28-09-2010

FESTIVALS: Hungarian Film Week faces reforms

By Zsolt Gyenge

    The new president of the Hungarian Motion Picture Association (MMKA - http://english.mmka.hu/ ) Zoltán Kőrösi is making plans to open the traditional national film festival to foreign films and adding an international jury.

    Internationally noticed, widely open to the public, and bearing the characteristics of a prestigious festival are the keywords which are guiding Kőrösi, who spoke about the changes to magyar.film.hu.

    "We see that there is almost no Hungarian film produced without a foreign partner, so a Film Week closed on itself seems pointless," Kőrösi explained. Along with a panorama section, which would present important films from the region, an international jury is also among the plans of MMKA.

    The president said they are seeking a new venue for the festival which usually takes place in the first week of February. A new cultural center still under construction might be the ideal place if finished in time, but along with that several smaller art-house cinemas would be included. In this way Kőrösi hopes that the event will reach more people who are not connected somehow to the profession or the cultural elite of the city.

    With less then 6 months to go there are a lot of uncertainties both in the conception and in the organizational details of the 42nd Hungarian Film Week. Kőrösi said that even if the next edition will be a transitional one, it is important that the first changes be implemented as soon as possible.