THE CURRENT CRISIS IN HUNGARIAN FILM -- AFTER THE FILM WEEK 

by Alex Deleon <filmfestivals.com>   

Ágnes Havas, Film Fund CEO, address the Crowd at Hungarian Film Week closing Celebration

The interest is already waning. Or to put it more bluntly, nobody cares ~~ About the films or even the crisis itself. There are two reasons to this:  After the Film week, the films hardly ever get to the viewers. There are no real budgets for advertising. The film or DVD distribution of the works that actually get presented on the Film Week is not solved, and they scarcely get screened on television. Despite legal and contractual obligations the TV broadcast usually happen months or years later, then typically, in a very bad time slot.  It seems that the films are simply used to fill out TV programming time. Moreover, there is no real rotation of these programmes. So back to bluntness, there is just not enough money nor any inclination to really promise anything of substance to the new films being made. Aside from a few thematic festivals in Hungary documentary films are rarely shown. And then, most of the films that were made during the year but did not pass the jury at the Film Week, just fall into obscurity.

The other reason lies in the self-consciousness of the society at large. "The documentaries are supposed to reflect our lives - which they do to a certain extent - but Hungarians are reluctant to face the facts of life in today’s Hungary". The political, economic and social transformations over the last 21 years obviously have created a lot of subjects that need to be examined, while at the same time, there is an awful lot of things from the past that need to be dealt with as well. How can this be overcome so that more relevant documentaries are made “interesting” for the viewers?

The silence surrounding this question is hardly heavier than the silence that surrounds the current state of the entire film industry. In May, Andy Vajna, the government-appointed film commissioner, held a press cinference to introduce the Hungarian National Film Fund. The producer was joined by Ágnes Havas, from Havas Films, who recently became the general manager of the Film Fund. They told the press that there would be a greater control over the preparation of films, and feature length-documentaries as well. After selecting projects, the Fund will look after the script and the budget plans. But beyond that, there are no clear plans in any areas. 

There were no announcements regarding distribution, or any other film activities. For documentary films made for TV, the actual statement was that all decisions about projects and funds would go to the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH), whereas the Film Fund would only be focusing on feature films. The NMHH main task is to oversee - or rather create - news programming as it now holds the main news agency, the MTI and both Hungarian National Television (MTV) and the Duna TV. At this point, there is not much to be known.

Because of this, says filmmaker Réka Pigniczky, who grew up in the United States and has an entirely different approach to the situation: "I wanted to talk to filmmakers who, regardless of the current situation, keep working in the field. Besides the few people who say that "things should stay as they are," some say that this change is inevitable. Opinions vary but the underlying Need to find financial support for films remains unchanged".

While working as a journalist for Associated Press, Réka Pigniczky came to Hungary in 1989 and made a name for herself with her documentaries ("Journey Home", "Incubator") in which she tried to discover her father’s and her own roots in This country.  Ms. Pigniczky is really looking forward to possible changes in the system, hoping that the selection of funding for films will "finally will be merit-based". (-- as opposed to arbitrary decisions by film politicians mainly interested in maintaining their Cushy positions of Power). 

She has many ideas on the subject and, although the American style of her films got mixed reception in Hungary, her attention to the audience (with screenings and Q&As in movie theatres), and the relevant subject matter were able to draw a lot of people to see her films.

(This Report compiled from the Hungarian vernacular press)

Alex, Budapest, Oct. 22, 2014