Hungarian Producers Take Hot Projects to Cannes

Heres a rundown of some of the top Hungarian projects in the pipeline or selling at the Cannes Market:

Semmelweis

Director: Lajos Koltai

Producer: Tamas Lajos (Film Positive)

Sales: N/A

Set in 1847, as a mysterious epidemic rages in a maternity clinic in Vienna, this period drama from the Oscar-nominated cinematographer and director Koltai (Malena) stars promising young thesp Miklos H. Vecsei as the titular doctor Ignc Semmelweis, who spurns traditional medical theories to find a cure.

The Lefkovicses Are in Mourning

Director: dm Breier

Producers: Kzmr Mikls, Felszeghy dm, Ausztrics Andrea (ULab, Proton Cinema)

Sales: N/A

Breiers feature debut is a dramedy about a generous but stubborn elderly boxing coach who gets along with everyone except his own son. While the two havent spoken in years, theyre reunited during after the death of the old mans wife and forced to face old grievances.

Cat Call

Director: Rozlia Szeleczki

Producer: Petra Ivnyi (Lupa Pictures)

Sales: N/A

Szeleczkis first feature is a romantic comedy centering on a lonely 30-year-old woman who falls for a mysterious, talking black cat. The plot turns when what starts as a harmless escape from reality begins to turn dangerous.

Cat Call (Courtesy of Lupa Pictures) Silent Friend

Director: Ildik Enyedi

Producers: Reinhard Brundig, Nicolas Elghozi, Monika Mecs (Pandora Film, Galate Films, Inforg-MM Film)

Sales: N/A

Oscar nominee Enyedi (On Body and Soul) returns with a triptych of stories spanning more than a century and told from the perspective of a lonely old tree standing in the middle of a botanical garden.

I Accidentally Wrote a Book

Director: Nora Lakos

Producer: Claudia Smeghy (JUNO11 Pictures)

Sales: N/A

Based on the multi-award-winning childrens book by Dutch writer Annet Huizing, the film follows a 13-year-old girl who wants to become a writer. While she is learning to write with the help of her neighbour, she suddenly realises that her life is actually becoming a novel. As she writes, she experiences her deeply hidden grief that makes her able to open her heart for someone new.

Four Souls of Coyote

Director: Aron Gauder

Producer: Cinemon Entertainment

Sales: NFI World Sales

The latest from Annecy Cristal Award winner Gauder is a unique retelling of the creation of the universe, told through the story of four Native American teenagers who confront the crew of an oil pipeline project and learn a valuable lesson about living in harmony with nature.

Four Souls of Coyote (Courtesy of Cinemon Entertainment) Hadik

Director: Jnos Szikora

Producer: BL Line

Sales: NFI World Sales

The swashbuckling historical adventure follows the great Hungarian general Andras Hadik, who assembles a ragtag team of Hungarian, Saxon, Austrian and Croatian soldiers to repel the advance of Prussian conquerors.

Six Weeks

Director: Noemi Szakonyi Veronika

Producer: Sparks

Sales: NFI World Sales

Veronikas prize-winning debut tells the story of a teenage girl who decides after an unexpected pregnancy to put her baby up for adoption, leaving her with an emotional six weeks after the childs birth to change her mind.

Kurtg

Director: Dnes Nagy

Producer: Julianna Ugrin (Eclipse Film)

Sales: N/A

Berlinale Silver Bear winner Nagy (Natural Light) is currently shooting this documentary about 96-year-old Hungarian composer Gyrgy Kurtg, the last major representative of the post-war, avant-garde generation, who despite the physical limitations of old age continues to nurture a rich inner life.

rni

Director: Dorka Vermes

Producer: Balzs Zachar (Proton Cinema)

Sales: N/A

Developed with the support of Venices Biennale College Cinema program, this debut follows a lonely journeyman working with a traveling circus who attempts to tame a python in the hopes that it will bring him closer to the family running the show.

Bonefever

Director: Bence Fliegauf

Producers: Monika Mecs, Lena Vurma, Cristian Nicolescu (Inforg-MM Film, Dragonfly Films, Digital Cube)

Sales: N/A

The latest from the Berlin Silver Bear winner is billed as an eco-horror tale about a woman who unwittingly brings prehistoric creatures back to life while hunting for her paleobiologist father who mysteriously vanished.