hopeless desire of Elsie, a high school cleaning lady, for
the female voices from Cannes will be heard for a long time to come a female student is expressed in small gestures and slight changes of mood. Again empathy is the basic tone here, without any kind of prejudice or the smallest trace of preconceived ideas. Lili Horváth touches social issues in her critically acclaimed full-length feature ‘The Wednesday Child’ about a determined young mother fighting for her son. Father and son are the protagonists of ‘Afterlife’, in which Virág Zomborácz surprises viewers with her original voice and inimitable black humour. Two examples of the numerous documentaries directed by women and dealing with female roles are Bernadett TuzaRitter’s ‘A Woman Captured’ and Diana Groó’s ‘Regina’. While the first deals with the topic of contemporary slavery pictured in a dramatic portrait, the second introduces the life of the first female rabbi, a role model of independent, intelligent and dedicated female souls. The vital appearance of female artists has also welcomed a new interest in Hungary’s film history, strengthening the angle from a woman’s point of view. The restoration of the legendary motion picture ‘My Twentieth Century’ was one of the highlights of last year’s series of events of Hungarian film heritage connected to the recently set-up preservation programme. The evergreen legend of the film proves that the female voices from Cannes will be heard for a long time to come. HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
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The Invisible Labour of Women
Interview with Zsófia Szilágyi, the director of ‘One Day’, the first Incubator Program film in Cannes.
‘One Day’ follows a typical day in the life of a 40-something-year-old woman. She has three children and an unfaithful husband. Life cannot be put on hold, though, as she has to run errands, just like every other day. Zsófia Szilágyi’s first feature premieres at Cannes Critics' Week selection. by Anita Libor ‘One Day’ was made in the framework of Incubator, a talent programme funded by the Hungarian National Film Fund. Zsófia, why did you choose this fundraising channel for your first feature? It is a very straightforward system. I liked that it wasn’t me who had to seek a production company, but the other way round: it’s an open race to secure funding for a film. The fact that it is the idea that receives the money represents a great deal for a first feature director. It means that at meetings you become the person with an advantageous position, not just an idea. Because anyone can have an idea! At a pitch forum in front of the whole Hungarian film industry, my pitch caught the attention of Ági Pataki, a producer at Filmpartners. She came up to me after the presentation, which seems to have also been easier for her that way. I would probably never have been able to do a feature film without Incubator. It’s a shame, but it’s true. How did you come up with the story for ‘One Day’? One of my friends who has children wrote down her day in segments of ten minutes. Reading what motherhood meant in practice, hour after hour, came as a bit of a shock to me. It was like being in a real drama, even though nothing 38
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had actually happened. It was just another day that had passed. At first I thought about making the film as a documentary, but I did not want to have to bother a family, so I decided to create a fictional story instead. Your film consists of many trivial things and everyday activities that make it very vivid. How did you collect all of those small details? It was a matter of stealing from the life of my neighbours, of my family and of my friends. I also used to be a babysitter, so I have seen with my own eyes how defenceless a mother can be and how easily she can get stuck in a world where she has to meet so many expectations. But obviously not everything can get done, it’s simply impossible. This situation makes it very evident how finite time is. In our society, we have no real tolerance for it. “Deal with it, my dear mummy, you are not the only one who has a child!” This trivial, everyday story on the surface actually covers a much more serious background story; a real drama. How did you balance between the drama and the monotony of everyday life? The drama is a backstory: somebody cheats on somebody. It’s quite banal, I guess everyone has their stories about that. But
I don’t think it’s banal when your trust and faith, built on ten years of marriage, break down. It wasn’t easy, as we had to find a balance between keeping the backstory in the background and avoiding that it disappears altogether. There is always a phone call or a reed on a balcony that reminds us of it. I wanted to keep track of that, and this is the frame of the film. Did you have any premise for this storytelling? I admire the Romanian New Wave and its austere and realist style. It doesn’t forget the tiny details that can turn a life upside down. But using a realist style does not mean you have to show everything in real time; it is also about construction. An example of this that I really like is ‘Cléo from 5 to 7’ by Agnès Varda or, in Hungarian cinema, ‘It’s Not the Time of my Life’ by Szabolcs Hajdu, which deals with very similar problems in a very similar way. Your whole film is built around Zsófia Szamosi. How did you find working with her? How did you explain this moderate style to her at the fever pitch? For an actor it is very hard work to play a role in which you have to sit in a car and drive but still be completely elsewhere in mind. Her face had to show complete engrossment, which is not at all an easy task. We worked on concrete situations:
photo by Gábor Valuska
how to avoid dramatic and pathetic styles, yet still have a style. Anna, the protagonist is a strong woman, but it was very important to not present her as a robot or a machine that simply gets through the day. Viewers had to be able to see when she was damaged and was losing her way. Anna always stayed extremely disciplined. How did you find shooting with three children? The little boy cried in the morning routine. Was it because he was ill? I am very grateful to the children and to their parents. Working with them was a great experience and they became real colleagues. The crying that takes place on the street was totally unintentional. I would never want to make a child cry. The plan was just to film his bike ride on the way to day care, where he dashes out ahead and his mother has to run after him. Then he started crying, and as we were already filming we were able to use the scene. And yes, the poor thing had the flu throughout the whole shooting. Like every child does from autumn to spring. What was it like to have three children on set? They seem to behave so naturally in the film. It was great. It was very important for us that the children have a good time and not get too tired. Somehow you have to get a feel for how many more takes you can do with them, but you can also negotiate. I had a straightforward and collegial relationship with them. I obviously did not want to manipulate a child actor, nor could I have, but for that we had to make sure we had a good relationship before filming even started. We wanted them to feel safe with us on set. We also had a day care provider, Zsuzsi Konrád, who was on set with us for all of their needs. She did a fantastic job.
Will they be attending the premiere at Cannes? Of course I invited them all, but in the end only Ambrus, the eldest, will be coming with us to the festival. Who do you think will be the audience of your film? In the first place, every mother who finds herself in this situation and any other woman who knows what can happen. But I would be reluctant to say this film is only for women. I believe that fathers and men in general are also very aware of the moments that are lost due to all the rushing around as well as of the hard work that is involved in raising a child. But I really wanted to make a film about the invisible work that women have to do on a constant basis. While I was searching for my child actors I spent a lot of time in playgrounds talking to mothers. When I told them what my film was about, they broke down crying. It came as a surprise, but it was also very encouraging to see that this is something worth making a film about! Does your protagonist find her place and time in the end? Your finale can be interpreted both ways. She draws a line. Up until then, she has wanted to do everything the right way: at her workplace, at day care, at kindergarten and at school. The ending is a step forward, but it’s also a step back, physically. It’s as if she’s saying: “Now it’s my turn, it’s me who is important.”
WHAT MOTHERHOOD MEANT IN PRACTICE, HOUR AFTER HOUR, CAME AS A BIT OF A SHOCK TO ME.
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Incubator Program Steps onto the International Stage ‘One Day’ by Zsófia Szilágyi is one of the first debut films supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund’s Incubator Program. It will be premiered at this year’s Critics’ Week in Cannes. Exciting titles are also expected in the near future. (You can read more about ‘One Day’ in our interviews with director and the protagonist of the film, Zsófia Szamosi, on pages 32–33 and 38–39.) ‘Behind the Column’, a comedy by Csaba Vékes, was the first feature to be completed in the Incubator Program. The film examines the career of an unsuccessful actor who suddenly finds himself pulled from the wings to become the leading stage director in a theatre company. According to Vékes, the story was inspired by 13 years spent working in theatre and is built on his own experiences, imagination and stifled aspirations. Last year saw ‘Behind the Column’ 40
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be selected to the competition programme of the Montreal International Film Festival as well as have its Hungarian premiere. The first animated feature to receive support from the Incubator Program is a utopistic science fiction entitled ‘White Plastic Sky’ by Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó. The year is 2219. Fertile soil has entirely disappeared from Earth and all flora and fauna is extinct. The people of Budapest live in total isolation, surviving only by eating a special plant which is grown in living human flesh, which all citizens get an implant of on their 50th birthday. Stefan is a 28-year-old psychiatrist who strongly believes in the system until the day his wife, Nora, signs up for volunteer implantation. Produced by József Fülöp and Orsolya Sipos of SALTO Film, ‘White Plastic Sky’ was coproduced by the French Paprika Films and the Slovakian Artichoke Studio. Its theatrical release is planned for 2019. Produced by Proton Cinema, ‘Guerilla’, the first feature by György Mór Kárpáti, is another to 'Guerilla'
'Behind the Column'
premiere this year. The film is set in 1849, the end of the war of independence. After hiding from conscription, Barnabás sets out to find his brother who is fighting in a guerrilla group. Stuck in the forest, the guerrillas consider his wounded brother a hero – while he is a rookie and has to prove he is not afraid; during combat, Barnabás has to increasingly take part in the cruelty of war. While Barnabás tries hard to become part of the militant community he gets caught in a love triangle: he begins an affair with a woman his brother is also in love with. Kárpáti’s short film, ‘Provincia’, was screened in the Cinéfondation selection at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014. László Csuja's first feature, ‘Blossom Valley’, is a mix between a coming-of-age story and a road movie. One day, the mentally disabled Laci is forced to become a father after a confused young girl steals a baby and says that he is the father. For her it is merely an exciting role play, but for her new partner it is a serious situation that he will try at all costs to solve. Filming with non-professional actors, Csuja makes use of the space and lighting conditions of original filming locations to make a sociorealistic movie with genre references. Produced by Gábor Ferenczy and András Muga at Focusfox, ‘Blossom Valley’ will be in Hungarian cinemas in autumn this year. Dorottya Zurbó's documentary, 'Six Easy Lessons', presents the everyday struggle of a young Somali refugee girl in Hungary. The idea came three years ago, when Zurbó studied documentary filmmaking in Brussels and
