Etyek, February 2, 2007 - The Korda Studios holds a topping out
ceremony. The first phase of the studios' construction will be
completed in May 2007. Photo: László Beliczay (MTI)
ceremony. The first phase of the studios' construction will be
completed in May 2007. Photo: László Beliczay (MTI)
Minister of Education and Culture István Hiller said at the ceremony that the studios exemplified a new type of cooperation between the public and private sectors.
"In this plan and its implementation, I see a new cooperation, a new union. The gist of this union is that we have been capable of creating a new type of role for the state, with the cooperation of the state, cultural policy, private investors and private capital," Hiller said.
"It's about the state making laws, introducing regulations which are beneficial (for the film industry) and creating a satisfactory environment for investors," Hiller said, citing the Film Act - introduced with a unanimous vote in 2003 - which gives film industry investors special tax breaks.
Hiller said a similar cooperation between the state and private investors could be forged in other cultural areas as well.
The Korda Studios, named after the Hungarian-born director Sir Alexander Korda, is being built entirely with private capital from the businessmen Sándor Demján and Péter Munk, the Hungarian-born Hollywood producer Andrew Vajna and members of the Rothschild family.
Mr Demján said the group of investors had provided the financial foundation for elevating Hungary's cultural life.
The Korda Studios is being built on a 40,000-square-metre plot at the edge of the village of Etyek, near Budapest. It will include six studios, of which four - with a combined area of 6,500 square metres, built at a cost of EUR 83 million - will be inaugurated in May, together with production offices and dressing and makeup rooms, marking the end of the first phase of the project. The second phase will be completed by the end of the year and include the completion of a 6,000-square-metre studio - the largest in the world - which will be outfitted for underwater scenes.
With its world-class production and technical infrastructure, the Korda Studios will provide filmmakers with a "one-stop shop" for the creation of all types of film, television and advertising productions.
