Hungary’s National Film Institute Filmlab Aims High

Marta Balaga The producers of Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films alike are on the lookout for the most cost-efficient locations. Recent examples include several of the year’s Oscar nominees, from “Aftersun,” which shot in Turkey; “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” which went to Budapest; to “Elvis,” in Australia. “Budapest offered an affordable alternative to both London and Paris,” says Jonathan Halperyn, managing director at Budapest-based Hero Squared and a co-producer on the film. “Hungary often comes up as a shooting destination when there is a budget crunch.” He adds: “We applied for co-production status and support from the National Film Institute of Hungary during the COVID hiatus, and by the end of 2020, we were up and running. This is the kind of flexibility we have become known for.”

Tara Karajica In “Narrow Path to Happiness,” Hungarian director Kata Oláh follows a young gay Romani couple from a remote village in Hungary whose dream it is to make a musical based on their lives. Just as the Hungarian government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and hostile toward LGBTQ+ people, they move to the capital. The film played in the International Competition at the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival this week. The younger protagonist, Lénárd Váradi, who was 16 years old at the time, reached out to the National Film Institute in Hungary, asking for contacts and looking for a producer who would help them apply for a script development grant. Oláh, who also edited the film, says she couldn’t believe it. “I thought somebody was joking! It cannot be real! So, I said, ‘Sure, let’s meet.’ And then, we met and I fell in love with them and said: ‘You know, it doesn’t work like that; we can’t just apply for a script grant. But I will start to follow you and I will make a documentary about how you are trying to achieve your dream.”

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Autlook Filmsales has sold “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” which won the directing award for Anna Hints in the World Cinema Documentary section at Sundance, to more than 20 territories in North America, Europe and Australia. Deals are confirmed with Neue Visionen in Germany, Trigon in Switzerland, Against Gravity in Poland, Fidalgo in Norway, Ost For Paradise in Denmark, Vedetta in Benelux, Filmtrade in Greece and Cyprus, FilmIn in Spain, Alambique in Portugal, Filmladen in Austria, Pasaka Films in Lithuania, Artcam in Czech Rep. and Slovak Rep., Best Film in Latvia, Mozinet in Hungary, and Madman in Australia and New Zealand. The rights in U.S. have been picked up by Greenwich Entertainment and in Canada by Sherry Media Group. The theatrical release in Estonia is by ACME Film.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Sometimes due to article lengths or just time, there are some fun tales from interviews and Q&As that don’t make their way into stories. So I’ve decided to include a round-up here. Enjoy! The Accent in “Tár” Has Surprising Origins If you’re not already aware, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation is a non-profit org that provides several resources and emergency assistance to SAG-AFTRA artists. It also hosts fantastic Q&As that really dive deep into the acting process and for the recent SAG Awards, organizers hosted several panels with contenders in different categories. I was honored to moderate a few, including one for the lead female actor in a film with nominees Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Cate Blanchett (“Tár”), Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) and Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once).”

Jamie Lee Curtis is spilling the deets on her SAG Awards kiss with Michelle Yeoh. Curtis took home the trophy for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” during the 29th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards last Sunday. Before taking the stage to the delight of the audience, Curtis grabbed her co-star and planted a big kiss on her.

Jamie Lee Curtis is spilling the deets on her SAG Awards kiss with Michelle Yeoh. Curtis took home the trophy for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her role in during the 29th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards last Sunday. Before taking the stage to the delight of the audience, Curtis grabbed her co-star and planted a big kiss on her.ET's Will Marfuggi spoke to the  actress at the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards Saturday where she said she had «no idea» she kissed Yeoh in what has now become a viral awards season moment.«I didn't know I actually kissed Michelle until they showed me,» Curtis revealed. «I'm telling you, the word shocked — you people, you must think we all think we're gonna win things.

Tom Sizemore, who starred in Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down and in hundreds of other film and TV roles over three-plus decades, died Friday at a hospital in Burbank. He was 61 and had been in a coma since suffering a stroke February 18 that resulted in brain aneurysm.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sony Pictures Classics has bought “The Teachers’ Lounge,” Ilker Çatak’s drama which world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, for North America, Latin America and Eastern Europe (excluding Hungary). “The Teachers’ Lounge” marks the fourth feature from Çatak, who co-wrote the screenplay with Johannes Duncker. The movie played in the Panorama section and won the Europa Cinemas Label award for Best European film, as well as the CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award. Produced by Ingo Fliess and shot by award-winning cinematographer Judith Kaufmann (“Corsage”), “The Teachers’ Lounge” stars Leonine Benesch (“The Crown”), Michael Klammer, Rafael Stachowiak, and Eva Löbau.

Sony Pictures Classics has picked up all rights in North America, Latin America and European Europe (excluding Hungary) to the Ilker Çatak drama The Teachers’ Lounge, which won both the Europa Cinemas Label award and the CICAE Arthouse Cinema award at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer California has tried using carrots to encourage film and TV productions to hire a diverse workforce. Now, for the first time, it’s getting out the sticks. Under a proposal from the governor’s office, productions that fail to meet their diversity goals will lose 4% of their tax credit allocation. The provision is part of a five-year extension of the state’s $330 million tax credit. Productions that receive the credit will be required to submit a diversity “workplan,” under which they must commit to hire a crew that is “broadly reflective” of the state’s demographics.

