Launch of Hungarian Motion Picture Festival to show revivalized national film industry

The Hungarian Motion Picture Festival's first edition (HMPF) will open with the world premiere of Peter Varsics’ romantic comedy Just As You Are.

Launch of Hungarian Motion Picture Festival to show revivalized national film industry

Open-air screenings will be held in Veszprem (a medieval town in Hungary that was designated a European Capital of Culture for 2023) to kick off the new Hungarian cinema showcase.

The festival will feature 89 films. It will take place in Veszprem and Balatonfured, as well as Balatonalmadi, all located in the country's Lake Balaton area. HMPF replaces the Hungarian Film Week that ran for almost 50 years. It was cancelled in 2013 because of the slowing down of local production.

This four-day festival will showcase Hungarian film production from the past year and provide a platform for industry professionals to meet. The festival organizers at HMPF plan to make the festival accessible to international film enthusiasts starting next year when pandemic travel restrictions will be lifted.

The festival will screen four categories of films: Denes Nagy's Berlinale Silver Bear Winner Natural Light, Gabor Herendi’s Toxikoma and Ferenc Tovaly’s pilgrimage documentary Camino Ignaciano.

Balazs Krasznahorkai’s father-son drama Ravine starring Son Of Saul actor Levente Mollar and Akos Badits’ comedy drama debut Garbage Theory by Akos Badits, which centers on an alien student at Budapest University, are also included in the lineup.

The festival will honor Mari Torocsik (internationally renowned Hungarian actress) who died in April at the age of 85. It also pays tribute to Miklos Jancso (Cinderella award-winning director), who would have been 100 this year.

It will award the Hungarian Film Academy's lifetime achievement prizes to Geza Beremenyi (director), Mariann Moor (actress), Karoly Mecs (actor) and Teri Tordai (actress).

Balatonfured’s Anna Grand Hotel will be the venue for the festival’s closing event, where the Hungarian Motion Picture Awards (Hungarian Motion Picture Awards) will announce their winners.

The festival's organizers held the Veszprem Balaton Film Picnic, Movie Nights in the European Capital of Culture program last September as a dress rehearsal for this years event. This was to allow the Hungarian film community and the public to see and re-discover classic and contemporary masterpieces, box-office hits, and rare films.