Young talent brings inspiration and courage to all generations of Hungarian cinema wanted to shoot her graduation film about child refugees who travel alone without any parental support. The camera follows Kafia’s everyday life, showing that true integration is a terribly difficult internal wrangle with cultural differences and involves complete self-indulgence. The film tries to present this psychological journey in a sensitive way. Following the premiere of ‘Behind the Column’ by Csaba Vékes at the Montreal International Film Festival last year, Zsófia Szilágyi’s ‘One Day’ is the second production to be completed in the framework of the Incubator Program. According to Ágnes Havas, the CEO of the Hungarian National Film Fund, to discover and develop young directors is an important goal for the fund. The international success of young filmmakers like László Nemes (‘Son of Saul’), Károly Ujj Mészáros (‘Liza the Fox-Fairy’), Ádám Császi (‘Land of Storms’), Virág Zomborácz (‘Afterlife’) and Lili Horváth (‘The Wednesday Child’) “proves that young talent brings inspiration and courage to all generations of Hungarian cinema”. The aim of the Incubator Program is therefore not just to offer the chance for young and talented filmmakers to make their debut films, but it is also for Hungarian cinema in general to be recognised on the international market. HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
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Hungarian Cinema at Cannes, 1968 It was exactly 50 years ago when the competition at the 21st Cannes International Film Festival was cancelled. The year was 1968. by Eszter Fazekas
It was the only occasion when two Hungarian feature films had been officially selected for the competition programme, which comprised 27 fulllength feature films. They were Miklós Jancsó’s Csillagosok katonák ‘The Red and White’ (1967) and Sándor Sára’s Feldobott kő ‘Upthrown Stone’ (1968). Hungary had known success the previous year, when Ferenc Kósa’s Tízezer Nap ‘Ten Thousand Suns’ won the prize for Best Director. Then, in 1968, Miloš Forman’s film ‘The Fireman’s Ball’ (1967), which was also nominated for the Academy Awards, Carlos Saura’s ‘Peppermint Frappé’ and Jiří Menzel’s ‘Tightrope Walker’ were, amongst others, scheduled to be in competition between 10–24 May. ‘The Red and White’
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The festival dates unluckily coincided with the student protests going on all throughout France. Many universities were closed and strikes were widespread. Despite all of that, the festival opened its doors on 10 May. Sándor Sára’s autobiographical film was screened: ‘Upthrown Stone’ looked at the bloody history of the 1950s with an unusual visual power. The main character is a young land surveyor who by the end of the film becomes a film director; through his theodolite, viewers can witness an inverted Hungary in a long shot. Sára’s film received applause from the festival audience, but 'The Red and White’ by Miklós 'Upthrown Stone' © Endre Bálint
‘The Red and White’ – werk © Tibor Inkey
Jancsó would never be screened because the festival was stopped. To show solidarity for the social movements across the country Directors of the Nouvelle Vague François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Lelouch, Claude Berri, Roman Polański, Louis Malle, Jean-Pierre Léaud and others fermented revolution in the grand hall of the festival centre; Monica Vitti, Roman Polański and Louis Malle resigned their seats on the jury; and Alain Resnais, Carlos Saura and Miloš Forman withdrew their films from competition and urged the closure of the festival and the democratisation of film production. Screenings were finally interrupted on 13 May. Jancsó’s grandiose film examines the structure of revolutionary forms of behaviour by modelling the 1918 Russian civil wars, similarly to Szegénylegények ‘The Round-Up’ in a specific historical situation. It was shown in Paris, then in Pesaro, where approximately 1 000 people watched it in stunned admiration. Jury member, Monica Vitti, later recalled that she would have liked Jancsó’s film to receive the Palme d’Or and expressed a desire to work with the director. A few years later, the opportunity arose to film in Italy with a screenplay by Giovanna Gagliardo 'La Pacifista' (1970). As a direct consequence of the Cannes ‘revolution’, on 14 June 1968 and at the initiative of the Société des Réalisateurs de Films, an event series (La Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, or Directors’
Fortnight in English) was established in parallel with the festival’s official programme, which became a forum for the world’s young writers and experimental filmmakers. Sixty-eight full-length feature films and 40 short films featured in the series’ first selection in 1969, including the Miklós Jancsó work Sirokkó ‘Winter Wind’ (1969), the film by Márta Mészáros Holdudvar ‘Binding Sentiments’ (1968) and Judit Elek’s Meddig él az ember ‘How Long Does Man Matter?’ (1967).
'Winter Wind'
As part of this year’s programme, the first two of those feature films were screened once again: ‘Winter Wind’ on 29 March and ‘Binding Sentiments’ on 12 April, and their posters can be seen on display in the framework of this year’s Directors’ Fortnight series in Cannes. 'Binding Sentiments' HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
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Coming Soon Upcoming films: various genres and authors, long-awaited first features and comebacks. This is where you can learn all about them. FESTIVALS: marta.benyei@filmalap.hu, kati.vajda@filmalap.hu INTERNATIONAL SALES: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
'Guerilla'
Rossz versek (Hu/Fr) dramedy DIRECTED BY GÁBOR REISZ PRODUCED BY JULI BERKES / PROTON CINEMA & LES FILMS DU BALIBARI
BAD POEMS 33-year-old Tamás Merthner is heartbroken after his girlfriend Anna, who is on a scholarship in Paris, breaks up with him. While wallowing in self-pity, Tamás takes a trip down memory lane to figure out if love only exists when it’s practically gone. As he tries to pick up the pieces, he realises that what makes this current society so confusing, also gives us a highly subjective view of Hungary’s present.
Virágvölgy (Hu) 1st feature film drama, road movie DIRECTED BY LÁSZLÓ CSUJA PRODUCED BY ANDRÁS MUHI, GÁBOR FERENCZY/ FOCUSFOX HNFF INCUBATOR PROGRAM SELECTION
Coming Soon
BLOSSOM VALLEY ‘Blossom Valley’ is a socio-realist movie that plays with the genre of lovers-on-therun. The actors are amateurs to whom these events didn’t happen, but could have happened. Bianka, 20, finds herself drifting in the suburbs without any particular purpose. She has the sudden urge to steal a baby, which she does, but now she has to find a father and a home. When none of her ex-boyfriends are willing to lend a hand, the only one happy to help is Laci, 21, who is mentally disabled and living in a workers’ hostel. Bianka sees this whole situation as little less than a thrilling role play, but Laci starts to love her and the baby, and will do whatever it takes to ensure a happy family life.
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Könnyű leckék (Hu) 1st feature film documentary DIRECTED BY DOROTTYA ZURBÓ PRODUCED BY JÚLIA UGRIN / ÉCLIPSE FILM HNFF INCUBATOR PROGRAM SELECTION
EASY LESSONS Kafia is 17 years old. Three years ago, she fled to Hungary on her own, escaping from a child marriage in Somalia. She has been living in a children’s home in Budapest ever since. She learns the language, goes to high school, prepares for the Hungarian graduation exam and has started a modelling career. On the surface, everything seems fine. However, behind that beautiful and confident appearance lies a heavy heart. Her repetitive daily routine revolves around constant dilemmas and self-doubt about leaving behind her Muslim culture and everything she grew up with. The film slowly becomes an intimate confession. What does it mean, on the brink of adulthood, to break with your past and fully give yourself up to a new self in order to live in Europe?
Guerilla (Hu) 1st feature film drama DIRECTED BY GYÖRGY MÓR KÁRPÁTI PRODUCED BY VIKTÓRIA PETRÁNYI, RÓBERT VÁMOS / PROTON CINEMA
GUERILLA
HNFF INCUBATOR PROGRAM SELECTION
The liberation war against the Habsburg Empire is close to its end in Hungary. Having hidden from military draft, Barnabás leaves his hometown and walks across the country to find and save his wounded brother who has been hiding with a guerrilla group deep in the forest. Despite their exhaustion and lack of food or information, they are still fighting for their cause. Barnabás finds his brother alienated and distrustful. The tension between the boys increases further when they turn out to be attracted to the same nurse in the camp. Hoping he can earn his brother’s trust and take him home, Barnabás decides to stay and lie about his past. In the meantime, he has to face the cruelty of war.
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Tegnap (Hu-Fr-Nl-De-Se-Mo) 1st feature film drama DIRECTED BY BÁLINT KENYERES PRODUCED BY ANDREA TASCHLER / MIRAGE FILM
HIER The central character, 50-year-old Victor Ganz, owns a thriving building and civil engineering company that operates worldwide. Some very costly problems on a building site in North Africa mean he has to go to a country where he is confronted with memories of his youth, which have been carefully buried in the depths of his mind. Meetings in ministries, disinformation, the reappearance of a past love who had mysteriously disappeared, and an investigation in the local underground to find her: Victor Ganz slowly plunges into a labyrinthine world where present and past intertwine.
Az Úr hangja (Hu/Ca) sci-fi DIRECTED BY GYÖRGY PÁLFI
Coming Soon
PRODUCED BY FERENC PUSZTAI / KMH FILM with QUITE REVOLUTION PICTURES
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HIS MASTER'S VOICE Based on the Stanisław Lem novel, ‘His Master’s Voice’ tells the story of a thirtysomething Hungarian journalist who has never met his father, who defected to the United States in the seventies and disappeared. However, himself about to start a family, he decides to travel to the States to find his father. As a scientist, his father worked in a research group which examined “voices” from space in search of evidence of extra-terrestrial intelligent life. Pálfi’s (‘Hukkle’, ‘Taxidermia’, ‘Free Fall’) new film aims to address the question of whether we are alone in the world, on the level of both the universe and the individual.
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Folyékony arany (Hu) documentary DIRECTED BY TAMÁS ALMÁSI PRODUCED BY JÚLIA UGRIN / ÉCLIPSE FILM
LIQUID GOLD Tokaj is one of the best-known wine regions in the world. In the past, King Louis XIV of France, Queen Victoria, Peter the Great, Empress Elizabeth of Russia, Goethe and Beethoven drank their sweet wine, Tokaji Aszú, which was referred to as the “Wine of Kings, King of Wines". But the region was almost destroyed in the 20th century, when World War II and later mass-production during the socialist era caused serious damage. Since 1989, the region has been fighting to re-establish its earlier fame and to become recognised as such again. But it has to face a new challenge: the global market. Can it compete with the biggest international wine producers while working in one of the most impoverished areas of Hungary?
Nyitva (Hu) 1st feature film dramedy DIRECTED BY ORSI NAGYPÁL PRODUCED BY GÁBOR KÁLOMISTA, DOROTTYA HELMECZY / MEGAFILM
OPEN This is a relationship dramedy about a couple in their 30s adventuring through the confusing thrills of non-monogamy. Hoping to escape the seemingly inevitable cheatings and betrayals, Fanni and Bálint come up with a desperate plan to save their loving but sexually deflated relationship by simply opening it. Hand in hand, they take a big splash into the brave new world of 21st century dating, realising too late that the waves can be quite murky and overwhelming. What at first seems like awkward fun later becomes a dangerous and painful game of trust and emotions. The film explores the challenges of modern-day mating from a strong female point of view, dealing with gender roles and our (false) expectations of sex and relationships, with quirky humour and honesty.
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Ruben Brandt, Collector (Hu) animation DIRECTED BY MILORAD KRSTIC PRODUCED BY PÉTER MISKOLCZI / RUBEN BRANDT PROD.
RUBEN BRANDT, COLLECTOR Ruben Brandt, a famous psychotherapist, is forced to steal 13 paintings from world-renowned museums and private collections to prevent his suffering from terrible nightmares. Accompanied by his four patients, he and his band of thieves strike regularly and with great success: the Louvre, Tate, Uffizi, Hermitage, MoMA… “The Collector” quickly becomes the most wanted criminal in the world. Gangsters and headhunters chase him around the world while the reward for his capture keeps rising, approaching a hundred million dollars. A cartel of insurance companies entrusts Mike Kowalski, a private detective and leading expert on art theft, to solve the “Collector Case.”
