DEAR FILM AND CINEFEST FRIENDS!
The CineFest Miskolc International Film Festival, celebrating its 20th anniversary this September, has become Hungary’s best-known and, based on the feedback, the most popular film festival. Every September, the film industry and audiences have the opportunity to view the most significant and valuable films from the previous year’s global film production, with national premieres featured in the competition program and the Open Eye section.
When we created the festival, our dream was that CineFest would one day become the leading international film festival in the region. We managed to achieve this goal with the quality of the film selection and the related programs that grow richer every year.
This year, the competition program will also be of comparable quality to the major European festivals, and the Hungarian premieres of the year’s most important films will take place at CineFest. In the Open Eye section, which brings together the works of great filmmakers, we present the big and most important festival favorites of the past year to the domestic audience.
Just like in the previous years, we will not forget about the classics of Hungarian cinema, showcasing important works from both Hungarian and foreign cinema through thematic selections, and recognizing the young talent in Hungarian animation with the Attila Dargay Prize. Recognizing remarkable individuals in the film industry, both on a global and national scale, has become our tradition that involves presenting them with the CineFest’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Ambassador of European Cinema Award. To date, 17 individuals received the Lifetime Achievement Award, and 7 of them have attended the festival to collect the award in person.
The festival also cooperates with many international professional organizations. As a result, we are honored that FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) delegates a jury of internationally recognized film critics to our festival every year.
We have excellent cooperation with the international organizations SIGNIS and Interfilm, who decide on the International Ecumenical Jury Award with the assistance of the jury delegated to CineFest. The jury delegated by the CICAE (Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d’Art et d’Essai) – the International Association of Art Cinemas, decides on the prize of the international organization uniquely in our country, through the eyes of cinema operator colleagues. Every year, we try to focus on the cinematography of one country in the framework of out-of-competition screenings, with the participation of creators.
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Tibor Bíró
festival director
