24/08/2006

Since their wins in February at the Hungarian Film Week, White Palms [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Szabolcs Hajdu
film profile] by Szabolcs Hajdu and Taxidermia [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by György Pálfi are continuing their successful run on the international festival circuit.

The two features – which screened in the Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight and in Un Certain Regard, respectively (see Hungarian blitz on the Croisette) and also picked up prizes at Karlovy Vary in July, with a Special Mention for White Palms in the East of the West section – have been selected for the 31st Toronto International Film Festival (September 7-16).

The second and third features by Hadju (34) and Pálfi (32) will get further international exposure at the festival. Both directors come from the Simó class at the Budapest Film School and are co-founders of the production company Katapult Film (see interview with Iván Angelusz, 2006 Producer on the Move by European Film Promotion).

White Palms will be presented in Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema sidebar while Taxidermia will feature in the Visions section and with the Canadian festival’s role as an important arena for international sales, the films should gain access to new markets.

White Palms is being sold by French outfit Onoma and Taxidermia by Fortissimo Film Sales.

Pálfi’s film, released yesterday in French theatres, will open in Belgium on August 30 and in the Netherlands on October 12.

(Translated from French)