M2 MediaPost & Pillango Productions Launch Post-Production Facility In Hungary

Cannes Film Festival on Sunday.  The French actress, 36, looked stunning in a black, blue and white striped short sleeved T-shirt which she paired with the black trousers.  The star added some height to her frame in a pair of towering black pointed toe heels as she attended the event in the Campari Lounge at the Palais des Festivals.

#Cannes pic.twitter.com/VCEz0aI3BW“Holy Spider,” which screened on Sunday, was particularly overt in its discussion of violence against women, based on the true story of a serial killer who was supported by much of the public because he murdered prostitutes in the name of religion. It was not even made by a female filmmaker, but by the Iranian-born, Denmark-based Abbasi, whose last trip to Cannes was with the startling “Border,” which became known for its scene of troll sex.

CANNES, France -- Cristian Mungiu's Cannes Film Festival entry “R.M.N.” is set in an unnamed mountainous Transylvanian village in Romania, but the conflicts of ethnocentricity, racism and nationalism that permeate the multi-ethnic town could take place almost anywhere.Of all the films competing for the top Palme d'Or prize at Cannes, none may be quite as of the moment as “R.M.N." The movie, using a Romanian microcosm, captures the us-vs-them battles that have played out across Europe and beyond, wherever immigration and national identities have collided.Mungiu, the celebrated Romanian filmmaker of the landmark 2007 abortion drama “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," has long been accustomed to his films being written off as grim portraits of a faraway Eastern Europe. It's a caricature he rejects, especially when it comes to “R.M.N.”“Whenever journalists interpret that it’s yet again another somber painting of this country, well, it’s not about that country — or not only about that country,” Mungiu told reporters Sunday.

this long in an industrial bakery watching the two managers fill out EU grant applications?Soon enough the corners come together and the shape becomes more clear as the part-Roma, part-German Matthias (Marin Grigore) returns to his native Transylvania town either to make amends with his estranged wife Ana (Macrina Barladeanu) or, failing that, to rekindle the flame with former mistress Csilla (Judith State). By way of filial duties, Matthias also has to deal with an ailing father (whose need for an MRI — RMN in Romanian — gives the film its title) and a son too shell-shocked by that unknown forest sight to speak.But the film is just as much Csilla’s story, following the native Hungarian as she carves out a comfortable middle-class existence, devoting herself to her EU-assisted startup and sacrificing whatever personal projects she might have in order to gain affluence in a post-industrial town whose long-shuttered mine has left both water source and the hearts of the men who lost their jobs poisoned for good.Even as the “who” comes sharper into focus, we still can’t quite crack the “why.” Why do we follow Matthias through a seemingly aimless series of encounters as he and his fellow townsfolk debate the finer points of Romanian history? Why do we spend so much time with Csilla as she posts a series of job listings (“Don’t mention the salary,” advises her boss) on every door in town?  And why the urgent need to underline every character’s particular ethnic background?The answer — call it a skeleton key — comes at the one-hour mark upon the arrival of three Sri Lankan migrants to fill the still-vacant posts.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItaly’s Nexo Digital, which produces and distributes theatrical event content for the global market, has scored sales in Cannes on doc “Portrait of the Queen,” about Queen Elizabeth II, by Italian fashion photographer Fabrizio Ferri.By Experience, which handles theatrical events for New York’s Metropolitan Opera and London’s National Theater, has acquired theatrical distribution for the U.S., while other pacts include Sharmill Distribution for Australia; A Contracorriente for Spain; Pannonia for Hungary; and Aero Films for the Czech Republic.“Portrait of the Queen” features photographs and fragments of the queen’s biography, with each portrait presented as a piece of a mosaic; Charles Dance (“The Crown”) narrates  from the diaries of several famous photographers who worked with the queen. There are also conversations with Isabella Rossellini, described as one of the most photographed women in the world, and others that give viewers a more private, intimate reflection on the role, obligations and complexities of being a monarch.The doc is based on Italian writer Paola Calvetti’s book “Elizabeth II.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentREinvent Intl. Sales has scored sales across its slate, including Alex Herron’s horror film “Leave” and Sanna Lenken’s “Comedy Queen.”“Comedy Queen,” which world-premiered at Berlin and won the Crystal Bear in the Generation section, has sold to Benelux (In the Air), France (Les Films Du Preau), Spain (Yoda Films), Poland (Vivarto), Hungary (ADS Service), Lithuania (Scanorama) and the former Yugoslavia (Fivia).“Comedy Queen” follows Sasha, a 13-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian.

Christopher Vourlias The Hungarian film industry is booming, with a record 241 domestic productions — including feature films, shorts, documentaries and TV series — produced in 2021. Here’s a selection of top projects in the pipeline or being sold during the Cannes Market:As Long as the Grass Grows Director: Áron Gauder Producer: Réka Temple (Cinemon Entertainment) Annecy main prize winner Gauder (“The District”) spins an alternative creation myth, in which mankind is but one of many creatures in the animal kingdom, and offers a hopeful story that it’s not too late to correct course and save the planet.Blockade Director: Ádám Tősér Producer: Tamás Lajos (Film Positive Productions) Based on the true story of the country’s first democratically elected prime minister, the film follows József Antall’s journey from a freedom fighter during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 to the infamous 1990 taxi blockade that shook the nation.

