From 21 September, the annual Budapest Classics Film Marathon offers six days of evergreen celluloid, with four free alfresco screenings in the shadow of the Basilica. A new short video has just been produced to promote this Magyar movie fiesta.
Running from 21-26 September, the Budapest Classics Film Marathon will be screening some 70+ features, many of them English-friendly. The aim of the festival is to showcase Hungary's film heritage and present lesser-known European gems to Hungarian audiences.
The return of the big screen
As György Ráduly, director of the Film Archive at Hungary’s National Film Institute, puts it: “This difficult period has had a heavy impact on cinemas as well as the tradition of cinema-going. Due to these factors and the love for immortal film classics, let’s all meet again in front of the big screen!”
Bringing together a fascinating schedule that features the very birth of Hungarian cinema 120 years ago – the focus of current exhibition Wide Angle at the Ludwig Museum – and homages to legendary actress Mari Törőcsik and acclaimed animation artist Marcell Jankovics, among others, a new short video just been released, promoting the festival to Hungarians.
All are invited to free evening screenings on Szent István tér in front of the Basilica. The four classics projected on the giant, outdoor screen will be the fully restored masterpiece by Miklós Jancsó, The Round-Up, the sumptuous animation feature Johnny Corncob by Marcell Jankovics, plus the rarely seen audience favourite, Giuseppe Tornatore’s The Legend of 1900, and Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. These last two feature the work of award-winning Hungarian cinematographers Lajos Koltai and Vilmos Zsigmond respectively.
For a longer preview of what’s on offer, see our previous article here.
Festival information
Budapest Classics Film Marathon
Various venues including the Uránia National Film Theatre and the Toldi cinema
21-26 September
