Ferenc Bessenyei, one of the greatest Hungarian actors was born 100 years ago. CineClassics remembers him with two of his films, an exhibition and a roundtable discussion. It’s difficult to list all the movie characters played by the Kossuth Prize winner Bessenyei, since he performed in several memorable films throughout five decades.

CineFest pays tribute to his oeuvre with an often and a rarely broadcasted films of his. He appears in The Bitter Truth, premiered and banned in 1957, alongside Miklós Gábor. The film is screened on the 16th of September at 5 PM in the Béke room. Legendary actors and actresses like Zoltán Latinovits, Tibor Bitskey, Lajos Básti and Éva Ruttkai accompany him in the Zoltán Várkonyi directed A Hungarian Nabob, an all-time audience favourite. The film is played on the 15th of September at 4:40 PM in the Béke room.

In the Theatre Museum of Miskolc a commemorative exhibition is held, remembering the early years of Bessenyei’s career and his most remarkable performances. The iconic actor started his career in Géza Földessy’s company in Miskolc, where he formed plenty of characters, including an operetta bon vivant, Claudius in Hamlet, Lennie in Of Mice and Men, and the title roles in Bánk bán and Peer Gynt. Later, he returned to Miskolc in the 1960s to play Lajos Kossuth, one of his greatest roles, in Fáklyaláng (Torch-Flame), a drama written by Gyula Illyés. Through the issues of the Film Színház Muzsika (Film Theatre Music) journal, the exhibition also presents the most emblematic performances of Bessenyei and his greatest moments in film and theatre.

Opening ceremony: 13 September, 15:00 Until 31 December Thália-ház, Theatre Museum of Miskolc 3530 Miskolc, Déryné u. 3.

The exhibition and the Bessenyei films of CineClassics are accompanied by a roundtable discussion at 15:00 on 15 September in Béke Hall, House of Arts. Before the screening of A Hungarian Nabob, his wife, Eszter B. Élthes as well as film historians Márton Kurutz and Péter Muszatics will remember his legendary figure. Moderated by György Lukácsy.