Sunset (Hu) drama DIRECTED BY LÁSZLÓ NEMES PRODUCED BY GÁBOR SIPOS, GÁBOR RAJNA / LAOKOON FILMGROUP
Coming Soon
SUNSET
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Laszlo Nemes, the Oscar- and Golden Globe-winner director of 'Son of Saul', returns with his sophomore feature which is set in 1913, Budapest, the heart of Europe. Irisz Leiter, 20, arrives in the Hungarian capital after spending her younger years in an orphanage. Hoping to work as a milliner in the legendary hat store which belonged to her late parents, she is first driven away by Oszkar, the new owner. When a man abruptly comes to her looking for “Kalman Leiter”, she is suddenly confronted with her past. As she searches for answers about her family and stumbles upon dark secrets, she is drawn into the turmoil of a civilisation on the eve of its downfall.
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Apró mesék (Hu) historical thriller DIRECTED BY ATTILA SZÁSZ PRODUCED BY ÁBEL KÖVES, TAMÁS LAJOS / FILM POSITIVE
TALL TALES Set in Hungary in 1945, shortly after the end of World War II, when chaos and insecurity reign supreme in the country, ‘Tall Tales’ tells the story of a conman who is trying to take advantage of these confused times, when an unexpected encounter changes the course of his life. This twist-filled historical thriller with a romantic plot at its centre is the fourth collaboration between director Attila Szász and screenwriter Norbert Köbli, following swiftly on from multi-award winning TV productions including ‘Demimonde’ and ‘The Ambassador to Bern’.
X (Hu) thriller, drama DIRECTED BY KÁROLY UJJ MÉSZÁROS PRODUCED BY ATTILA TŐZSÉR, ANDRÁS MUHI / FOCUSFOX
X Personal dramas and a murder mystery unfold in present-day Budapest, where the demonstrations of an angry new generation are part of the pre-election life of a city; where the historical and recent past still haunts its people, resulting in concealed and horrendous crimes. It is a city where nothing seems honest and true, except an emotionally unstable policewoman and her misfit daughter who wants to know who her father truly was. This drama-thriller is the second feature film by the director of the multi-awardwinning, 2015 box-office hit, ‘Liza, the Fox-Fairy’.
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New Films from
Hungary Flip through the latest titles in every genre and learn about the cast, crew and contacts.
'Lajko - Gypsy in Space'
1945
A KIND OF AMERICA 3
93 min, 2017
(Valami Amerika 3) 103 min, 2018
Director: Ferenc Török Main cast: Péter Rudolf, Eszter Nagy–Kálózy, Tamás Szabó Kimmel, Bence Tasnádi Producers: Iván Angelusz, Péter Reich, Ferenc Török Production company: Katapult Film Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
Director: Gábor Herendi Main cast: Csaba Pindroch, Győző Szabó, Ferenc Hujber, Eszter Ónodi, Szonja Oroszlán Producers: Gábor Herendi, Mónika Nagy, Eleonóra Peták Production company: Skyfilm Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
On a sweltering August day in Hungary in 1945, villagers prepare for the wedding of the town clerk’s son. Meanwhile, two strangers arrive at the village train station with mysterious boxes labelled “fragrances”. The villagers are afraid that survivors will return, posing a threat to the properties and possessions they acquired during the war. Director-screenwriter Ferenc Török (Budapest, 1971) is a prominent figure of the new generation of Hungarian filmmakers who are said to have appeared on the scene in 2000. After graduating from the Academy of Drama and Film and directing a number of successful shorts, Török made his first feature, the emblematic ‘Moscow Square’ (Moszkva tér, 2001), which became one of the most important cult films after the regime change.
Feature Film
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Hungarian Film Awards – Best Actor, Best Music Composer 2018 – Palm Springs International Film Festival 2017 – Miami Jewish Film Festival – Audience Award 2017 – San Diego Jewish Film Festival 2017 – Budapest Titanic International Film Festival 2017 – Berlin International Film Festival, Panorama section – 3rd Place, Audience Award 2017 – Warsaw Jewish Film Festival – Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Audience Award 2017 – San Francisco Jewish Film Festival – San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award, Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Selected at more than 20 festivals. Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
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Thanks to conman Alex, loser brothers Tamás, Ákos and András get into situations that are even more impossible than ever. Circumstances are further complicated by the police and two rival mafia gangs, run by Bala and Toni. The hunt is on for a mysterious stamp worth millions of euros, and the boys’ fate is once again in danger. Eszter and Timi join in the fun in the race against the clock. Will the hapless bunch manage to escape unharmed again? After several years of working as a creative director for the advertising agency BBDO Hungary, Gábor Herendi (1960) started his own commercial production company, Skyfilm Studio, in 1991. After 10 years and over 500 commercial spots, he decided to direct his first feature film, ‘A Kind of America’ (Valami Amerika, 2001). Herendi is the winner of many awards, including the Highest Cinema Admissions Award, which he has received three times. Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
AURORA BOREALIS
BEHIND THE COLUMN
(Aurora Borealis – Északi fény) 104 min, 2017
(Hetedik alabárdos) 86 min, 2017 | 1st feature
Director: Márta Mészáros Main cast: Mari Törőcsik, Ildikó Tóth, Franciska Törőcsik, Antonio de la Torre, Hary Prinz, Lesław Żurek Producers: István Major, Gül Togay Production company: Filmteam Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
Director: Csaba Vékes Main cast: Gergely Bánki, Ilona Sárközi-Nagy, Zoltán Bezerédi, Ervin Nagy, Dénes Ujlaki, Tünde Murányi, Gábor Ónodi Producers: Gábor Herendi, Eszter Fancsikai, Péter Fancsikai, Csaba Vékes, Zsolt Szentesi Production companies: Skyfilm, Backfront, Blue Duck, Blue Duck Arts Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
“If you want to tell the truth, honesty is not enough.” Living in Vienna, Olga realises that there are secrets and lies in her family’s past, and she will not be able to put her own life in order until she works out the truth of what really happened. After returning to Hungary, her elderly mother did everything in her power to keep the past a secret from her daughter and lied to her for years, but when she falls into a coma, Olga finds a mysterious photograph and starts to search for the truth. Auteur of ‘Adoption’ (Golden Bear, Berlinale, 1975), ‘Nine Months’ (FIPRESCI prize, Cannes, 1977) and ‘Diary for my Children’ (Grand Prix, Cannes, 1984), Márta Mészáros has once again directed a film that examines a social taboo, this time exploring the story of children fathered by occupying Russian soldiers. Festivals and awards: 2018 – Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2018 – Belgrade International Film Festival 2018 – Créteil Woman Films Festival 2018 – Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival 2018 – Vienna Let's CEE Film Festival 2018 – Wiesbaden GoEast Film Festival 2017 – Calcutta International Film Festival 2017 – Luxembourg CinÉast, Opening Film 2017 – Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2017 – Warsaw International Film Festival 2017 – Chicago International Film Festival, Audience Award Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
This film examines the career of an unsuccessful actor who suddenly finds himself pulled from the wings to become the leading stage director in a theatre, where he struggles to achieve his own dreams and battles to keep the company together. Set in the world of modern theatrical life, this satire, due to its very nature, has a certain sense of the surreal. “This story was inspired by 13 years spent working in theatre and is built on my own experiences, imagination and stifled aspirations. When you spend this long in the profession you soon see the viciousness beyond the velvet. The ‘temple of culture’ provides the perfect setting for sharp satire with a complex cast of charismatic characters from the all-powerful porter to the back-office harpies. That's the story I wanted to tell.” Csaba Vékes graduated as an actor in 2006 from the University of Kaposvár. In 2009 he founded the Blue Duck Arts Screenwriter Company. His first short film, ‘Station’, was presented at the Montreal World Film Festival in 2015. His second short film, ‘Mood-Swing’, won the Best Young Audiences Prize at the Guimarães Cinema Som Festival. ‘Behind the Column’ is his first feature film. Festivals and awards: 2017 – Montreal International Film Festival 2018 – Miskolc Jameson CineFest International Film Festival Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund HNFF Incubator Program selection
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
55
KINCSEM - BET ON REVENGE
BRAZILS
(Kincsem) 121 min, 2017
(Brazilok) 95 min, 2017 | 1st feature
Director: Gábor Herendi Main cast: Ervin Nagy, Andrea Petrik, Tibor Gáspár Producers: Tamás Hutlassa, Gábor Herendi Production company: Café Film Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
Directors: Csaba M. Kiss, Gábor Rohonyi Main cast: Erik Lakatos, Barnabás Bergendi, Dániel Viktor Nagy Producers: Mónika Mécs, Ernő Mesterházy Production company: M&M Film Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
Hungarian aristocrat and supreme horse trainer Sándor Blaskovich is killed by his former friend, the Austrian officer Otto von Oettingen, while arresting him for treason. von Oettingen takes over the Blaskovich castle with his young daughter Klára, while Sándor’s orphaned son Ernő has to move to a poor labourer’s cottage.
Feature Film
Ernő cannot forgive von Oettingen for taking his father’s life, land and honour. Years later, he goes on to purchase and train a magnificent horse called Kincsem, which he believes will be his winning ticket to regaining the family home. The horse grows into an unbeatable champion but is wild and unruly just like the woman who also shows a keen interest in Kincsem: Klára von Oettingen. After several years of working as a creative director for the advertising agency BBDO Hungary, Gábor Herendi (1960) started his own commercial production company, Skyfilm Studio, in 1991. After 10 years and over 500 commercial spots, he decided to direct his first feature film, ‘A Kind of America’ (Valami Amerika, 2001). Herendi is the winner of many awards, including the Highest Cinema Admissions Award, which he has received three times.
Csaba M. Kiss is a reporter and editor. Since 2012, he directed several commercials. Gábor Rohonyi graduated as film director from the Hungarian Academy of Drama and Film; he directed commercials, music videos, television programs and series. In 2007, his first full-length feature film ‘KONYEC’ won the Best Genre Film Award and the Prize of the Audience at the 38th Hungarian Film Week.
Festivals and awards: Festivals and awards: 2018 – Hungarian Film Awards – Best Costume Design, Best Makeup & Hair, Audience Award 2017 – Wine Country Film Festival – Best International Feature, Best Cinematograpy, Best Screenplay 2017 – Kyoto Historica International Film Festival 2017 – Alter-Native Film Festival Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
56
An ethno-tale with humour and tears. Chaos erupts among the Gypsy population of the town of Acsa when the mayor, urged by the new young priest of the village, announces that the Gypsy football team called 'Brazils' can also take part in the football championship of the village. Thanks to a Brazilian millionaire originally from Acsa, the winning team will be invited to Rio de Janeiro. And so the championship begins. Events, emotions and anger take unpredictable directions. Those who end up winning were not supposed to win, and those who find love were not supposed to fall in love with each other.