Sundance prize winner Sofia Alaoui, Yemeni-Scottish Oscar-nominee Sara Ishaq and Emmy-feted Egyptian cinematographer Muhammad Hamdy will be among filmmakers presenting projects at the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra event, unfolding in Qatar March 10-15.

Tara Karajica In Ralph Arlyck’s “I Like It Here” – his first film in 18 years – the U.S. documentary filmmaker reflects on his life while spending time with neighbors, friends, colleagues, children and grandchildren, and at the same time making peace with the physical and emotional obstacles of growing old, and pondering on the serenity and fulfilment that come with entering one’s final years. The film plays in the International Competition at the Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival on March 10. At first, Arlyck thought he would make a film about his neighbor Ernie, a Hungarian hermit who lived north of his farm, but “it quickly became clear that he wasn’t going to go for that,” he tells Variety. “At that point, I realized that it really wasn’t Ernie that was gnawing at me. It was what we all confront: aging and these questions that become very prominent in front of your face. You’re getting older and you can’t do what you used to do. You’re gonna die… All these questions. I really realized that’s what I wanted to make a film about.”

EXCLUSIVE: The Match Factory has unveiled a slew of deals for German director Christian Petzold’s Berlin Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize winner Afire.

that spot-on! Listen to Fallon in the clip at the top and decide for yourself.DeBose had the internet in a craze days after her performance of the girl-power rap at the BAFTAs on Feb. 19 that was a combination of a tweaked “Sister Are Doing It for Themselves” and “We Are Family.”A sampling: ” Dame Emma, I’m so fond.

Monday night's episode of , fans got a peek at the drama ahead, including the week where Zach Shallcross and his final three women will get the chance to spend a night totally alone.Before fans look ahead to Fantasy Suites, though, more of the journey is set to unfold. Next week, the group will head to Budapest, Hungary, where Zach will decide which four hometowns he'll visit.«I've got strong feelings for all of these women,» Zach admits to the cameras, before reuniting with Greer, who's been absent since testing positive due to COVID-19.While Gabi reveals that she's ready to introduce the tech executive to her family, Kat and Charity seem to be questioning things, with the former struggling with «uncertainty» and the latter telling Zach, «It's sometimes hard for me to trust that I'm making the right choices.» Something must not go right, as Zach is seen breaking down in dramatic fashion.After Hometowns, when the Fantasy Suites do roll around, Zach drops a bombshell on host Jesse Palmer.«This week is viewed as 'sex week,'» Zach says.

Jamie Lee Curtis is keeping her late parents close to her heart.

Operation Petticoat,” she said. “Which was based on a movie that my father, Tony Curtis (nepo baby) starred in.”“I was fired from that TV show, a year later, and I thought my life was over,” she added.“If I hadn’t been fired from Operation Petticoat, I would have never had the opportunity to audition for a little tiny, no-budget horror movie called Halloween.”In her acceptance speech for her performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once, Jamie Lee Curtis went on: “I’m wearing the wedding ring that my father gave my mother.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent LevelK has boarded “Adventures in the Land of Asha,” a Canadian family film which marks the feature debut of Sophie Farkas Bolla. The film is produced by Hany Ouichou (“I’ll End Up in Jail”) and Kim O’Bomsawin (“Je m’appelle humain”). It will have its world premiere at Montreal International Children’s Film Festival and its International Premiere at Buff Film Festival. LevelK is handling worldwide sales on the movie. On a cold winter’s day in 1940, Jules and his family move to live with his uncle, mayor of a settler’s village in northern Quebec. He is banned from school because of his rare skin disease. From that moment on, his greatest wish is to be cured. When his dog Spark runs away into the wild forest, Jules has no choice but to look for him. On his way, he meets Asha, a mysterious young indigenous girl. Together, they venture to the other side of the forest, where nature reveals itself full of life and secrets.

Jamie Lee Curtis addressed nepotism in Hollywood after winning a Screen Actors Guild Award on Sunday. "I'm wearing the wedding ring that my father gave my mother," Curtis told the audience as she accepted the award for her role in "Everything Everywhere All At Once." She reminded the room at the Fairmont Century Plaza that her famous parents, Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, didn't always have the perfect love story. "They hated each other, by the way.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Arbelos, a Los Angeles-based boutique film distribution company, has acquired North American rights to the new 4K restoration of Béla Tarr collaborator György Fehér’s landmark but long unseen Hungarian masterpiece “Twilight” (“Szürkület”). The restored version of the film world premiered in the Berlinale’s Classics strand on Monday. Hungary’s National Film Institute handled the sale. Fehér, who made only two theatrical features, shot the black-and-white film at the end of the 1980s. Based on the crime novella “The Pledge” by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, it is the story of a retired detective who uses a girl as bait to try to catch a serial killer.