New films in 2008 Vol. 1.

In February 2009 Hungarian Film Week will take place for the 40th time.

Daniel Young: Pinprick

Besides the English actresses Rachael Blake and Laura Greenwood three Hungarian actors also appear in the movie: Ervin Nagy plays the handsome swindler, Zoltán Rátóti portrays the father, who has just left his family and whose place the young man is about to take. Tibor Szervét, a karate instructor in a community centre, plays the mother’s new lover. The story takes place in a nameless town where the sixteen-year-old girl lives and would like to get through her parents’ divorce. One day she meets a mysterious man, who has nowhere to go, so the girl offers him her wardrobe to stay. The girl and the man has a very strange relationship, until the bored male sets his eye on the girl’s pretty mother, disturbing the fragile balance of the family. “The story reminds me of Tóték (The Tot Family), the way a stanger turns a family’s life upside down” – says Ágnes Havas producer.



More info: Skyfilm

Cast: Rachael Blake, Laura Greenwood, Ervin Nagy
Production company: Skyfilm, Kontraproduktion AG
Production cost: 120-130 million HUF
Expected release date: Film Week 2009
IMDb


Gábor Herendi: A Kind of America 2.

"The story is terrific, no fluffs, so I think it is much better than the first part.” – says the director. The second movie is the continuation of the first one, taking place two years later but those who haven’t seen the first part will also be able to follow the story. The actors familiar from the first part will all return but several new characters also appear in the film: Lucia Brawley, who played the female lead in Herendi’s previous film Lora, Imre Csuja as a gangster and the newcomer actress Kátya Tompos. At the end of the first part the American producer played by Tibor Szervét turned out to be a swindler, who got away with the money and the girl. Alex, however, returns and carries on sailing close to the wind. As the staff shot some scenes in the United States, Alex and Timi supposedly escaped there at the end of the first part, and this is where the story of the second movie starts from.

 


Cast: Győző Szabó, Csaba Pindroch, Ferenc Hujber, Tibor Szervét, Szonja Oroszlán, Eszter Ónodi, Imre Csuja, Kátya Tompos, Lucia Brawley
Production company: Skyfilm
Production cost: appr. 320 million HUF
Expected release date: December 2008.
IMDb


Áron Mátyássy: Last times

Áron Mátyássy began his studies at the Academy of Film and Drama in 2000 in Sándor Simó’s class. After the death of their professor Ferenc Grunwalsky was appointed supervising instructor. Mátyássy is the fourth in the class (after Ágnes Kocsis’ Fresh Air, Anna Faur’s Girls and Attila Gigor’s Detective) who has made his first feature, entitled Last times. The story that is rather melancholic in tone takes place in Eastern Hungary: the car mechanic Iván lives with his disabled sister Eszter and to earn some extra money he is also engaged in smuggling oil. One day Eszter is attacked and gets raped, but the investigation leads to nothing. Ivan finds the rapist and takes vengeance for his sister, but this proves to be far from a real solution.




Cast: József Kádas, Teréz Vass, Eszter Földes, Attila László, József Varga, Attila Kasinszky, Mariann Szalay
Production company: Unio Film
Production cost: 140 million HUF
Expected release date: Film Week 2009
IMDb


Gábor N. Forgács: Butterflies

The cave flats and the castle in Sirok makes this funny but rather upsetting story like a fairy tale. In the film the simple world of rural people is contrasted with all the opportunities available in a city. László, the local wild boy as a kind of self-realization builds a football field in order to enter the practically non-existing football team Tetőhatár SC for the championship. The drunkard and always pessimistic Veronika is convinced she will find love. And last but not least there is the nine-year-old boy Mark, the uncrowned king among the kids of his age, who has the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, when he thanks to the disillusioned old musician may touch a violin for the first time in his life. The film traces these four characters’ actions, whose fate is interwoven, and who become involved in a number of tragicomic situtations ending up by a surprising end . And according to the synopsis we may even get to California…



Cast: Péter Rudolf, Kitty Kéri, Nicolas Sipek, Balázs Galkó, Péter Andórai, Erika Nádasy, Valentin Vencel
Production company: HCC Kft.
Production cost: 270 million HUF
Expected release date: Film Week 2009
IMDb


Gergely Fonyó:Made in Hungária

The film version of Made in Hungária was directed by Gergely Fonyó and was produced by Ádám Neményi. The producer of the Hungarian Grease made the swankers of the 60’s young again in order to bring them closer to today’s youth. The film is expected to be released on Valentine’s Day next year. The story is about the period in Miklós Fenyő’s life, when he together with his parents returned from America where he had become a devoted fan of rock and roll. He passes on his enthusiasm to his friends and the courted girls in Saint Stephen Park. A new band is formed by Fenyő as frontman, and similarly to the plot of the American musical Grease they pick a fight with the rival band Shampoo. There can be no doubt that Hungária wins the first prize of the legendary TV show with their song Csavard fel a szőnyeget (Roll up the carpet).



Cast: Tamás Szabó Kimmel, Peti Puskás, Iza Széles, Tünde Kiss, Iván Fenyő, Titánia Valentin, Péter Scherer, Géza Hegedűs D., Géza Bereményi, Tamás Dunai, Éva Vándor, Judit Kocsis
Production company: Next Station Productions
Production cost: 500 million HUF
Expected release date: 14 February 2009.
IMDb


Krisztina Goda: Chameleon

Gábor Farkas does what he does best: he is an arrant liar. The thirty-year-old handsome man seduces lonely, disillusioned, plain women, paying charming compliments, promising everything under the sun, offering a happy future, then walks off with their money a couple of weeks later. The business is flourishing, Gábor and his friend Tibi know what women need and make all their dreams come true – for a while. Gábor becomes bored, gets fed up with all those mediocre, silly women and wants a real challange. He meets Hannah the rich and famous ballet dancer and decides to make her fall in love with him. Hanna, however, is not influenced by his cheap flattery and Gábor comes to realize this time he needs a completely different strategy. Kriszta Goda’s third feature is a thriller.



Cast: Ervin Nagy, Gabriella Hámori, Zsolt Trill, Sándor Csányi, János Kulka, Zsolt László 
Production company: Megafilm
Production cost: 550 million HUF 
Expected release date: December 2008.
IMDb


Péter Fazakas: Para

Imre Csuja portrays Lajos the paunchy fiftysomething ex-policeman who has almost met an untimely end. Indulging in their spiritual passions, our heroes install a web-camera in the cellar of an abandoned country school which is said to be haunted by ghosts. And they start to wait for the ghosts through the internet watching the screen at home. But instead of ghosts they witness a kidnapping. Lajos thinks his time has come and he will be able to win at last. He persuades the others to help the hostage to escape and get the ransom, too. Their plan, however, fails…



Cast: Imre Csuja, Tibor Szervét, Ildikó Bánsági, Anikó Für
Production company: Szupermodern Filmstúdió, Film Positive
Production cost: 120 million HUF
Expected release date: October 2008.
IMDb