As an introduction to the programmes celebrating 120 years of Hungarian filmmaking, the Hungarian Embassy together with the Hungarian National Film Institute is screening a series of Hungarian Films in the month of June 2022.
The Hungarian film screenings will be hosted at the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pr, 23 Lynnwood Rd, Elandspoort 357-Jr. Pretoria, 0002.
Date: Tuesday, 7 June 2022
Title: Eldorado (The Midas Touch)
Descriptions: Eldorado (Hungarian: Eldorádó, also known as The Midas Touch) is a 1988 Hungarian drama film written and directed by Géza Bereményi. The film was entered into the main competition at the 45th edition of the Venice Film Festival. The story takes place in the urban districts of Pest focusing on the marketplace on Teleki square (which was still existing mostly unchanged when the movie was made) from after the end of World War II in 1945 until the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The main character is the head of the black market in Budapest. He thinks he can buy everyone and everything but in the end, he must face that he can't buy life. The movie contains some archive footage of the events of the revolution.
Date: Tuesday, 14 June 2022
Title: Az otodik pecset (The Fifth Seal)
Description: The Fifth Seal (Hungarian: Az ötödik pecsét) is a 1976 film by Hungarian director Zoltán Fábri based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Hungarian author Ferenc Sánta. It won the Golden Prize at the 10th Moscow International Film Festival and it was entered into the 27th Berlin International Film Festival. The film was also selected as the Hungarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 49th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Date: Tuesday, 21 June 2022
Title: A tanú (The Witness)
Description: The Witness (Hungarian: A tanú, also known as Without A Trace), is a 1969 Hungarian satire film, directed by Péter Bacsó. The film was created in a tense political climate at a time when talking about the early 1950s and the 1956 Revolution was still taboo. Although it was financed and allowed to be made by the communist authorities, it was subsequently banned from release and grew into a cult film following among the population. As a result of its screening in foreign countries, the communist authorities eventually relented and allowed it to be released in Hungary.