Christopher Vourlias On the outskirts of Budapest, a big-budget period drama is recreating the fateful day that sparked the Hungarian war of independence in 1848. Construction is underway at the state-owned Mafilm studio complex on a massive set that will stand in for the Hungarian capital in the 19th century.

ATHENS, Greece -- A more than 3,000-year-old gold signet ring that was stolen from an Aegean island in World War II, crossed the Atlantic, was bought by a Nobel Prize-winning Hungarian scientist and ended up in a Swedish museum has found its way back to Greece.It was the latest in a series of coups by Greek authorities seeking the return of works plundered from the antiquities-rich country — even though an initial effort by the Swedish museum to return the ring apparently fell between the cracks of 1970s bureaucracy.The Greek culture ministry said Friday that the gold Mycenaean-era work from Rhodes, decorated with two facing sphinxes, was willingly returned by Swedish officials who provided full assistance with documenting the artifact and its provenance.Greek experts confirmed the identification, and the piece was handed over in Stockholm by Vidar Helgesen, executive director of the Nobel Foundation, to which the ring had been bequeathed by the Hungarian biophysicist. The foundation, which presents annual awards for outstanding achievement in several fields, had given it to the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm.Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni thanked the Nobel Foundation and Swedish authorities for the repatriation, saying it “shows their respect for modern Greece and our constant efforts to fight the illegal trafficking of cultural goods.”The ring, which would have been a status symbol for a local nobleman in the 3rd millennium B.C., was discovered in 1927 by Italian archaeologists in a Mycenaean grave near the ancient city of Ialysos on Rhodes.

Jessica Kiang The Empress is unimpressed. Introduced to us at the beginning of Marie Kreutzer’s sneaky and terrific Un Certain Regard premiere “Corsage,” submerged in a bathtub during one of her many self-imposed endurance training rituals, Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, is holding her breath underwater for as long as she can.

It took the Empress Elisabeth’s strongest lady’s maid an hour every morning to lace her stays. The Emperor Franz-Joseph’s wife Sisi, as she was fondly known to the subjects of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was famous for the narrowness of her waist, which reputedly measured 19 and a half inches; the slightest weight gain was a matter of seething public interest. It looks very much as if Vicky Krieps, who brings great complexity to her portrait of the empress in Marie Kreutzer’s Un Certain Regard title Corsage, shares the imperial measurements. Let’s hope that is just a trick of the camera. So much corsetry — or corsage, the word we hear much used in the royal dressing-rooms of 19th-century Vienna — doesn’t leave much room for little things like ribs.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorAidan Gillen, who played Littlefinger in “Game of Thrones,” and Sandrine Bonnaire, a best actress winner at Venice for “La cérémonie,” have joined Gabriel Byrne in Samuel Beckett biopic “Dance First,” directed by Oscar-winner James Marsh.Film Constellation has closed pre-sales on the film in Australia/New Zealand (Icon), Italy (Bim Distribuzione), Spain (Filmin), Portugal (Nos Audiovisuais), Greece (Filmtrade), Hungary (Vertigo Media), former Yugoslavia (Discovery) and Taiwan (Cai Chang). Pay TV outlet Sky developed the film as a Sky Original in the U.K.Marsh, best-known for “The Theory of Everything,” for which Eddie Redmayne won an Oscar, and Oscar-winner “Man on Wire,” will start shooting the film on May 30 in Budapest.

Children laughed as they climbed on the Vimto sculpture in the university's northern campus while their parents learned about the city's iconic drink. It's a far cry away from the horrors their nation has seen over recent months.

Denes Varga Rafael Kapelinski’s drama “Budapest Diaries” wrapped shooting in Budapest this week. The Polish-Hungarian coproduction is set in 1981, when the political and economical crisis worsened in Poland, and many people travelled to Hungary where the repression was less severe, according to Film New Europe.Kapelinski is a London-based writer-director, a graduate of the U.K.’s National Film and Television School and the London Film School.

Kevin Spacey is preparing to make his return to starring roles in 1242 – Gateway To The West, a new film that will be available to buy at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.Also starring Eric Roberys, Christopher Lambert and Terence Stamp, the film will be one of several unmade projects seeking distribution as part of Cannes Market. Hungarian filmmaker Peter Soos will direct the film, with Aron Horvath and Joan Lane due to write the script (per The Independent).Although he appeared in Peter Five Eight and low-budget Italian indie film L’uomo Che Disegnò Dio last year, 1242 will represent Spacey’s first major role since since sexual assault allegations were brought against him in 2017.Actor Anthony Rapp first accused the actor of making sexual advances to him in 1986, with numerous other claims following.

Kevin Spacey has been confirmed to star in historical drama 1242 – Gateway to the West, which will be on sale at Cannes Market.

On a grey morning in Oldham town centre, Susan takes a quick cigarette break after shopping for her sister who is coming out of hospital. She's only 58-years-old but will now require 24-hour care.

EXCLUSIVE: Bluestone Entertainment, the U.S. production firm led by former New Line, Artisan and TWC Dimension production exec Richard Saperstein, is teaming up with state-backed Hungarian investment outfit Széchenyi Funds on a ten-picture financing deal over five years.