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
2018 – Wiesbaden GoEast Film Festival 2018 – Bologna Youngabout Film Festival 2017 – Sao Paulo International Film Festival 2017 – Royal Bali International Film Festival – Best Foreign Film Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
BUDAPEST NOIR
THE BUTCHER, THE WHORE AND THE ONE-EYED MAN
95 min, 2017
(A hentes, a kurva és a félszemű) 105 min, 2017
Director: Éva Gárdos Main cast: Krisztián Kolovratnik, Réka Tenki, Tamás Fodor, János Kulka, Adél Kováts Producer: Ildikó Kemény Production company: Pioneer Pictures Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
Director: János Szász Main cast: Dorka Gryllus, Géza Hegedűs D., Zsolt Nagy Producer: István Bodzsár Production company: Unio Film Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
Set in the politically troubled autumn of 1936, this story follows Zsigmond Gordon, a world-weary reporter asking unwanted questions about the seemingly unimportant murder of a young prostitute found beaten to death and dumped in a courtyard. While supposedly covering the funeral of fascist-leaning, real-life Hungarian prime minister Gyula Gömbös, Gordon’s investigation leads him deep into the city’s dark underbelly – a shady world of pornographers, fixers, all-night “smokers”, boxing rings, seedy brothels, powerful crime syndicates and communist cells – all the way to the highest echelons of power, where one of Hungary’s most influential businessmen plans to make a fortune through his political ties with Germany’s leadership – as long as he can somehow keep his Jewish heritage a secret. Originally published in 2008, the novel ‘Budapest Noir’ proved popular with both public and critics and became an instant bestseller, which sparked several sequels and has gone on to appear in numerous languages around the world. Éva Gárdos (Budapest, 1950) is known for her work on 'American Rhapsody' (2001, director) and 'Children of Glory' (2006, editor).
1925 saw a terrible scandal shake the city of Budapest. Ferenc Kudelka was slaughtered in his own abattoir, cut up, bundled into suitcases and carried through the city streets to eventually be dumped in the Danube. This gruesome crime was committed in cold blood but in an atrociously amateur fashion by a former gendarme, Gusztáv Léderer, and his ex-prostitute wife Mária. Kudelka the butcher falls passionately in love with the wife of the former gendarme, with the full knowledge and assistance of her husband: he is able to spend hours of pleasure with the man’s wife in return for a small amount of money. Driven by greed, the Léderer couple – after two failed attempts – eventually succeed in killing Ferenc Kudelka. János Szász (Budapest, 1958) studied drama and stage direction at the Academy of Theatre and Film Arts and spent four years at the National Theatre Budapest. His feature films are: 'Don't Disturb!' (1990), 'Woyzeck' (1994) and 'The Witman Boys' (1997), 'Opium – Diary of a Madwoman' (2007), 'Le Grand Cahier' (2013) and 'The Butcher, the Whore and the One-eyed Man' (2017).
Festivals and awards: Festivals and awards: 2018 – Atlanta Jewish Film Festival 2018 – Hungarian Film Awards – Best Special Makeup 2018 – Whistler Film Festival 2017 – Chicago International Film Festival 2017 – Hollywood Music In Media Awards – Best Original Score, Independent Film (Foreign Language) Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
2018 – Porto Fantasporto Oporto International Film Festival – Critics’ Jury Award 2018 – Vienna Let’s CEE Film Festival 2017 – Haifa International Film Festival 2017 – Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2017 – Ghent Flanders International Film Festival 2017 – Bydgoszcz Camerimage International Film Festival Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
57
COYOTE
GENESIS
(Kojot) 127 min, 2017 | 1st feature
(Genezis) 120 min, 2018
Director: Márk Kostyál Cast: András Mészáros, Mária Dobra, László Mátray, Attila Bocsárszky, Levente Orbán, Frigyes Kovács, Gabriella Szabó, Lehel Salat Producers: Gábor Kálomista, Dorottya Helmeczy Production company: Megafilm Ltd. Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
Director: Árpád Bogdán Main cast: Anna Marie Cseh, Enikő Anna Illési, Milán Csordás Producers: Andrea Taschler, Gábor Ferenczy Production company: Mirage Film, FocusFox Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
Sultry heat, dinginess, unspoken social problems and hierarchical infighting. This is the town of Tűzkő, somewhere in present-day Hungary. This is where Misi arrives to inherit his grandfather’s house and property. Misi is a disillusioned and frustrated young man who is constantly on the run and does not find his place in the world, in work or in relationships. He commits himself to rebuilding the house with some of his friends, which disrupts the interests of the local leaders. Serious struggles ensue for the land, for love and for life. Misi transforms into a coyote in all respects. This is a real Eastern with extraordinary imagery. Márk Kostyál is an actor and director, known for 'Coyote' (2017), 'Eastern Sugar' (2004) and several commercials.
Feature Film
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Vienna Let’s CEE Film Festival 2017 – European Film Festival Palic 2017 – Alter-Native Film Festival 2017 – Braunschweig International Film Festival Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
Genesis provides a dramatic depiction of sin, catharsis and rebirth. The story is formed around the fate of a young Roma boy, whose childhood reaches a sudden and drastic end when he loses his family in a tragic and brutal attack. Already buried in her work, a young female lawyer succumbs to pressure from her superior and undertakes the defence of one of the men facing trial for the part he reputedly played in this infamous series of racist murders. It is while researching the case that she comes into contact with the young boy, called as a witness, and this chance meeting changes both their lives forever. A mysterious teenage girl also becomes involved when her boyfriend’s dark secrets come to light. With strong biblical roots, the story is told via the journeys of very different individuals from completely separate sections of society whose paths never cross but whose fates become intricately entwined as they twist through the shadow cast by this horrendous crime. The protagonists in Genesis decide their various fates based on the universal human values of faith in life, solidarity and responsibility, and each is then presented with the chance of a new beginning, a new life. Árpád Bogdán (1980) lived in a children’s home from the age of 4. He started working as an actor and stage director in theatres during his college years. He has organised creative forums for disadvantaged children using various aspects of theatre, film and literature. His directorial debut, ‘Happy New Life’ (2007), received international acclaim at several festivals and was premiered in the Panorama section at the Berlinale 2007 and won the Special Mention of the Jury.
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Sofia International Film Festival – Special Jury Award, Student Jury: Best Feature 2018 – Berlin International Film Festival, Panorama Special Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund 58
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
JUPITER'S MOON
LAJKO - GYPSY IN SPACE
(Jupiter holdja) 122 min, 2017
(Lajkó – Cigány az űrben) 90 min, 2018
Director: Kornél Mundruczó Main cast: Merab Ninidze, György Cserhalmi, Zsombor Jéger, Móni Balsai Producers: Viktória Petrányi, Viola Fügen, Michael Weber Production companies: Proton Cinema and Match Factory Productions Festivals, sales: info@matchfactory.de
Director: Balázs Lengyel Main cast: Tamás Keresztes, József Gyabronka, Tibor Pálffy, Anna Böger, László Fehér, Beniuk Bohdan Producer: Ferenc Pusztai Production company: KMH Film Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
A young immigrant is shot down while illegally crossing the border. Terrified and in shock, wounded Aryan can now mysteriously levitate at will. Thrown into a refugee camp, he is smuggled out by Dr Stern, who is intent on exploiting his extraordinary secret. Pursued by the enraged camp director László, the fugitives remain on the move in search of safety and money. Inspired by Aryan’s amazing powers, Dr Stern takes a leap of faith in a world where miracles are trafficked for small change… Kornél Mundruczó is a Hungarian screenwriter, film and theatre director and the founder of Proton Cinema and Proton Theatre. His cinematic works have received international acclaim. Among numerous nominations and awards, his 2014 film ‘White God’ won him the Un Certain Regard Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Festivals and awards:
This black comedy allows us to learn that the first living being in space was not actually a dog called Lajka but a Hungarian crop-sprayer by the name of Lajkó. We discover that, in early 1957, the Soviet Union decides to give Hungary the honour of providing the first cosmonaut to orbit in space. The most suitable candidate turns out to be none other than Lajos Serbán, known to all as Lajkó, whose life as a pilot reflects his lifelong attraction to the stars and an unexplored infinity with outer space. When he is eventually selected for this daring mission, he has little notion of the fact that it is not by chance that his dreams are set to come true… Balázs Lengyel is a Hungarian writer-director, who has worked as a writer on several features, tv projects, and the award winning HBO series, Golden Life. Lajkó – Gypsy in Space is his directorial debut. Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
2018 – Hungarian Film Awards – Best Cinematographer, Best Production Designer 2017 – Cannes International Film Festival 2017 – Ostend Film Festival – Best Cinematographer 2017 – Sitges International Film Festival – Best Feature Length Film, Best Special Effects, Time Machine Career Achievement Award for Kornél Mundruczó 2017 – Austin Fantastic Fest – Best Director 2017 – Manaki Brothers Film Festival – Best Cinematographer Selected at more than 20 festivals. Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
59
THE LEGEND OF KING SOLOMON
MANHOOD
(Salamon király kalandjai) 80 min, 2017
(Férfikor) 79 min, 2017
Director: Albert Hanan Kaminski Producers: Réka Temple, Edna Kowarsky Production companies: Cinemon Entertainment / Eden Productions Festivals: angela@prettyps.co.uk Sales: simon@scfilmsinternational.com Eastern Europe Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
Director: Péter Politzer Main cast: Márton Szipál, Samu Fischer, Antónia Bodó, Péter Vass, Cecília Esztergályos Producer: Iván Angelusz Production company: Katapult Film, Focusfox Studio Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: politzerp@gmail.com
Feature Film
Solomon is a humorous adaptation for children of folk tales about a legendary king. Young Solomon falls in love at first sight with the Queen of Sheba, who has arrived to gauge his wisdom. In his eagerness to impress her, he breaks his late father’s command and releases the devil Asmodeus from his prison at the heart of Earth. The latter takes over the kingdom and blows Solomon away to the desert. There he meets Princess Naama who falls in love with him and assists him in locating the Shamir, a magical creature that can carve into stone and return Asmodeus back to hell, putting an end to his tyrannical thirst for power. Albert Hanan Kaminski is the director of several international theatrical animated feature films, screened in more than 60 countries, and of a dozen acclaimed TV series. Amongst them: ‘The Real Shlemiel’; ‘Pettson and Findus – The Cat and the Old Man’s Year’; ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘The Wumblers’. In 2015 Hanan Kaminski received the Pulcinella Career Award at the Cartoons on the Bay – International Television and Cross-media Animation Festival in Venice. He is presently working as an associate professor at the Tel-Aviv University and at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem where he created the Animation Studies Programme.
