Barnabás Tóth’s psychological thriller Mastergame won the Best Director award at the Stony Brook Film Festival in New York State over the weekend, the National Film Institute (NFI) informed on Tuesday.
The adaptation of Stefan Zweig’s The Royal Game, starring Gergely Váradi and Károly Hajduk, was a great success at the 29th edition of the American festival showcasing independent short and feature films. A total of 36 works from 19 countries were presented at the event.
As stated in the NFI press release, in Barnabás Tóth’s film, Márta (Sára Varga-Járó) and István (Gergely Váradi) try to leave Hungary on the last refugee train in November 1956. Alongside the young couple, priceless relics of the church are also headed towards the Western border and the free world. B (Károly Hajduk), the Catholic priest, is tortured by the authorities to reveal the whereabouts of the relics. The characters’ stories intersect on the train during a decisive game of chess, where not only the fate of the treasures but also the lives of the lovers are at stake.
The screenplay of Mastergame was written by Barnabás Tóth and Tibor Fonyódi.
The film was produced by Innoplay with the support of the National Film Institute, the Origo Film Group, and in co-production with SPARKS Camera & Lighting, through co-producer Judit Romwalter. Mastergame, which premiered in Hungarian cinemas last year, is planned to be made available on Filmio this autumn.
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