The façade of the building, in Bokréta Street, in the capital's District IX, were used by Szabó in the filming of Sunshine, which follows a Jewish family in Hungary through three generations.
Szabó, who attended the inauguration with Sunshine's cinematographer Lajos Koltai, said it felt good that "there is something to show again in Budapest". Though he conceded he also saw beauty in the building's state of decay when the film was shot.
The interiors for Sunshine were shot in a flat in Liliom Street, a short walk from the Sonnenschein home.
Szabó has shot several other films in District IX, including Father, A Film About Love and his portrait of the poet Attila József.
District IX mayor Ferenc Gegesy said the renovated building, which was built in 1870, now has 22 flats and a courtyard. The flats will be rented out by the local council, though tenants will have the chance to purchase the flats after five years. Two-thirds of the cost of the renovation was covered by the Budapest city council and the district council paid for the rest.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Photo: Péter Kollányi (MTI)
