A film drama about taxi hyenas; a documentary about one of the greatest masters of Hungarian animation, Attila Dargay; a feature film about a doctor working in an intensive care unit; and an experimental short film titled Flódni have received production support from the television committee of the National Film Institute (NFI), the organization announced on Friday.
According to the NFI’s statement, Adam Freund, the director of the Student Academy Award-nominated Earthly People, will start shooting his first feature film titled Hyenas in September. The film drama, which is interwoven with much humour, takes place among Budapest taxi drivers colloquially known as hyenas, and consists of several intertwined stories, with protagonists being simple, everyday people. The main roles will be played by Emőke Pál, Roland Rába, Gábor Ferenczi, and Raul Ionescu. The production of the film, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, is supported by NFI with 542 million forints.
A documentary film titled The Hungarian Walt Disney — A Portrait of Attila Dargay is being directed by András Ballai. The film pays tribute to the creator of Vuk, and many other legendary, timeless animated films.
Dargay’s body of work is a significant milestone in the 110-year history of Hungarian animation.
The portrait film, which is being made with the support of 25 million forints from the NFI, showcases Dargay’s career and examines its impact on subsequent creators and the general public.
The main character of the feature film Drowning is a doctor working in an intensive care unit, who makes life and death decisions daily, aids recovery, alleviates suffering, and ensures the preservation of dignity. The coronavirus pandemic disrupts the doctor’s life, whose fate is determined by his character and chosen profession, the statement said. The work of Doctor and Film Director Zoltán Vámos is being made with 450 million forints of support from the NFI.
Ágoston Kenéz is directing an experimental short film titled Flódni, with 12.6 million forints of support from the NFI. The film tells the story of an elderly couple using puppets. The couple has not spent a single night apart in 50 years, so when the wife is hospitalized, the husband cannot sleep. He visits his wife every day, hoping that she will finally wake up and they can go to the pastry shop together.
One of the NFI’s most important commitments is to develop and support works intended for television and streaming through a tender process. Responsible for the coordinated activities of the entire Hungarian film industry, the organization has supported the creation of more than three hundred valuable, culturally enriching, and unique television works in recent years from TV dramas to animated series, the NFI statement reads.
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