The conference, organised within the framework of the 43rd Hungarian Film Week, was moderated by German film historian Ulrich Gregor and the Hungarian critic György Báron. Government commissioner in charge of renewing Hungary?s film industry Andrew G. Vajna also made an appearance at the event.
Gregor ? whose History of Film is required reading for industry professionals, as Báron pointed out ? recalled the reception in Germany of Hungarian director István Szabó?s film Father and the films of Judit Elek. He delivered a lengthy laudation of the early work of Márta Mészáros and the new way of seeing things they offered. Gregor pointed to the 270-minute Film Novel: Three Sisters, directed by and István Dárday and Györgyi Szalai; the work of Gábor Bódy and Miklós Jancsó; and Béla Tarr?s epic Satantango as pinnacles of Hungarian film history.
Gregor acknowledged the brave experiments of the Balázs Béla Studio and mentioned the young Hungarian director Benedek Fliegauf as well.
István Dárday told the conference that the aim of Hungarian film was to create a credible image of reality, an aim the pastiche documentary Magyarország 2011, which premiered at the Hungarian Film Week, did not achieve. ?Hungary was not like this in 2011,? he added.
Judit Elek said Hungarian film would never be independent of politics. She expressed concern about the ?atomising? of the profession and the degradation of shorter films into television programmes under the new film financing system. She added that, with the appropriate promotion, Hungarian films were also capable of drawing big audiences.
Márta Mészáros called to account the lack of continuity in Hungary?s film profession and protested the lack of dialogue. She made a call for the profession to pull together.
Árpád Sopsits spoke about the fear of lack of funding for film projects among young people, adding that the profession ought to return to plural democracy, reaching the level of local government.
The producer György Durst complained about the lack of workshops for young filmmakers but pointed out the success of Hungarian short film over the past several years. He suggested money be allocated for a studio for young filmmakers.
Lack of funding has meant a dearth of documentaries about important subjects such as the ?red sludge? flood, Hungary?s worst ever industrial disaster, in 2010, said Gábor Zsigmond Papp.
Béla Tarr, who heads the Association of Hungarian Filmmakers, said Hungarian Film Week ought to be a show of solidarity among professionals. He added that A schism should never have been allowed to form between filmmakers and proposed the establishment of a new pluralistic film system along with an independent film fund.
Edit Bakos, speaking for the Art Cinema Association, warned that more than 90 percent of box office receipts were at multiplex cinemas.
Ágnes Havas, who heads the Hungarian National Film Fund, said she would not exclude the possibility of establishing a new Balázs Béla Film Studio. She said the aim was to renew the Hungarian film profession and she encouraged filmmakers to apply for funding. She dismissed speculation the film fund is commercialising and Americanising Hungary?s film arts.
Havas noted that the fund had taken a decision on Friday to support a new project by Bálint Kenyeres, whose films have won critical acclaim in Hungary and abroad.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Photo: MTI
