39th Hungarian Film Festival opens

The 39th Hungarian Film Festival (Magyar Filmszemle) opened yesterday, featuring 103 productions, but most without English subtitles.

The programs will last until February 5 and take place at the Millenáris Teátrum, the Palace Cinemas at Buda`s Mammut mall, the Uránia National Film Theater and Bem Mozi. The opening ceremony was held at the Millenária Teátrum yesterday. The closing and award presentation ceremony will be held at the same location on Tuesday, February 5 at 18:00.

For interested parties, the festival features 18 feature films, 33 documentaries, three documentary-style features, 36 experimental and short films, and 13 science and education films, according to the official website. Films will compete in their respective categories for the feature film prize, called the Golden Reels Prize.

Contrary to earlier reports, Romanian actress Maia Morgenstern will not chair the jury due to health problems. Instead, Klaus Eder, the German general secretary of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) will act as chairperson. The rest of the jury is made up of American film professor Catherine Portuges, Hungarian cinematographer János Kende, film director Krisztina Goda, and composer István Márta.

In related news, several other film events will take place this week, including a round-table discussion of filmmaking, public meetings and an exhibition entitled `100 Years of Hungarian Film` at the Budapest KOGART museum.

For those interested in more information on Hungarian film, the official site of the 39th Hungarian Film Festival has an English version.

All Hungary News
www.caboodle.hu - Wednesday, January 30, 2008