Péter Politzer is a hungarian director and editor, born in 1974 in Budapest. He studied art history and film theory. He has edited more than ten feature films and fifty commercials. He has directed several short films, debuting in 2003 with 'Grenades'. 'Manhood' (2017) is the first feature film he directed and edited himself.
Festivals and awards: 2017 – Warsaw International Film Festival Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Hungarian Film Awards 2018 – Milan CDEC Centro di Documentazione Ebraica Contemporanea 2018 – Turin Cartoons on the Bay – Pulcinella Awards 2018 – Venice Il Pitigliani Kolno'a Festival Ebraismo e Israele nel Cinema 2018 – Washington Jewish Film Festival 2017 – Roma Il Pitigliani Kolno'a Festival Ebraismo e Israele nel Cinema 2017 – ANIMA Córdoba International Animation Festival 2017 – Haifa International Film Festival Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
60
Rites of manhood from the lives of three males in Budapest. Ninety-one-year-old Dezso, who weaves the last strands into his rich tapestry of a life and says he was a cheat his whole life because he was a photographer. Forty-year-old double bassist Frank, who has to deal with kids, work and unexpected problems of his own making; he calls himself a circus juggler. And 13-year-old Samu, who lost his mother a week before. He doesn't remember his father because he went back to Cameroo.
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
ON BODY AND SOUL
ONE DAY
(Testről és lélekről) 116 min, 2017
(Egy nap) 99 min, 2018
Director: Ildikó Enyedi Main cast: Géza Morcsányi, Alexandra Borbély, Zoltán Schneider Producers: Mónika Mécs, András Muhi, Ernő Mesterházy Production company: Inforg – M&M Film Kft. Festivals: louis@filmsboutique.com Sales: emma@filmsboutique.com
Director: Zsófia Szilágyi Main cast: Zsófi Szamosi, Leo Füredi, Ambrus Barcza, Zorka Varga-Blaskó, Márk Gárdos, Annamária Láng, Éva Vándor, Károly Hajduk Producers: Ági Pataki, Edina Kenesei Production company: Filmpartners Festivals: isabel@filmsboutique.com Sales: louis@filmsboutique.com
By complete chance, two introverts find out that they share the same dream every night. They are puzzled, incredulous and a bit frightened. As they hesitantly accept this strange coincidence, they try to recreate what happens in their dream in broad daylight. Ildikó Enyedi has written and directed five feature films and several shorts, for which she has won more than forty international prizes. She is also a member of the European Film Academy.
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Academy Awards – Best Foreign Language Film, nominated 2018 – Hungarian Film Awards – Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress 2018 – Lecce European Cinema Festival – Golden Olive Tree Award for Career Achievement 2017 – Berlinale International Film Festival – Golden Bear, Fipresci Prize, Ecumenical Jury Prize, Berliner Morgenpost’s Reader Jury Prize 2017 – Hong Kong International Film Festival 2017 – Sydney Film Festival – Sydney Film Prize 2017 – European Film Awards – Best European Actress (Alexandra Borbély) 2017 – Camerimage – Golden Frog Award for the cinematography Selected at more than 20 festivals.
Anna is 40. She is always in a rush. She has three children, a husband, a job and financial stress. Anna meets deadlines, makes promises, takes care of things, brings stuff home and remembers everything. But she never catches up with her husband. She’d like to talk to him. She feels she is losing him. And she feels she can’t always evade what comes next. A clash between the everyday, the unbearably monotonous and the fragile and unique. Zsófia Szilágyi graduated from the University of Pécs in 2002. She continued her education as a film and tv director at the Academy of Film and Drama of Budapest from 2002 to 2007. In 2011 she won the Scholarship of Goethe Institute in Hamburg. She also worked, casting directed Ildikó Enyedi’s Oscar nominated ’On Body and Soul'. One Day, is her first feature film and is selected at Cannes' Critics' Week.
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Cannes International Film Festival – Critics’ Week Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund HNFF Incubator Program selection
Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
61
Feature Film
PAPPA PIA
SINISTER SHADOW
105 min, 2017
(Rossz árnyék) 94 min, 2018
Director: Gábor Csupó Main cast: Bernadett Ostorházi, Tamás Szabó Kimmel, Feró Nagy, Vera Kováts, András Mózes, András Stohl Producers: Attila Tőzsér, Gábor Kálomista Production company: Focus Fox Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
Director: András Jeles Main cast: Zsigmond Gerlóczi, Orsolya Török-Illyés, Györgyi Kari, Tibor Pálffy, Dalma Tenki, Dalma Berger Producers: András Tóth, András Muhi, Gábor Ferenczy Production company: Focusfox Studio Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
Papi is the world’s dodgiest pensioner, with only a winning smile to offer by way of payment. With nowhere to live, he sets up home in a boathouse on the banks of the Danube. No sooner is he settled than Wizy, his neighbour and the owner of a flashy discotheque, sets his sights on Papi’s home, which he wants to turn into a stunning nightspot. Far from phased but with little idea of what to do, the old man seeks assistance from his grandson Tomi. The kid is a little less dodgy than his grandpa but with plenty more charm, and is keen to call on his mates to lend a hand.
The leading characters in this symbolic film are a young man with special abilities and his restorer father. The central motif is an emblematic work, The Ambassadors, painted by the Renaissance artist Hans Holbein the Younger, of which the restorer is commissioned by his friend to produce a perfect replica. The masterpiece slowly reveals its hidden messages as we learn that reproducing an artwork of such painterly ability but also a journey of discovery that sheds a bright light on his life to date and presents us with a terryfying question.
This gang of hapless hopefuls takes on the might of Wizy and his thugs and attempts the impossible: to temporarily transform the boathouse into a ruin pub to collect the cash they need to survive.
András Jeles made his first feature film 'The First Fling' in 1979. In the eighties he founded an avantgarde theatre company called the "Monteverdi Wrestling Circle". Along his experimental films, the Béla Balázs Studio also made video recordings of these theatre performances.
Their hopes are many and their chances are few – but in a romantic comedy such as this, where everyone is a musician and/or in love, anything can happen. And at least that gives us the chance to listen to a whole stack of oldies but goodies… Gabor Csupo is a Hungarian-American animator, film director, and producer. He is the co-founder of animation studio Klasky Csupo.
Festivals and awards: 2017 – Hungarian Film Festival of Los Angeles Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
62
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
THE TROUPE
THE WHISKEY BANDIT
(Vándorszínészek) 102 min, 2018
(A Viszkis) 126 min, 2017
Director: Pál Sándor Main cast: Péter Rudolf, Dorina Martinovics, Géza Hegedűs D., Sándor Gáspár, Eszter Nagy-Kálózy, Attila Vidnyánszky Jr., Tamás Mohai, Péter Végh, Jazmin Gonzales Producer: Pál Sándor Production company: Film Street Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
Director: Nimród Antal Main cast: Bence Szalay, Piroska Móga, Zoltán Schneider, György Gazsó, Viktor Klem, Gábor Csöre, Imre Csuja, Tamás Keresztes Producers: Tamás Hutlassa, Barnabás Hutlassa Production company: Café Film Festivals: kati.vajda@fimalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
When a handful of travelling actors perform a play, an angry fist fight erupts. A young soldier sides with them in the scuffle. After he is forced to flee, the troupe takes him in and together they rattle in a cart from village to village, on their way to Budapest. It seems like a lucky escape, but little does he know what awaits him. A hanging, seduction, a duel, and love, on and maybe off stage. If he knew, perhaps, just possibly, he would join them anyway. After being an intern at, and working as stage manager for the Hungarian Film Production Company (MAFILM) Pál Sándor graduated from the Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in film directing in 1964. While being employed by the Hungarian Film Production Company he was also member of the Béla Balázs Studio. In his films, like in his first feature film 'Clowns on the Wall' he was first to represent the teenagers of the sixties searching for a place in society. Since 1989 he has been manager and producer of Hunnia Filmstúdió. Recognitions: Béla Balázs Award (1972), Merited Artist (1979), Outstanding Artist (1987).
Between 1993 and 1999, one man robbed 29 financial institutions in Budapest. Banks, post offices and travel agencies fell victim to his criminal spree. The police had no leads and no hope of finding him during his six-year stint. The only clue left behind at the crime scenes was the distinct aroma of whiskey. Which is why the media named him the 'Whiskey Bandit'. Never physically harming anyone, many began to follow his escapades through the media and soon even started to root for him. His capture would only bring more intrigue. A Transylvanian immigrant who also happened to be a goalie for one of the city’s largest hockey teams, Attila Ambrus was eventually identified as the 'Whiskey Bandit'. The police had finally captured him... or so they thought. Antal Nimród is best known for writing and directing the Hungarian-language film 'Kontroll' (2003), which won numerous awards, including the Award of the Youth at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Hugo (main prize) at the Chicago International Film Festival, as well as a European Film Award nomination for Best Director. His other well-known movies are: 'Predators' (2010), 'Metallica Through the Never' (2013), 'Wayward Pines' (1 episode, 2015).
Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund Festivals and awards: 2018 – Hungarian Film Awards – Best Editor, Best Sound Editor 2018 – Vienna Let’s CEE Film Festival 2018 – Minneapolis St.Paul International Film Festival 2017 – Chicago International Film Festival 2017 – Warsaw International Film Festival Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
63
BARTÓK
GRANNY PROJECT
61 min, 2017
(Nagyi projekt) 90 min, 2018
Director: József Sipos Cast: Péter Bartók Producer: Krisztina Détár Production company: Filmnet Production Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: pcnfilm@pcnfilm.hu
Director: Bálint Révész Cast: Rosanne Cholchester, Gudrun Dechamps, Lívia Révész, Meredith Cholchester Producers: László Kántor, Bálint Révész Production companies: Új Budapest Filmstúdió, Gallivant Film Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: rev.balint@gmail.com
The position of Béla Bartók in the world’s universal musical history is well-known and clear to everyone. Do we really know his personality, his attitude to his birthplace and to the world or his human character? Our film tries to find an answer to what kind of person Bartók was as a private person, a patriot, a public figure and a cosmopolitan.
Festivals and awards:
Festivals and awards:
2018 – Moscow International Film Festival
2018 – Copenhagen CPH:DOX International Documentary Festival 2018 – Toronto Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2017 – DOK Leipzig – International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
Feature Documentary
Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
Ali is a Hungarian film director (over 50, grey hair, not completely bald yet), who is no longer making films. The question is: what has happened to him? One day, he gets a phone call from Hong Kong, and decides to find an answer to the question in Mong Kok on the 37th floor. Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
LET THE DRAGON OUT 74 min, 2018 Director: György Pálos Main cast: György Pálos, Tamás Waliczky, Roland Gyuris Producer: György Pálos Production company: Közgáz Vizuális Brigád Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu
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Three grandsons embark with their grannies on an anarchic journey into the past – a complex road movie about intergenerational dialogue in Great Britain, Germany and Hungary.
