26-11-2020

FNE Oscar Watch 2021: Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time is Hungary's Oscar Bid

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    Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time by Lili Horvát Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time by Lili Horvát

    BUDAPEST: Lili Horvát’s sophomore feature Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time / Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre is Hungary's candidate for the 93rd Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award in the best international feature film category.

    The Hungarian Oscar Committee that decided on the selection included Csaba Káel, Government Commissioner for the Development of the Hungarian Motion Picture Industry and Chairman of the National Film Institute - Hungary, film director Csaba Bereczki, screenwriter Tibor Fonyódi, film distribution expert András Kálmán, producer Ákos Pesti and cinematographer Emil Novák.

    The film written by Lili Horvát follows a 40-year-old neurosurgeon who falls in love with a man, leaves her career in America and returns to Budapest for him, only to find that he claims that they have never met before.

    The main characters are played by Natasa Stork, Viktor Bodó and Benett Vilmány.

    “To me, Preparations... is primarily a personal story about the role of projection in love. Our film plays out in the unsettlingly murky no-man's-land that separates love from madness. To what extent do we construct love stories within ourselves? How far does our desired reality go, and where does it meet actual reality?” Horvát said in a statement.

    Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time had its premiere in the Venice IFF's Venice Days and received a long list of awards including the Chicago IFF New Directors Competition’s Golden Hugo, Philadelphia FF’s Best Narrative Feature, Valladolid IFF’s Golden Spike, Best New Director and Best Actress, as well as the FIPRESCI Prize at the Warsaw IFF and Best Actress Award at the Antalya Golden Orange IFF.

    The film was produced by Dóra Csernátony, Lili Horvát and Péter Miskolczi through Poste Restante with the support of the National Film Institute - Hungary.

    The international sales division of the National Film Institute - Hungary, NFI World Sales, is handling the sales.

    Lili Horvát's debut feature The Wednesday Child (produced by Poste Restante) was awarded the East of the West Award at the Karlovy Vary IFF in 2015.