The best films will once again premiere at CineFest in Hungary
Hungarian film fans will have the chance to see the most anticipated and critically acclaimed films of the year in Miskolc, Hungary.
As festival director Tibor Bíró said, “CineFest strives every year to be the first to present to Hungarian audiences the most influential and significant films of the year. Now that the programme is in its final preparations, we are confident that we have once again achieved the ambitious goal we set ourselves. The nine days will certainly not disappoint film fans from all corners of the country coming to Miskolc”.
In addition to the previously announced film by Bence Fliegauf, Jimmy Jaguar, the titles of other competition films have now been revealed. These include Joachim Trier’s new film, Sentimental Value, which was one of the biggest sensations at the Cannes Film Festival a few months ago, where it ultimately won the Grand Prix. In this film, which explores family dynamics, Nora and Agnes are reunited with their estranged father, Gusztav, after a long time. The charismatic man was once a famous director, and he offers Nora a role in his comeback film. She turns down the offer, which is eventually accepted by an enthusiastic young Hollywood actress. The sisters find themselves in a difficult situation: they must resolve their complicated relationship with their father while also dealing with an American movie star who has been thrust into the middle of their troubled family dynamics. Trier worked again with the lead actress from his previous film, The Worst Person in the World, Renate Reinsve, who has since become a star, while also casting Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning in important roles.
In Cannes Hasan Hadi’s The President’s Cake won the Golden Camera Award, also the Audience Award in the Directors’ Fortnight section, demonstrating that the Iraqi first-time writer-director’s tragicomedy impressed both professionals and audiences alike. The film received a lot of attention even during its production, and was finally shot entirely in Iraq with local amateur actors, with big names such as Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, Dune) and director Chris Columbus (Home Alone 1-2, Harry Potter 1-2). Set in the 1990s, during Sadam Hussein’s regime, the film follows a group of schoolchildren who are assigned various tasks to celebrate the president’s upcoming birthday. Nine-year-old Lamia is unlucky enough to be tasked with baking a cake. In a world where survival is a daily struggle, she has to painstakingly gather the ingredients one by one – for Lamia, the task is literally a matter of life and death. The film also has a Hungarian connection, as sound engineer Tamás Zányi and his team were responsible for the sound design.
Kleber Mendonça Filho, who has been honored several times at Cannes, previously appeared in the CineFest competition program with his film Aquarius. His latest film, The Secret Agent, also comes from Cannes, where Filho received the award for best director and the International Federation of Film Critics’ Prize, while Wagner Moura, known from the Narcos series, was named best actor. It will soon be seen whether the tense thriller, set in Brazil in 1977, will be as successful with Hungarian audiences. The protagonist is Macerlo, a man in his forties who, fleeing his violent past, moves to Recife on the northeast coast of Brazil. However, his former hometown does not bring him the happiness and peace he had hoped for.
More information about the festival’s detailed program will be released in the coming weeks.
