Hungary Production Boom Builds on ‘Special Film DNA’ in Magyar Industry: ‘There Is a Huge Tradition’ of Cinema in the Central European Country
variety.comChristopher Vourlias When it comes to the wild success of the film industry in Hungary, which is the largest production hub in continental Europe and second in Europe only to the U.K., film commissioner Csaba Káel is quick to credit a rich cinematic legacy dating back more than 100 years. “There is a huge tradition,” he said. “We have a special film DNA in Hungary.” The industry’s ongoing success, however, as well as its hopes for the future, is just as reliant on sound policy and investment from the country’s National Film Institute, along with a deep pool of world-class talent that is the envy of industries twice its size.
Those were among the takeaways of a panel during the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film that included Káel, Hungarian producer Ildikó Kemény (“Poor Things”), Hungarian-born and Canadian-based producer Robert Lantos (“Crimes of the Future”), and the U.K.’s Mike Goodridge (“Club Zero”), who spoke about their experiences of filming in the country.
The event was moderated by The Hollywood Reporter‘s Mia Galuppo. While focusing on the Magyar industry’s proud past, Káel began by looking toward the future, as he highlighted the long-anticipated expansion of the state-backed NFI Studios, which will add four new sound stages totaling 12,000 sq.
m. by the end of this year. The complex is one of four studios located within a 20-minute drive of the center of Budapest, underscoring the convenience of shooting in the Hungarian capital.
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