Discoveries from Hungary World Cinema

A Budapest Filmstudio/Kvali Film co-production.

On the occasion of the 20th birthday of the Dumaszínház, the cream of Hungarian stand-up comedy came together to celebrate the anniversary with a grand gala. The special performance _ which took place on 25 November in the MVM Dome _ will be broadcast exclusively on VIASAT3 on 1 January, to start the year in a guaranteed good mood. Among others, comedians such as Sándor Badár, László Hadházi, Péter Janklovics, Ádám Kiss, Péter András Kovács, Zoltán Kőhalmi and Eszter Ráskó will provide moments of laughter.

Liam and Margo are two lively siblings who find themselves traveling through time and space, fighting supervillain MouMoush, the King of Plastic.

A second-generation immigrant with a Hungarian descent. Travels to his homeland to visit his aging mother. In the hope that this trip will help him regain a sense of national belonging.

Now we finally have the big idea! "A" Everything works out as I planned, or "B" ...Of course, "B". If I come up with something, it's either fucked up or it turns out to be a load of bollocks. That's me. Paganini of sh@t ideas. The Pope of plans gone up in smoke. It's time to take a look inside myself! Help me out here, let's find out together if I'm stupid or just a poor sparrow. My latest solo show, "Plan Gone Up in Smoke", shows one little man's struggle with the cosmic forces of the universe that suck him in day after day.

The backbone of my new self is the irresolvable contradiction of the last 33 years, where the more I wanted to achieve something, the less I had a sense of achievement. I was a certified footballer for eight years, then started playing really well after I stopped, I was really getting laid when it was no longer my priority to win a woman, and I was appointed manager of a restaurant in London when I was finally disillusioned with the hospitality industry. My new evening explores this theme and my stories and observations are based on this contrast.

Humour is a human privilege. There are examples of fun, games and amusement in the animal kingdom, but the generation of deliberately funny things is a peculiarity of homo sapiens. A giraffe doesn't bother to trick a lion or make his mates laugh, but even a meerkat can't laugh at his neighbour falling down. We can. Humour is a gift to humans, it amuses us and often releases tension. Its source is mostly our own stupidity and weakness, whether we look at the individual or at humanity.

During the COVID pandemic, everyone withdrew into their homes, and social interaction came to a virtual standstill. But in the neighborhood in Durban, South Africa, where filmmaker Jethro Westraad comes from, this was hardly any different from the normal situation.

A documentary film about the Hungarian Marxist philosopher, aesthetician, literary historian, and critic, György Lukács, based on an idea of Sotiris Bekas and the research of Cody J. Inglis, Agnes Kelemen, Jordan Skinner.

A series of insights into the meaning of life and the moral concerns of humans told through a selection of animals in their natural habitats re-enacting unfortunate everyday situations and highlighting the absurd nature and preposterous consequences of ethics, emotion, behavior and the very concept of humankind on planet earth.

Uninvited visitors disturbed an abandoned and lonely man's peace on his fiftieth birthday.

Oliver, the giant of a planet, lives among tiny humans in the belief that he is the ruler of the world, until one day an enormous shadow appears and turns his fate around.

This László Vitézy documentary examines the sensitive topic of drug use in Hungary. The work, dating from 1988, was the first to give a voice to disadvantaged individuals whose very existence had been a taboo. In addition to unpicking the tragic personal stories of drug users just surviving on the fringes of late Kádár-era society, another important purpose of the film was that it investigated the ‘official’ side of the problem as well. It is evident from what those interviewed had to say that meaningful steps were put off for decades by the fact that the whole issue of drugs was a forbidden subject in Hungary.

Documentary about an alleged witch in a Hungarian village.

In 1950, an astronomer discovers that a comet is going to destroy Earth. He warns the world, but nobody believes him. His engineer friend is building a spaceship, and they go on a space mission with the engineer's bride to save Earth.

Pál Schiffer's film reports on the injustices of the education system of the 1970s, the lies of the Kádár system, and the everyday life of Roma children.

A garden party is held in the park of the baroque castle: the landscape is idyllic, the company is cozy, the food is aristocratic, and everything is traditional and refined. At the same time, in the other part of the garden, cages rattle, ropes rustle, and foxes whine. From the initial idyll, the film slowly moves to another level of pleasure, and a cruel game of "fox throwing" begins, which becomes increasingly bloody and inhumane.

Júlia is trying to find herself after her divorce.

The protagonist of this one-act survival film is a college girl whose escape from a difficult situation is followed. It is an independent, privately funded no-budget production.

Right after the Red Army in 1944 was deliberating a little village, Veszto in eastern Hungary, the locals formed their "government", excommunicated the goods remaining in the village and distributed them among the poor. The social experiment only lasted two months, but this episode later became infamous in the communist press of Hungary and was referred to as 'Republic of Veszto'. 35 years later, in 1979, the actors and the witnesses, the representatives of the communist administration back then and the poors of the village get together in a little pub in Veszto and try to resuscitate and evaluate those old days. The memories clash one another.

Compilation of animation videos that shows that you can be different

A dysfunctional society controlled by a toxic leader results in the reality of illiberalism and the sole autocratic EU member state is leading the way. Recently, an angular black hole appeared in the centre of this nation’s main square, which proved invisible to Hungarians. The analysis of this dark object offers a short glimpse at tyranny from the angle of anxiety.

Empress Elizabeth of the Austro-Hungarian empire in the 2nd half of the 19th century is fondly remembered for unraveling the troubles of distressed lovers. There are serenades, gypsy music, army uniforms, and moonlight.

The film takes place in a strange hierarchical society of rabbits and chickens. From his plot, we can find out the answer to the exciting question, which came first: the egg, the hen, or the rabbit?

This reimagined poem by Sándor Weöres is the story of an ordinary, grey suburban night, which is transformed by love into an exciting series of visions, a sad and dreamy vision.

A girl's trip to her new home. During the trip, dream-like images of the past appear.

The story takes place during the Third Reich, in the autumn of 1933, when the world's attention was focused on the Leipzig lawsuit. The main character is dr. Winnicke (played by Gyula Benkő); a young German doctor is commissioned by Count Hellwitz, an SA officer who was once a classmate, to “make” one of the participants in the lawsuit fit for Nazi purposes.

An elderly taxi driver is a hopeless romantic and a crude observer of life who has lived through hardship and witnessed despair. The route to the destination leads through the labyrinth of his own memories as he roams the streets.

A young man lives and works in an abandoned bunker in a deserted post-Soviet interzone of industrial ruin. When he's not drinking, bailing floodwater or making techno beats, he's playing a video game that eerily mirrors his post-apocalyptic surroundings—hovering UFO included. Shown in complete isolation, he is the hero, the shooter and the zombie of his own moody game.

Ten minute documentary about film production at the Film Factory, from shooting to projection. Mr Cserépy, the director, is a true insider, having worked in a number of positions ranging from news broadcasting to acting in big budget movies.

A film about the everyday life of Anna and the difficulties of down syndrome.

A girl mourns her relationship.

The first directed Hungarian film footage shot with actors debuted in Uránia Hungarian Theatre of Science on 30 April 1901. These short motion pictures were not stand-alone works but illustrations for a lecture on the history of dance. However, all footage featuring the most popular actors of the period has been lost but stills taken during filming have survived – this creative animation short film uses these to present the unknown story of the birth of Hungarian film.

A song to the fading of memories. Cameraless techniques on 8mm film, 35mm negative film and slides.

A little dog wants attention.

Documentary about "silenced" bands in socialist Hungary.