30/01/2007

Hungarian cinema continues its international success with the selection of two features in the Panorama sidebar of the 57th Berlin Film Festival (February 8-18, 2007): Árpád Bogdán’s Happy New Life and Károly Esztergályos’ Men in the Nude.

The duo brings the number of Hungarian films on show in Berlin to four. The other two titles are Csaba Bollók’s Iska’s Journey [+see also:
film review
film profile] in the Generation Kplus section (see news) and Krisztina Goda’s Children of Glory [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in the Berlinale Special programme (see article).

The debut feature by Bogdán (30), Happy New Life (Boldog új élet) tells the story of a young teenager called Rom who was brought up in the protective environment of an orphanage but then suddenly finds himself in the real world where he faces significant difficulties in adapting.

Featuring amateur actors Lajos Orsós, Michaela Göczi and István Szilvási, Bogdán’s film was produced by Laokoon Film and backed among others by the Motion Picture Public Foundation of Hungary and the Hungarian Ministry of Culture.

The Pecs-born director himself lived in an orphanage until 14 and has included several autobiographical elements in the story.

Released last October in Hungarian cinemas through Hungarotop, Esztergályos’s Men in the Nude (Férfiakt) is the second feature by a highly experienced television director.

Starring Laszlo Galffi, David Szabo and Eva Kerekes, the production is an unconventional love story between a 49 year-old married writer and a 19 year-old man. The €465,000 film was produced by Centrál Filmstúdió.

(Translated from French)