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
THE NEXT GUARDIAN
PICTURESQUE EPOCHS
(A monostor gyermekei) 74 min, 2017
(Festői korszakok) 133 min, 2017
Directors: Dorottya Zurbó, Arun Bhattarai Main cast: Tashi, Gyembo, Tenzin, Phub Lamo Producers: Julianna Ugrin (Éclipse Film), Arun Bhattarai (Sound Pictures) Production companies: Éclipse Film, Sound Pictures Festivals, sales: aleksandar@syndicado.com
Director: Péter Forgács Experts: Márton Kurutz, László Lugosi Lugo, János Varga, Péter Forgács Producer: László Kántor Production companies: Fest Film, Matrix Film Festivals: kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu Sales: klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu
Festivals and awards: 2018 – DOK.fest München Film Festival – SOS-Kinderdörfer Award 2018 – SEOUL International Women’s Film Festival 2018 – Budapest International Documentary Film Festival
Mária Gánóczy (1927-) is a painter and a film aficionado who comes from a family of female artists dating as far back as her great-grandparents. She raised nine children with her husband József Breznay (1916-2012), a fellow painter. Gánóczy’s films and paintings immortalised the checkered history of Central Europe.
Festivals and awards: 2017 – Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival 2018 – Trieste Film Festival
A 'Woman Captured' is about Marish, a 52-year-old Hungarian woman who has been serving a family for a decade, working 20 hours a day – without getting paid. Her ID was taken from her by her oppressors and she's not allowed to leave the house without permission. Treated like an animal, she only gets leftovers to eat and no bed to sleep in. Marish spends her days with fear in her heart, but dreams of getting her life back. The presence of the camera helps her realise she isn’t completely alone. She begins to show signs of trust; after 2 years of shooting, she gathers up her courage and reveals her plan: "I am going to escape."
A WOMAN CAPTURED (Egy nő fogságban) 89 min, 2017 Director: Bernadett Tuza-Ritter Producers: Julianna Ugrin, Viki Réka Kiss Production company: Éclipse Film Festivals: viki.reka@gmail.com Sales: aleksandar@syndicado.com
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Hungarian Film Awards – Best Documentary 2018 – Sundance Film Festival – World Cinema Documentary Competition 2018 – ZagrebDox International Documentary Film Festival 2017 – Amsterdam IDFA International Documentary Film Festival
Feature Documentary
The contrasting dreams of two generations clash within the microcosm of an ancient Buddhist monastery in Bhutan when Gyembo, an ordinary teenager, is chosen by his father to be the next guardian of the family’s monastery.
Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
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FOUR DAYS
THE DREAM OF EUROPE
(Négy nap) 57 min, 2017
(Európa álma) 50 min, 2017
Director: Tamás Babos Producers: Attila Nóti-Nagy, Erika Kissimon Production company: Central European Media Group Festivals, sales: notinagy@gmail.com
Director: Peter Szalay Main cast: Ádám Bella, Harald Jäger, László Nagy Producers: Sándor Buglya, András Péterffy Production company: Dunatáj Foundation Budapest Festivals: szalay.peter@t-online.hu Sales: szalay.peter@t-online.hu, dunataj@gmail.com
On 31st October 1956, the communist party leader János Kádár praised the revolution in his most courageous speech, calling it a glorious and honourable fight against the sins of the regime. The following day he disappeared from Budapest and no one knew that he had in fact flown to Moscow. Almost a week later, on 4th November, Kádár returned on a Soviet tank column directly from the Soviet Union to defeat the Hungarian revolution. What happened in those four days? Why did Kádár decide to betray the revolution and the country’s prime minister at the time, Imre Nagy? This story has never before been covered in a documentary.
Tamás Babos is originally a cinematographer with a wide range of credits and several international awards. His first work as a director, a fictional television film entitled ‘White Arrow’, was produced in 2010 and was also about János Kádár and the communist era.
1989 was a pivotal year in the history of Europe. Árpád Bella, a lieutenant colonel of the Hungarian border guard, and Harald Jäger, his German colleague, got into eerily similar situations. "The time of the lieutenant colonels has come!", commented Bella. Has "The Dream of Europe" come true?
Péter Szalay has been teaching documentary filmmaking at several universities. His greatest Hungarian success was the documentary ‘Borderline Case’ about the last victim of the Iron Curtain. He received the Hungarian Film Festival Award. His films regularly participate in competitions at festivals around the world (e.g. Krakow Film Fest).
TV Documentary
Festivals and awards:
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Festivals and awards:
2018 – Hungarian Film Awards
2018 – Hungarian Film Awards
Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
JÓZSEF ANTALL, THE UNKNOWN
THREE DANCES
(Az ismeretlen Antall József) 52 min, 2017
(Három tánc) 78 / 52 min, 2018
Director: András Dér Main cast: Klára Antall, Péter Antall, Pál Bolberitz, Géza Buzinkay Producers: András Muhi, Gábor Ferenczy Production company: Focusfox Festivals, sales: rafay.aniko@focusfox.hu
Director: Glória Halász Cast: students of the Hungarian Dance Academy Producer: Gábor Osváth Production company: Filmfabriq Festivals: info@filmfabriq.hu Sales: arianna.castoldi@groupe-ab.fr
Based on material found from archives and interviews that simultaneously complement and contradict each other, this film depicts the life of the prime minister József Antall through both national and international assessments using a unique perspective.
András Dér is a freelance filmmaker and theatre director. He has made several documentaries, features, short features and TV films. He has worked for different film companies, including Channel 4, as well as for French and Australian producers. He was awarded the Béla Balázs Silver Pen prize for his work as a director. He currently teaches film and video art at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University.
A documentary about three generations of ballet dancers studying classical ballet at the Hungarian Dance Academy. The film first takes a look at each student when they enter the institution at 10 years of age and then again when they leave as professional ballet dancers nine years later.
Glória Halász (Budapest, 1985) studied at the Faculty of Film and Media at Budapest Eötvös Loránd University. Topics that contemplate where art meets social issues are particularly exciting for her. Her previous films include ‘Iron Curtain’ (2011), ‘Dr. Lala’ (2014) and ‘What a Circus!’ (2016). Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
Festivals and awards: 2017 – Lakitelek Film Festival – Special Prize Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
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TRAITORS
THE ACTRESS
(Árulók) 60 min, 2017
(A színésznő) 80 min, 2018
Director: Péter Fazakas Main cast: Géza Hegedűs D., Dóra Sztarenki, Viktor Klem, Laura Döbrösi, Alexander Kryzhanivskyi, András Balogh, Péter Takátsy, Gusztáv Molnár, Ilona Kassai Producer: Lajos Tamás Production company: Szupermodern Stúdió Kft. Festivals, sales: agnes.petrovanszki@filmpositive.hu
Director: László Vitézy Main cast: Viktória Szávai, Ildikó Tóth, Bálint Adorjáni, Csaba Pindroch Producer: Gábor Kálomista Production company: Megafilm Festivals, sales: kalomista.imre@megafilm.hu
Tatjana’s life changes forever when her communist father rediscovers a forgotten Russian hero from 1948 Hungary.
Péter Fazakas has directed one cinema feature, two TV movies, three radio plays and several TV series episodes.
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Hungarian Film Awards – Best TV Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress
TV Drama
Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
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HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
A beautiful and talented actress is Hungary’s most celebrated star. She is at the height of her career, and she is falling in love. But she must face the ruthless rules of the communist dictatorship, which she is not prepared to accept. Can she escape revenge? This film is based on actual events.
After graduating from the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest, László Vitézy founded the unique, documentary-like style known as "Budapest School". He has directed more than thirty feature films and documentaries and has won several awards. Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
WILDLIFE DOCUMENTARIES - BEHIND THE SCENES
IN SEARCH OF THE YELLOW FOAL
(A természetfilmezés kulisszatitkai) 16 x 5 min, 2017
(A sárga csikó nyomában) 50 min, 2017
Director: János Lerner Main cast: Ágnes Kiss, Emese Silimon, Edit Babinszki, Cintia Garai Producers: Zsolt Marcell Tóth, Attila Dávid Molnár Production company: Filmjungle Ltd. Festivals, sales: brinner.zoltan@termeszetfilm.hu
Director: Bálint Zágoni Main cast: Márton Kurutz, Gyöngyi Balogh, Dr. Nikolaus Wostry, Alexandar Erdeljanovic Producer: Bálint Zágoni Production company: Filmtett Associaton Festivals, sales: filmtett@filmtett.ro
Festivals and awards: 2017 – Gödöllő International Nature Film Festival 2018 – Hungarian Film Awards Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
WILD BALATON
- On the Shores of the ‘Hungarian sea’ (Vad Balaton) 60 min, 2018 Director: Szabolcs Mosonyi Producer: Erika Bagladi Production company: NatFilm Hungary Kft. Festivals: natfilmhungary@gmail.com Sales: vik.dudas@gmail.com
Between 1913 and 1918 a film studio in Cluj-Napoca/ Kolozsvár produced more than sixty feature films with the contribution of the most popular Hungarian actors, directors and directors of photography of the time. Only four of these films survived the last century. This documentary is about the attempt to retrace how the film copies produced in Janovics’ studio vanished throughout the decades and if there is still a chance to find another silent film made in Cluj. Festivals and awards: 2018 – Hungarian Film Awards 2017 – 7 Hills International Film Festival Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
Lake Balaton is the largest lake in Central Europe. Although during the summer the coast is crowded by holiday homes, the lake and its surroundings offer almost unbelievable natural treasures. The volcanoes, the lake caves, the travertine dams, the sand dunes and the valleys of canyons are parts of the European Geoparks Network, and the huge wetland habitats are unique in the whole of Europe. Ground squirrel and wildcat, peregrine falcon and raven, nesting herons and egrets in huge numbers, edible dormouse taking off for night-time adventures and dancing of asps. The unusual marriage of geology, wildlife and men created this dazzling landscape.
Educational Documentary
A wildlife filmmaker is one of the rare species to be found anywhere between the North and South Poles, even at the most extreme places on Earth. This series of 16 episodes offers a behind-the-scenes look into wildlife documentaries, with the assistance of various directors, editors and cameramen.
Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
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CHAMPION
THE HAPPIEST BARRACK
(A bajnok) 19 min, 2017
(A legvidámabb barakk) 16 min, 2017
Director: Máté Bartha Producer: Miklós Bosnyák Main cast: Vanessza Rácz, Kálmán Oláh Production company: University of Theatre and Film Arts, Budapest Festivals, sales: barthamate@gmail.com
Director: Noémi Varga Producer: Boglárka Emília Gacsályi Festivals, sales: hello@noemivarga.com
Vanessza, a young Roma girl, is getting prepared for the chance of a lifetime: a prestigious boxing tournament. A long road separates the small countryside gym and the tournament, but with the help of her trainer she may be able to accomplish something against all odds.
