The task of funding support for new film production
projects will be transferred to the new Hungarian National Film Fund according
to information published in the official government publication, the Hungarian
Gazette. The Gazette published the government decision which was
signed by Hungarian PM Viktor Orban on 21 June 2011. The decision states
that MMK must pay its debts and that it will be closed immediately.
Hungarian film producers that signed contracts with MMK are owed about 35-40m
euros.
The government blocked about 60% of funding to MMK in
summer of 2010 leaving MMK unable to pay contracts it had signed with Hungarian
producers and cinema owners. At the end of 2010 MMK's budget for 2011 was
cut by 80% to 1035 billion HUF- about 4m euros. But even this promised
amount was not delivered to the heavily indebted MMK as the Ministry of National
Resourecs (http://www.kormany.hu/hu/
Under the new plan film production would be supported by the
Hungarian National Film Fund, and it is assumed that the Ministry of Natural
Resources will support film distribution, exhibition, training and publishing
although this has not been announced yet. Many film
production companies, art house cinemas and other film groups are facing
bankruptcy if the grant contracts they signed are not paid.
Under
the Hungarian system the recipient of the grant had to borrow the money from the
bank to implement the project and then repaid the loan when MMK paid the
grant. Now the banks are demanding the producers and others who
signed MMK grant contracts repay the money.
MMK has debts of about
10 bln HUF, with about 5 bln HUF connected to contracts backed by the
banks. MMK has assets of about 10 bln HUF. MMK assets include
two valuable properties, MAFILM Film Studios (www.mafilm.hu) and Hungarian Filmlab (http://www.filmlab.hu/en/).
23-06-2011
Government Decision Closes MMK
By FNE StaffBUDAPEST: The Hungarian government will close the troubled Hungarian Motion Picture Foundation (www.mmka.hu).
Published in
Hungary