Mária Sós Becomes New GHD President

Mária Sós is the new president of the Guild of Hungarian Directors.

As the new president of the guild told filmhu, the new leadership (with honorary president, Miklós Jancsó, and members Orsolya Székely, András Surányi, László Babiczki, András Fésős, Ádám Csillag, Ildikó Vajda, and György Pálos) aims to reactivate the softened GHD in representing filming industry interests.

Mária Sós sets to work with concrete plans and a fresh momentum. To do this she needs further financial resources, she told filmhu, because the guild has all but spent the 8 million forints it received from Filmjust eight years ago.

One such resource might be the grant available to filming co-operation projects from the Motion Picture Public Foundation of Hungary, which GHD is applying for with its civic distribution scheme. The guild would like to provide opportunities for Hungarian films (especially documentary, experimental and short films) to be screened more widely, primarily outside of Budapest, but not through the traditional distribution channels. Ms Sós says that the coming Hungarian Film Week provides the guild with a good opportunity to choose the films worthy of greater publicity. A lecturer on film at Lóránd Eötvös University, Ms Sós also added that the civic distribution scheme would require the voluntary participation of film directors alongside universities that offer Media and Film Studies majors.

Speaking of the potential in GHD, Ms Sós says that as they have participated in the preparatory round table talks on the new Motion Picture Act, they will also take part in the public service round table talks on preparing the new Media Act. They also feel it important to draw up plans on the switch to digital television and general developments.

A tradition with the guild, the Jolán Árvai Awards, will be held this year on 15 December. In a similar vein to the Jolán Árvai Award, the Master of Staff Awards are awarded by the Hungarian Society of Directors to those who cannot receive official state recognition because their work is not strictly creative, such as boom operators or dolly grips.

(Photo: Ildikó Vajda)