Modelled on the Edinburgh International Fesitval's Fringe, Budapest Fringe, which is being organised parallel with the Budapest Spring Festival for the third year in a row, gives the chance to thousands of amateur and professional artists to bring their work to a wider audience.
This year's Fringe will take place over three days at the Millenáris events centre near Moskva Square and the nearby Marczibányi Square civic centre. The festival is being launched with a press conference hosted by none other than András Hajós, whose band Emil.RuleZ! was earlier Fringe material (albeit before the Budapest Fringe), playing to small audiences in smoky pubs.
Someone asks festival director Zsófia Zimányi whether she sees Fringe as an open door for new artists or a rather a love child. "I would say we open doors for our love children," she answers.
The festival aims to allow the broadest participation possible. This year more than 300 acts are signed up to perform. Nearly everybody who wanted to perform will. Only those who acts ran over the allotted performance time were turned down.
While Fringe gives the performers a stage, it is the performers themselves that are responsible for promotion. Already at the press conference, young performers are passing out flyers for their acts.
The acts will be evaluated by a 90-member jury. Prize-winners may find the recognition leads to a recording contract or invitations to perform at bigger venues to bigger audiences. Case in point: last year's Fringe winners - The Fugato Orchestra and the dance troupe 4 For Dance - are on the programme of this year's Budapest Spring Festival.
Gergely Fazekas, a member of the Fringe jury, says the most important criteria for the evaluation are the effect of the performance on the audience, the originality of the performance and its quality.
Hajós noted that the main prize for Fringe artists is the chance to perform. "Not all that glitters is gold," he adds.
Author: Éva Kelemen