‘The Happiest Barrack’ is an experimental documentary, a chronicle of my maternal grandmother’s life in communist Hungary. It serves as a memento of times past and as a reminder of how socialism colonised the souls of a generation.
Festivals and awards:
Short Documentary
2017 – London Short Film Festival – Best Short Documentary 2017 – Rotterdam International Film Festival – British Council Travel Grant 2017 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival 2017 – Wiesbaden goEast Festival 2017 – Open City Documentary Festival
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HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
BEST GAME EVER
CHUCHOTAGE
(A legjobb játék) 20 min, 2018
(Susotázs) 16 min, 2018
Director: Kristóf Deák Main cast: Tamás Rétfalvi, Irén Szabó Producers: László Dreissiger, Anna Udvardy, Gábor Osváth Production companies: Meteor-Film, Filmfabriq Festivals, sales: shorts@neweuropefilmsales.com, marcin@neweuropefilmsales.com
Director: Barnabás Tóth Main cast: Pál Göttinger, Géza Takács, Andrea Osvárt Producers: Andrea Kuczkó, Gábor Rajna, Lajos Tóth Production companies: Csokonai Ksk., Laokoon Filmgroup Festivals: markus@augohr.de
When two CCTV technicians find out that an AI machine is a threat to their jobs, they must take action to beat the system, leading them to an unexpected solution.
During a professional conference in Prague, two simultaneous interpreters in the Hungarian booth realise that only one person is listening to them.
Festivals and awards: Festivals and awards: 2018 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival – Special Mention Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
2017 – RÖFI Rákospalotai Rövidfilmszemle – Special Mention 2018 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival
Adam is an obedient child. But when his mother asks him to get rid of some newborn puppies, he hesitates.
2018 – Angers European First Film Festival 2017 – Sarajevo International Film Festival 2017 – Miskolc Jameson Cinefest International Film Festival Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
COME BY CHANCE (Zabigyerek) 20 min, 2017
Short Film
Festivals and awards:
Director: Levente Kölcsey Cast: Patrik Grofsits, Rozi Székely, László Felhőffi-Kiss Producer: Gábor Garami Production companies: Cinema-Film and the University of Theatre and Film Arts Festivals, sales: levente.kolcsey@gmail.com
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
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EARTHLY PEOPLE
FORTY YEARS
(Földiek) 26 min, 2017
(Negyven év) 16 min, 2018
Director: Ádám Freund Cast: Zoltán Cservák, Anna Györgyi, Áron Dimény Producers: Gábor Garami, Zoltán Mártonffy, Árpád Szirmai, Andrea Osvárt Production companies: University of Theatre and Film Arts Budapest, Cinema-Film, AmegO, CineSuper, VisionTeam Festivals, sales: info@filmfabriq
Director: Anna Gyimesi Cast: Erzsébet Ecsedi, Miklós Székely B., Gerda Pikali Producer: Miklós Bosnyák Production Company: University of Theatre and Film Arts Budapest Festivals, sales: orr.krisztina@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu, kati.vajda@filmalap.hu
At the age of 12, Ábel has to face the fact that his parents are living in two completely different galaxies of the universe. Now he has to decide which one he belongs to.
Festivals and awards: 2017 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival – Best Live Action Short 2017 – Chicago International Children's Film Festival 2017 – Student Academy Awards
The film focuses on Ica and Imre, a couple in their midsixties. Ica prepares herself for death, but her husband cannot accept it. After a while, he realises that he is unable to do anything, so resigns to the inevitable. During the time they have left, Imre tries to make Ica happy, the way he has been for the last forty years, with more or less success.
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Hungarian Film Awards
Short Film
Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
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HIDE AND SEEK (Bújócska) 14 min, 2017 Director: Benő Gábor Baranyi Cast: Mátyás Kabók, Róza Koricsánszki, László Petró, Gergely Balogh, Csaba Balogh, Benjámin Pádár, Konrád Quintus Producers: Zsuzsi Gyurin, Benő Gábor Baranyi Production company: Salamandra Film Festivals, sales: krisztina.orr@filmalap.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu, kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, salamandrafilm@salamandrafilm.com HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
The story takes place in a poor family in Hungary. The main character is a 7-year-old boy called Matyi. He loves to play hide and seek, but he knows no bounds. He is constantly hiding somewhere, annoying his parents, and he refuses to come out even when the whole family is looking for him. As he came into the family as the fifth child, his mother had never intended to keep him, and he is just another pain for her to bear. However, his father is very fond of the boy and he is the only one with sufficient patience for him. One day, the father disappears and the mother is left alone with their undisciplined child. The film is shot in poor neighbourhoods with amateur actors and is based on a true story. Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
INVISIBLY (Láthatatlanul) 32 min, 2017 Director: Áron Szentpéteri Cast: Tamás Barkó, Bettina Józsa, Jákob Ladányi Producers: Áron Szentpéteri, Miklós Bosnyák, András Muhi, András Pires Muhi, Mónika Mécs Production company: Inforg - M&M Film Festivals: marta.benyei@filmalap.hu, kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, orr.krisztina@filmalap.hu Sales: aronszentpeteri@gmail.com
Two everyday people meet in the dark, that of an invisible exhibition. Throughout the film we follow them as they get closer and further away from each other by crossing blurry boundaries, ones that exist between and within people and are mostly invisible. Not only for the blind. Festivals and awards: 2017 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival – Best Live Action Short 2017 – Cannes International Film Festival – Cinéfondation Section Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
LAST CALL 27 min, 2018 Director: Hajni Kis Main cast: Kati Zsurzs Producer: Gábor Garami, Miklós Bosnyák, co-producers: Juli Berkes, Gábor Osváth Production company: University of Theatre and Film Arts Budapest, Cinema-Film, Proton Cinema, Filmfabriq Festivals, sales: info@filmfabriq.hu
This film follows the last day of Anikó Kárpáti (61) as she prepares to leave Budapest so that she can be closer to her daughter’s family. She begins a mad dash through the city in order to close the chapter of her life in Hungary.
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival (Best Short Film Award) Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
While vacuuming, Lauretta’s mother faints, falls on the floor and is hospitalised. Now alone in the apartment, the 30-year-old cashier finds a letter dated 15 years before among her mother’s belongings.
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
LAURETTA 20 min, 2018 Director: Máté Brauner Main cast: Nóra Rainer-Micsinyei, Róbert Kardos, Gábor Harsay, Eszter Sára Váradi Producer: László Dreissiger, Gábor Osváth Production company: Filmfabriq Festivals, sales: info@filmfabriq.hu
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THE LETTERS (Levelek) 18 min, 2017 Director: Teréz Irén Koncz Cast: Gergely Posch, Stefánia Varga, Olivér Farkas Producers: Julianna Ugrin, Judit Romwalter, Gustav Andersson Production company: Éclipse Film Festivals: tez@stellarcircus.com Sales: julianna.ugrin@eclipsefilm.hu
Before meeting him in person, impatient adoptive parents send secret letters to the teenage orphan Zolika. His emerging courage and hope helps him stand up for himself against his bully Feri, and dream of a better future for himself and his beloved Dori.
NEXT WEDNESDAY (Jövő szerdán) 13 min, 2018 Director: Norbert Molvay Cast: Andrea Waskovics, Barbara Szitás, Zoltán Géczi, Réka Gerlits, Orsolya Kálóczi, Alexa Bakonyi Producers: Marcell Simó, Norbert Molvay Festivals: marta.benyei@filmalap.hu, kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, orr.krisztina@filmalap.hu Sales: nrmolvay@yahoo.com
A young girl with a dark secret tries to relieve her heavy heart by taking a walk in the city. She visits places and meets people she would not otherwise wish to in order to find her redemption.
Festivals and awards: 2017 – Toronto AltFF Alternative Film Festival – Best Suspense 2017 – Tokyo Genre Celebration Festival – Best Drama Short 2017 – Florida Indie Suspense Horror Sci-Fi Film Festival – Suspense Short
Short Film
Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
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Luca lives on a small farm with her mother. She has never stepped outside the fences of the property or seen any other human being that is not her mother. The two mean the world to each other. However, as Luca grows up, the more her self-awareness rises the more the unknown entices her: she dreams about it, hears its voice and feels that something is drawing near. Then one day they receive the unexpected visit from a strange figure.
ON THE EIGHTH DAY (És a nyolcadik napon) 14 min, 2018 Director: Anna Korom Cast: Andrea Ladányi, Anna Diera, Elemér Szatmári Producers: Miklós Bosnyák, Gábor Osváth Production company: University of Theatre and Films Arts of Budapest Festivals: marta.benyei@filmalap.hu, kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, orr.krisztina@filmalap.hu Sales: korom4anna@gmail.com
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival
READY OR NOT
A SIEGE
(Aki bújt) 11 min, 2018
(Ostrom) 23 min, 2018
Director: Mihály Schwechtje Main cast: Marcell Miklós, Ádám Káté, Lajos Jónás, Abigél Dömötör, György Czabán, Melinda Megyes Producers: Tamás Noveczky, Genovéva Petrovits Production companies: Riot Pictures, Studio Patent Festivals: amas@riotpictures.hu, genoveva@studiopatent.com Sales: mf@premium-films.com
Director: István Kovács Main cast: Vedrana Bozinovic, Mirela Lambic, Radoje Cupic, Nenad Pecinar, Zsolt Trill Producers: Mónika Mécs, Ernő Mesterházy, Nóra Alföldi, István Kovács Production companies: University of Theatre and Film Arts of Budapest, Inforg-M&M Film, Film Force Team, Filmfabriq Festivals, sales: info@filmfabriq.hu
Playing hide and seek in a village ruled by poverty. Characters are eliminated by dependency and misery. Happiness and disillusionment as seen from the point of view of young innocence.
Sarajevo, 1994. A lonely woman in the war-torn city embarks on a journey to find water, and neither the neighbours, nor sniper fire can do anything to stop her.
Festivals and awards:
Festivals and awards:
2018 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
2018 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival – Special mention Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
Mimi enters a bizarre beauty clinic with a voucher for a facelift that she got from her husband. She checks into the former hotel by the shores of a secluded lake and a whole new world opens up to her: older women, men and animals await their transformation.
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival
WORK IN PROGRESS
Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
(Átalakítás folyamatban) 20 min, 2018 Director: Cristina Grosan Main cast: Katalin Takács, János Bán, Júlia Huzella, Nóra Rainer-Micsinyei Producer: Dora Nedeczky Production company: Mindwax Festivals, sales: dora@mindwax.eu
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GORGON
THE FALL OF ROME
8 min, 2017
(Róma bukása) 23 min, 2018
Director: Miklós Felvidéki Producer: József Fülöp Production company: Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Festivals: glaser@mome.hu Sales: orr.krisztina@filmalap.hu
Director: Balázs Turai Producers: Gábor Osváth, Péter B. Lukács, Drasko Ivezic Production companies: Boddah, Adriatic Animation Festivals, sales: gabor@boddah.hu
A petty thief takes shelter in a rundown apartment building to hide from a policeman who is chasing him. But neither expects what awaits them inside...
