Last year was a successful one for the Hungarian motion picture industry, reaching a peak in the number of productions filmed in the country and the amounts spent here, the government commissioner for the development of the Hungarian motion picture industry declared on Wednesday in Veszprém at the opening of the Hungarian Motion Picture Festival, MOZ.GO.

Csaba Káel noted that the amounts spent on various film productions in Hungary last year approached one billion dollars.

After London, Budapest is the second largest film production base in Europe, and this environment is reflected in the quality of Hungarian productions, he highlighted.

Speaking about this year’s name change for the Hungarian Motion Picture Festival, he explained that the new name MOZ.GO (could be seen as MOTI.ON in English) also hints at dynamism, and their goal remains to reach as many people as possible with Hungarian creations. The festival features productions made for cinema, television, and streaming platforms in various genres, he highlighted. Among others, they will screen Poor Things, for which Zsuzsa Mihalek won the Oscar for Best Production Design this year, and Dune, for which Zsuzsanna Sipos received an Oscar in 2022.

In his welcome speech, Minister for Regional Development Tibor Navracsics pointed out that

arts and culture are not only ways to spend leisure time but also tools for community building and economic stimulation.

The motion picture festival, realized through the cooperation of Veszprém, Balatonfüred, and Balatonalmádi, has become the summer meeting place for Hungarian film art, the minister emphasized.

Mayor of Veszprém Gyula Porga divided the events related to the 2023 European Capital of Culture programme into three phases. In the preparatory years, several events were launched, such as the predecessor of the motion picture festival, the film picnic. Then 2023 was about celebration, and now they are working to continue successful programme elements like MOZ.GO.

In his toast before the opening, festival director Attila Csáky expressed his joy that there is a place to discuss Hungarian films, talk about what everyone has been doing over the past year, and the state of Hungarian cinema.

Following the opening, a pre-premiere gala screening of the crime-comedy Ma este gyilkolunk (We Kill Tonight) was held at the História Garden in Veszprém, attended by several creators and cast members.

From Wednesday to Saturday the Hungarian Motion Picture Festival, MOZ.GO is showcasing around a hundred Hungarian films in Veszprém, Balatonfüred, and Balatonalmádi at a total of twelve venues.

The festival is organized by the National Film Institute and the Veszprém⁠–⁠Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture programme, under the patronage of the Hungarian Film Academy.

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