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The Embassy of Hungary in Wellington warmly invite you to the first Hungarian Film Festival in Wellington, which is dedicated to presenting a range of high quality, unique, cutting edge, exciting and little-seen work in New Zealand. The programme, that combines the best in contemporary Hungarian cinema with masterpieces from Hungary’s rich cinematic tradition, provides meaningful insights into society. We invite you to take this opportunity to immerse yourself in the energy and originality of Hungarian culture through the evocative images offered by the selection of five films. All movies are in Hungarian with English subtitles. We are very grateful to the Hungarian National Film Fund and The Roxy Cinema for their very helpful co-operation in organizing the First Hungarian Film Festival in Wellington. dr. Laszlo Zsolt Szabo Ambassador With tragedy, excitement, sex and violence en route to the finals, a stirring tribute to a doomed generation (Hungarian: Szabadság, szerelem), a 2006 film commemorates Hungary’s Revolution of 1956 and the “Blood in the Water” match, directed by Krisztina Goda. Taking place in Budapest and at the Melbourne Olympic Games in October and November of that year, the film takes viewers into the passion and sadness of one of the most dramatic popular revolts of the twentieth centu- ry. In the same year Soviet tanks were violently suppressing the Revolution within Hungary, the Hungarian water polo team was winning over Russia in the Olympic pool in Melbourne, in what is sometimes described as the bloodiest water polo match in history. While telling the story of 1956 in part through fictional lead characters, the film-makers simultaneously recreated many of the key public events of the Revolution, including the huge demonstrations and the fighting in the streets of Budapest. The film was made with the collaboration of two famous Hollywood filmmak- ers with Hungarian roots: it was written by Joe Eszterhas (Basic Instinct) and produced by Andrew G. Vajna (Nixon, Evita). 121 min An accomplished crime/action movie, fast-paced and fluid, elegantly shot and often funny (Hungarian: A viszkis) a 2017 blockbuster about a famous Hungarian bank robber, written and directed by Hungarian-American filmmaker Nimród Antal (Kontroll, Vacancy, Armored, Predators, and Metallica). A story of a fascinat- ing life, full of amazing pursuits, action scenes, about a tough guy turned star. He did something others wouldn’t dare. Always one step ahead of the cops and always downed a whiskey before robbing a bank. Growing up in a broken home Attila was a troubled teenager, even spent time in a youth prison. Through a rather bizarre turn of events he escaped to Hungary from Transyl- vania. But his new life turned out to be much harder than the old one. He was the goal-keep- er on a hockey team, but still had no money, no girlfriend; but then he found something that he’s really good at. He was reckless, fast and meticulous. He started robbing post offices, banks, and travel offices. The more he stole, the hungrier he got. Nothing was enough for himself and his new love But his final job didn’t go as planned and the determined investiga- tor, ho’s long been on his tail finally caught him and made him face the consequences. But the cop-robber game is far from over. The Hungar- ian bank robber made a compelling subject for an American book written by Julian Rubinstein (Ballad of the Whiskey Robber). 126 min A personal and light hearted film, a nice introduction to Hungarian history, and charming story of a family (Hungarian: Anyám és más bolondok a családban) a 2015 movie presents the sto- ries of four generations of women in Hungary through the 20th century, written and directed by Ibolya Fekete. A zany tale of a family in the 20th century. Four generations of “fools”, with Mother in the focus, who has lived 94 years and moved 27 times in her life. Moving was her only means of dealing with trouble, danger or conflicts. In fact, it was History that chased her on, all over the country and throughout the horrible century. She was a born non-conform- ist. With incredible luck, she found Father, who had as much courage to live as she had. The world twisted and turned around them, faces swirling, disappearing and reappearing, while they kept moving on, shoulder to shoulder, happily oblivious to it all. They were armed against the world: their sense of humour, in- tegrity and faith in each other helped them pulling through. In short, they were free peo- ple in a country that was anything but free. At the demented age of 94, Mother tells the story to her daughter: a playful, heart-warming and occasionally heartbreaking span of hundred years. 100 min This is beautiful cinematic storytelling that will have all of your senses racing! (Hungarian: Kincsem) a 2017 film, Hungary’s most expensive domestic production to date and the biggest homegrown box-office hit, directed by Gábor Herendi. A household name in Hungary, Kincsem was the most successful thoroughbred racehorse in history. Sired by a stallion owned by Queen Victoria, she became a sensation across Europe and a personal favorite of the Austrian emperor Franz Josef, winning all 54 of her races before retiring in 1879. The pomp and pageantry of the empire at its height figure grandly in this tale, and director Herendi piles on the passion, star-crossed romance, colorful anachronisms and made-up details like a lucky-charm stable cat. The fall of the 1848 Revolution makes an orphan of boy aristocrat Erno, and the family estate reverts to the victor. Adult Erno, a penniless wastrel and gambler with a keen eye for horse flesh, meets haughty horse-owner Klara, daughter of his dad’s killer. Kincsem, a magnificent horse gives a pur- pose of his meaningless, self-destructing life. He gets a chance to gain everything back: revenge, love and fame. 122 min Grimly intense yet thoroughly rewarding, offers an unforgettable viewing experience (Hungarian: Saul fia) is a 2015 Hungarian drama film written and directed by László Nemes. It is set in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, and follows a day-and-a-half in the life of Saul, a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando. The film won the Grand Prix at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, the award for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, and the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Saul, to bury the corpse of a boy he takes for his son, tries to carry out his impossible deed: salvage the body and find a rabbi to bury it. While the Sonderkommando is to be liquidated at any moment, Saul turns away of the living and their plans of rebellion to save the remains of a son he never took care of when he was still alive. Son of Saul is an ambitious film carried out in an economical manner, plunging its viewer directly into the heart of a concentration camp. This film does not tell the story of the Holocaust, but the simple story of one man caught in a dreadful situation, in a limited frame- work of space and time. Depicting an accurate world as truthful to history as possible, the events and places of the horror are shown in fragment, leaving room for the imagination of the viewer. Thus, the Inferno we journey through cannot be entirely assessed by the eyes of the viewers, only partially reconstructed in their minds. The multi-language dialogue in this Babel of nations participates in conveying the organic, continuous feeling of human perception caught in the midst of inhumanity. In such a dark story, I also believe there is a great deal of hope: in a total loss of morality, value and religion, a man who starts listening only to a faint voice within him to carry out a seemingly vain and useless deed finds morality and survival inside. 107 min .

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