Festivals and awards: 2017 – KAFF Kecskemét Animation Film Festival 2017 – Cinanima International Animated Film Festival 2017 – Animateka International Animated Film Festival
Short Animation
Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
An old man lives an ordinary life in the woods until out of the blue a strange individual knocks on his door to try and sell him some magical treasures.
Festivals and awards:
FIASCO (Fiaskó) 5 min, 2017 Director: Szabolcs Nagy Producer: Szabolcs Kékesi Production company: Szent György Média és Informatikai Szakgimnázium Festivals, sales: szabolcs2014@gmail.com
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Under constant threat from the mutant frog-people, Carl and Cynthia desperately try to maintain a "normal" life inside their post-apocalyptic Dome. Meanwhile, their children venture outside the safety zone and befriend the ever-lurking Enemy.
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
2018 – Primanima World Festival of First Animations – Gyula Macskássy Prize for Most Popular Hungarian Animation 2018 – Annual Short Short Story Film Festival – Audience Award, Jury Grand Prize 2018 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival – Award for Best Director Under 30
JUST A FEW WORDS
NOT YET
(Néhány szó) 8 min, 2017
(Még nem) 10 min, 2018
Director: László Csáki Main cast: Gábor Csőre, Karina Kecskés, Attila Till, Kriszta Argyelán, Noémi Barkóczi, Ágnes Szép Producers: Miklós Kázmér, Zoltán Hidvégi Production company: Umbrella Kreatív Műhely Festivals and sales: kazmer.miklos@umbrella.tv
Director: Tímea Varga Producer: József Fülöp Production company: Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest Festivals: glaser@mome.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap. hu, kati.vajda@filmalap.hu Sales: orr.krisztina@filmalap.hu
“… it might not have been a question of right and wrong. Which is to say that wrong choices can produce right results, and vice versa.” – Haruki Murakami
Everyone goes home from the playhouse. A child waits for her mother who does not show up, so starts looking for her. Over varied locations we see two fates, two lives, which may never cross each other.
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Brussels ANIMA Animation Films Festival 2018 – Roanne International Animation Short Film Festival 2017 – KAFF Kecskeméti Animation Film Festival Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Festival d’Annecy 2018 – Třeboň Anifilm International Festival of Animated Films Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
‘Solar Walk’ presents a journey through space and the process of creation within an animated cosmic chaos.
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Berlin International Film Festival – Audi Short Film Award 2018 – South by Southwest Film Festival 2018 – Vienna Independent Shorts 2018 – Flatpack Film Festival (Best Short Film Award)
SOLAR WALK 21 min, 2018 Director: Réka Bucsi Producer: Morten Thorning Production company: The Animation Workshop/VIA University College Festivals, sales: zsofi@daazo.com
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TAKE ME PLEASE
VOLCANO ISLAND
14 min, 2018
(Vulkánsziget) 9 min, 2017
Director: Olivér Hegyi Main cast: Olivér Hegyi, Capucine Muller, Girard Emil, Péter Benjámin Lukács Producer: József Fülöp Production company: Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Festivals: glaser@mome.hu, marta.benyei@filmalap.hu, kati.vajda@filmalap.hu, orr.krisztina@filmalap.hu
Director: Anna Lovrity Producer: József Fülöp Production company: Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Festivals: glaser@mome.hu Sales: orr.krisztina@filmalap.hu
This movie presents a breakup and everything that follows: boy is hesitant, girl gets bored, boy meets girl’s new boyfriend – which is a bit more shocking than expected. Boy wants to escape, as he believes his life is over, but then boy meets girl again and they fall in love. But they have to finally admit that the relationship does not really work.
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival – Best Hungarian Animation
A young, naive female tiger is chased by an old, white male tiger on a magical island. At the beginning of the story the tigress is not aware of her deep connection to the island and to nature. Finally she discovers her great, elementary force.
Festivals and awards: 2018 – Angers European First Film Festival 2017 – Berlin International Film Festival 2017 – Sarajevo International Film Festival Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
Short Animation
Supported by the Hungarian National Film Fund
Made from infinite steel wire, the inhabitants of a strange world survive through unusual interactions and connections.
Festivals and awards: 2017 – Cannes International Film Festival, Short Film Corner 2018 – Hungarian Film Awards – Best Animation 2018 – The National Association of Hungarian Journalists (Hungarian Film Critics’ Award)
WIRELESS 7 min, 2017 Director: Szandra Pataki Producer: Melinda Kiss Production company: Budapest Metropolitan University Festivals, sales: jbarkoczi@metropolitan.hu
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HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
CANDIDE
CASTAWAYS
13 x 7 min, 2018
(Hajótöröttek) 13 x 7 min, 2018
Director: Zsuzsanna Kreif Voiceover artists: Gábor Máté, Adél Jordán, Zoltán Rajkai Producers: Károly Fehér, Brigitta Iványi-Bitter, Gábor Ferenczy, András Muhi, Réka Temple Production company: Popfilm Kft. Festivals: brigitta.ivanyi@gmail.com Sales: frederic@planetnemo.com
Director: Péter Szeiler Producers: Gábor Osváth, Péter Csornay Production company: Filmfabriq Festivals, sales: info@filmfabriq.hu
Devastating love, 2D blood, leper and hunt: Candide forever. Festivals and awards: 2018 – Třeboň Anifilm International Festival of Animated Films 2018 – Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
‘Castaways’ is a fun, 13-episode series of educational animated shorts about science, where each episode lasts 7 minutes. 10-year-old Kolos and Grandpa set out into the endless ocean to circumnavigate the Earth on their ship called Bella Donna. A violent storm suddenly descends on them as they sail across the Pacific, destroying their ship. Through enormous luck, Grandpa and his grandson land on a deserted island. This is where the story of ‘Castaways’ begins. Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
Short Animation Series
Supported by the Media Patronage Programme of the Hungarian Media Council
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
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HNFF WORLD SALES
animation, crime, thriller, adventure
RB_teaser_b1.indd 1
2018, 94 min
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HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
2018. 04. 18. 19:54
CANNES LINE-UP HIGHLIGHT
drama
black comedy
crime-action
2018, 120 min
2018, 90 min
2017, 126 min
BUTCHER THE WH RE AND THE ONE-EYED MAN
GÉZA D. HEGEDŰS DORKA GRYLLUS ZSOLT NAGY
KRISZTIÁN KOLOVRATNIK RÉKA TENKI JÁNOS KULKA ADÉL KOVÁTS ZSOLT ANGER KATA DOBÓ and Franciska törőcsik
THE
A FILM BY
FILM by ÉVA GÁRDOS
JÁNOS SZÁSZ
BASED ON VILMOS KONDOR’S NOVEL
GREED, POWER, SEDUCTION.
PIONEER PICTURES PRESENTS WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE HUNGARIAN NATIONAL FILM FUND A FILM BY EVA GARDOS „BUDAPEST NOIR” KRISZTIÁN KOLOVRATNIK RÉKA TENKI JÁNOS KULKA ADÉL KOVÁTS ZSOLT ANGER KATA DOBÓ SZABOLCS THÚRÓCZY AND FRANCISKA TÖRŐCSIK MUSIC BY ATTI PACSAY COSTUME DESIGNER ANDREA FLESCH PRODUCTION DESIGNER PATER SPARROW EDITOR MÁTYÁS FEKETE SOUND ATTILA TŐZSÉR H.A.E.S. DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ELEMÉR RAGÁLYI H.S.C AND MÁRTON RAGÁLYI BASED ON THE NOVEL OF VILMOS KONDOR SCREENPLAY BY ANDRÁS SZEKÉR EXECUTIVE PRODUCER VILMOS KONDOR ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS ELEONÓRA PETÁK ILONA ANTAL PRODUCED BY ILDIKÓ KEMÉNY DIRECTED BY EVA GÁRDOS
Poster design: Frank Rizzo - Photó: Árpád Csikós
/budapestnoir
©PIONEER 2017
UNIO FILM PRESENTS WITH THE SUPPORT OF HUNGARIAN NATIONAL FILM FUND A JÁNOS SZÁSZ FILM „THE BUTCHER THE WHORE AND THE ONE-EYED-MAN” CAST GÉZA D. HEGEDŰS DORKA GRYLLUS ZSOLT NAGY PÉTER ANDORAI ENIKŐ BÖRCSÖK GYÖNGYVÉR BOGNÁR MIKLÓS B. SZÉKELY PETER WOLF PRODUCTION MANAGER CSABA PÉK SET DECORATION ZOLTÁN HORVÁTH COSTUME DESIGNER JÁNOS BRECKL PRODUCTION DESIGNER GÁBOR VALCZ SOUND GYÖRGY FÉK EDITED BY ANNA KORNIS H.S.E. DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY TIBOR MÁTHÉ H.S.C. CO-PRODUCED BY TAMÁS CSUTAK PRODUCED BY ISTVÁN BODZSÁR WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY JÁNOS SZÁSZ
crime
crime
drama-war
2017, 105 min
2017, 95 min
2017, 104 min
MEET US IN CANNES Riviera E16
HNFF World Sales | klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu | hnffworldsales.com HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
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MEET US IN CANNES Hungarian Pavilion Int’l Village Riviera #136 Phone: +33 (0) 493 99 87 78 filmfund.hu Csaba Bereczki (Eurimages representative, International director) csaba.bereczki@filmalap.hu +36-30–350–15–75 Márta Bényei (Festival manager, Eurimages subst. representative) marta.benyei@filmalap.hu +36–30-936-32-59 Csaba Papp (Public relations) csaba.papp@filmalap.hu +36–30–936–31–49 WORLD SALES (Palais/Riviera/E16) Klaudia Androsovits (Sales manager) klaudia.androsovits@filmalap.hu +36–30–936–33–89
Published by
Hungarian National Film Fund (MNF)
Founding editors-in-chief: Dániel Deák, Gábor Osváth Executive editor:
Anita Libor
Project coordinator:
Veronika Jakab
Contributors:
Janka Barkóczi, Eszter Fazekas, Ádám Harangozó, Zsófi Herczeg, András Huszár, Bálint Kovács
Art director:
Zoltán Bukovics
Photographer:
Gábor Valuska
Proofreader:
Laura Brown, Ildikó Szemők
Hungarian Film Magazine is published by Hungarian National Film Fund. Published in Hungary May 2018. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden save with the written permission of the publishers. On the cover: Zsófia Szamosi 'One Day' www.issuu.com/hungarianfilm www.filmfund.hu www.facebook.com/hungarian.film.fund 82
HUNGARIAN FILM MAGAZINE
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