In 2009 Hungarian films were invited over one thousand times to international film festivals. Our feature, short, and documentary films as well as the latest animation films were on the programs of film festivals and professional forums of 77 countries. Hungarian film directors, screenwriters, actors and artists won about a hundred prizes and awards abroad.
From the many recognitions the most outstanding were the Hamburg Short Film Award Gyula Nemes won with his experimental Lost World, the Main Prize Karchi Perlmann was awarded for his The Dinner in Palm Springs, the Silver Leopard Krisztina Esztergályos received for her diploma film, Variations in Locarno, Bálint Kenyeres's Gold Hugo Main Prize in Chicago and Roland Vranik's success in Seville. Vranik was the first Hungarian to win the Best Director Prize in Spain for his film Transmission.
As regards documentary films, Ferenc Moldoványi's Another Planet received the most international recognition. Karchi Perlmann's film The Dinner is at the top of the list of short films. In the year 2009 it was in Spain and Italy that the Hungarian filmmakers received the most prizes.
Magyar Filmunio attaches special importance to ensuring that the international audience can see the latest Hungarian films at the best possible platforms. The majority of the works screened at the latest Budapest Hungarian Film Week were successfully launched at widely recognised and important international events in 2009.
Janos Edelenyi: Prima Primavera
In May Bálint Kenyeres's short The History of Aviation had its premiere in Cannes. Krisztina Goda's Chameleon was screened first at the A category festival of Shanghai while Péter Gárdos' Prank, an adaptation of the novel by Dezso Kosztolányi, was first shown at the Moscow IFF.
At the most important film event in the region, the Karlovy Vary IFF, was the international premiere of the latest films by György Pálfi, Áron Mátyássy, Árpád Sopsits and Gergely Fonyó. Pater Sparrow's sci-fi feature film 1 was first screened in October in Sitges, Spain, at the biggest competition for fantasy films. Prima Primavera by János Edelényi and Puskas Hungary by Tamás Almási were first presented at Seminci in Valladolid and the latter received the trophy awarded to the best documentary at the prestigious Spanish festival.
Simon Szabó's first feature film, Paper Planes was in competition in Sao Paulo, at one of the most important film events in South America, while Viktor Nagy's Father's Acre was first screened for the international audience in Thessaloniki at the end of November.
Besides retrospective series presenting the life works of celebrated Hungarian film directors, in July the prestigious film forum in Wroclaw, Poland and at the beginning of December Les Arcs film festival on the snow-capped peaks of the Alps devoted large-scale programs to Hungarian cinema.
