Opening Gala of 73rd Berlinale international film festival on February 16, 2023                                               MTI photo by EPA/Clemens Bilan

In an article titled “Hungary’s Big Relaunch”, Variety notes that Csaba Kael, head of the National Film Institute (NFI), is attending this year’s the Berlinale international film festival, which will feature, among others, a production about Count Andras Hadik de Futak, Field Marshal of the Imperial Army in the 18th century.
Kael told Variety that the rise of streaming services and miniseries had brought significant changes to the entertainment industry. NFI provides 28.5 million dollars in support to film projects each year and 19 million dollars to television productions, he said. The institute supports around 20 films and up to 200 TV productions each year, he added.
He said NFI also aimed to promote Hungarian shooting locations and Budapest as a European production hub.
International productions brought the country 690 million dollars’ worth of business last year, Kael said. Hungary’s services and generous tax rebates of up to more than 30 percent make the country an attractive venue for film productions, he added.
Concerning the Berlinale festival, Kael said the event will showcase the past, present and future of Hungarian cinema. It will include screenings of Gyorgy Feher’s 1989 film Twilight, Tibor Banoczki and Sarolta Szabo’s eco-dystopian drama White Plastic Sky and student film From the Corner of My Eyes.
The European Film Market’s (EFM) selection includes the English-language animated feature Four Souls of Coyote, historical drama Fairy Garden, the adoption tale Six Weeks and the historical adventure film Hadik.
Tamas Bodizs, head of NFI’s Filmlab, told Variety he wanted the institution to become Europe’s leading centre for the post-production, production and restoration of 35 mm films. Bodizs said the Filmlab has spent “hundreds of thousands of euros” on the most cutting-edge analog film processors.