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Population: 10m
GDP 2009: 129.3 Bln USD
GDP per capita 2009: 12 926 USD(Source: World Bank)
Admissions: 10.4m
Screens: 416
Feature film Production: 27
Source (2008) Europa Cinemas
Hungary
FNE Visegrad: 2011 Hungarian Film Industry OverviewBUDAPEST: Most of the Hungarian film professionals spent the last year waiting for the government to restructure funding for the Hungarian film industry. The Hungarian Film Fund (www.filmalap.hu) has just announced its first call for grants for film production after more than a year during which most film production in Hungary ground to a halt due to lack of funding. The Film Fund has 1.6 billion forints for 2011 but it has not been announced how much of it will be distributed for support of film production this year. Film production fell dramatically in 2011 compared to previous years. In 2008 the Hungarian National Film Office registered 484 films (features, documentaries, animation and short films) for production with a total budget of 45.6 billion HUF. In 2009 the number of productions fell to 366 with a value of 48.4 billion HUF, in 2010 only 317 films were registered, adding up to 45 billion HUF. In 2011, in the first 6 months, only 78 productions registered to the Film Office, their aggregated budget is 12.9 billion HUF. The Hungarian Motion Picture Foundation (www.mmka.hu) which had been the main institution for the support of the Hungarian film industry became insolvent in mid-2010 due to the government’s decision not to honour its contract with the organisation, leaving production companies, art film distributors, art cinemas and other stakeholders in the film industry carrying huge debts. The MMK owes the film industry about 10 billion HUF. In December 2010, the Hungarian government allotted only 1 billion HUF, a fraction of its earlier budget that was about 5 billion HUF. MMK was earmarked for closure with only enough money allotted from the government budget to close it down. FNE Visegrad 2011: Coproductions in Hungary 2011 BUDAPEST:
The tax incentive scheme in Hungary set up in 2004 together with
special grants for international coproduction from the Hungarian
Motion Picture Foundation (MMK www.mmka.hu)
was responsible for a huge increase in the number of coproductions in
Hungary over the past few years. But the halt of MMK payments on
its contracts for subsidies in mid-2010, left a number of Hungarian
film production companies as well as their coproduction partners in a
difficult position financiall
In 2011 a number of Hungarian coproductions were completed and released in cinemas, but only a few started shooting. Adrienn Pál by Ágnes Kocsis and produced by KMH Films (www.kmh.hu) was released on 19 March 2011, almost a year after the Hungarian-Dutch-Austrian-French picture had its premiere at Cannes. The film went on to win the first FNE Visegrad Prix. The Turin Horse by Béla Tarr was made as a French-Swiss-German-American coproduction. It won the Silver Bear in Berlin and had its national premiere at the end of March. Womb (Inforg Stúdió, www.inforg.hu) by Benedek Fliegauf, which had French and German partners, premiered in Locarno in 2010 and hit the cinemas in April 2011. Retrace (Dániel Film) by Judit Elek (an FNE Ambassador) was produced in partnership with Romania. The film had its festival premiere in Moscow, after the Hungarian release. FNE at DISCOP Budapest 2011: HungaryBUDAPEST: When it comes to TV, Hungary prefers to go it alone. Without any natural linguistic partners and lacking the strong regional ties shared by Czechs and Slovaks, the Balkans, or the Baltics, Hungarians have forged their own path. Even the commercial channels which are part of large international TV groups assert their independence when it comes to programming. It’s a trend that has become more apparent in recent years, as Hungarian tastes have moved from films, to imported U.S. series, to locally produced programmes and formats. But maybe Hungarian tastes aren’t so specialized; foreign buyers have begun showing an interest in new domestic Hungarian productions. RTL Klub (www.rtlklub.hu ), part of the RTL Group (www.rtlgroup.com ), prefers to buy reality formats and produce its own versions, but acquires foreign series for rebroadcast. "Formats have the best results," says acquisitions manager Edina Balough. While foreign series might attract 20-30% shares, the station's own programmes can achieve 40%. That made The X Factor the station's biggest hit of 2010, along with strong results for Come Dine with Me and the channels' original talent show, A Star is Born. Real World, a Big Brother type show now in its fourth season, was produced in-house and did very well, with discussions ongoing regarding sale of the format to other CEE territories.
FNE 2010 Year in Review: Chaos in Hungary
Almost complete stoppage of Hungarian film production, blocking of all public funding for film production and distribution, the uncertain future (and possible postponement or cancellation) of Hungarian Film Week, total uncertainty over the plans of the government for the future system and institutions of the Hungarian film - this is the short list of the major developments of Hungarian film industry in 2010. The problems began with the appointment at the beginning of the year of a new president to the head of the Motion Picture Public Foundation of Hungary (MMK), Zoltán Kőrösi. He uncovered huge debts and financial problems within MMK and the whole Hungarian film industry. The new government - due to budgetary issues and problems within MMK - decided in June to stop all public funding toward MMK which in the second half of the year was unable to honour its contracts and declarations of intent. Films which were already in postproduction or had their funds assured from other partners were completed, but since the summer, almost no Hungarian films have been shot. FNE Visegrad Country Focus: Hungary 2010Institutional background The most important financing institution in Hungary is the Hungarian Motion Picture Foundation (MMKA - http://www.mmka.hu/) which distributes the overwhelming majority of public funding intended for film production and distribution. However in 2010 major changes occurred with the appointment in March of a new president to the head of the institution. Zoltán Kőrösi started his job with an in-depth analysis of the financial situation of the institution which revealed huge gaps. The decision ofthe new management to follow a much more disciplined financial approach severlt affected severely film production in 2010, and according to estimations its effects will be even more apparent in 2011. The results of the Parliamentary elections that took place in April produced a major political shift in Hungary. In the new governmental system the Ministry of Culture hasbeen replaced by the Ministry of National Resources, where culture is represented only by an under-secretary. Due to the restructuring of public financing a major part of funding has been blocked, which made MMKA unable to pay even those productions which already had signed and approved contracts. FNE Visegrad 2010 Coproductions in HungaryProduction environment Hungary has become one of Europe's international coproduction hubs over the past six years, following the passage of important legislation that set up a tax rebate system that allows producers to get back up to 25% of the cost of the production. The tax rebate system in Hungary is quite simple: a coproducer must have a Hungarian partner who applies for the tax rebate certificate which if approved - and it usually is - results in the producer being able to get between 20 and 25% of the total production budget from a third party partner who writes the corresponding amount off on his taxes. The producer does not have to wait for the production to be completed to get the money back.
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