09-06-2023

FESTIVALS: Hungarian Motion Picture Festival 2023 Underway with Premieres and Film Classics

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    Seeing What You See by Mátyás Szabó Seeing What You See by Mátyás Szabó credit: Filmsquad

    BUDAPEST: The Hungarian Motion Picture Festival organised by the National Film Institute - Hungary and the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture programme, is currently screening almost 100 Hungarian films at nine locations in Veszprém, Balatonfüred and Balatonalmádi. The Hungarian Motion Picture Awards will be announced on 10 June 2023.

    On 7 June 2023, the festival started in Veszprém with the screening of the sports documentary Golden Legends / A nemzet aranyai directed by Tamás Zákonyi S. and produced by Flashback. The opening night was attended by several members of Hungary's legendary national water polo team, which won three Olympic gold medals.

    Seeing What You See / Látom amit látsz starring two talented young actors, Benett Vilmányi and Petra Hartai, debuts at the festival. The romantic sci-fi is directed by Mátyás Szabó and produced by Filmsquad. The road film A másik érintése directed by Tamás Buvári and produced by Szeretfilm and the drama Mellékszereplők directed by Árpád Sopsits and produced by FocusFox are also screened for the first time in Veszprém.

    Mellékszereplők by Árpád Sopsits, credit: SoartThe festival lasts for four days and positions itself as a celebration of Hungarian films, where the audience can watch a significant part of Hungarian motion pictures from the past year. Larry directed by Szilárd Bernáth and produced by FocusFox, Heights and Depths / Magasságok és mélységek directed by Sándor Csoma and produced by JUNO11 or Six Weeks / Hat hét directed by Noémi Veronika Szakonyi and produced by SPARKS can be seen in cinemas again.

    Hungarian film classics are also a significant part of the programme. The black and white crime masterpiece of director György Fehér, Twilight / Szürkület is presented to the audience in a brand new 4K restoration.

    Besides the screenings, Q&As, exhibitions, book presentations and concerts make the programme more diverse. The exhibition Letters from Hollywood organised by the University of Theater and Film Arts Budapest presents the letters of Oscar-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, which he wrote to his college teacher, Béla Bojkovszky, between 1960 and 1971.

    Five contemporary novels and five script writers compete in the festival’s own pitch forum Let’s Make It a Movie! / Filmre vele!