Hungarian-Produced Movie Success at the 80th Golden Globes

The 80th Golden Globe Awards will take place on January 10, 2023, and Hungarian movie lovers have a cause to celebrate too. English actress Lesley Manville has been nominated for best performance by an actress in a musical or comedy for her lead role in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.

The film Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is based on the best-selling book by Paul Gallico. Its contemporary adaptation is particularly interesting for its numerous Hungarian aspects. The director and co-screenwriter, American-born Anthony Fabian, is of Hungarian descent and has recently been granted Hungarian citizenship.

Furthermore, one of the co-producers of the film is Daniel Kresmery, who was born in America to Hungarian parents. His father fled to the USA in 1956, after the anti-Communist uprising. Daniel regularly spent summer holidays in Hungary as a child. He is a member of the Visitors Club and has good relations with our Friends of Hungary Foundation, publisher of Hungary Today. He has been working in the film industry as a producer and director for almost two decades. He is co-founder of Hero Squared, a film production company in Budapest, which produces programs for renowned international studios and offers content development and production services in Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe.

Daniel Kresmery, speaking to our Friends of Hungary magazine, told us that he is perhaps most proud of the fact that Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris was made at all. Filming took place in the autumn of 2020, during the pandemic, which made both the preparation and the filming very difficult. The heavy precautions, the many tests, the regular decontamination of the locations, the Covid team working around the clock, and the huge insurance premiums, all added significantly to the costs.

The film was produced by eOne, an Anglo-Hungarian co-production with Hero Squared, with a budget of HUF 4 billion (EUR 10 million) and a HUF 279.5 million (EUR 680.000) subsidy from the National Film Institute. The Film Institute decided to support the film, among other reasons, because the majority of the shooting took place in Hungary, which was an incentive for the industry to restart film production after Covid.

The female leads Lesley Manville (The Crown, Demona, Phantom Thread, Vera Drake) and Isabelle Huppert (Elle, 8 Women, The Piano Teacher) are starring together for the first time. It was not difficult to find Hungarians who were happy to work on the production alongside such outstanding professionals. Almost everything was made in Hungary, with the help of about 170 Hungarian professionals, and a mostly Hungarian crew.

Forty days were spent in Hungary, three days in England and one day in Paris, mainly for the authenticity of the exterior shots. Budapest locations in the film include Keleti Railway Station, Andrássy Avenue, the area near the Opera House, but they also shot in Kincsem Park horse racing venue, which was transformed into London’s White City stadium.  The Dior salon interior and sewing room were built in the Origo Studio Budapest studio.

The film has already done well in the US, grossing over $10 million, and is a big hit in the UK, with domestic audiences still to see it in cinemas.

In Hungary, the creative industries make a significant contribution to GDP and employment. One of its important sectors is the film industry, which has benefited from favorable state regulation. Film production companies in Hungary have benefited from indirect support since 2004, and the tax credit for film production was increased to 30% in 2018, which greatly enhances the international competitiveness of Hungarian film culture and the film industry. Another factor for success is the available film infrastructure, modern and well-equipped film studios, Hungarian crew members with international experience, and diverse filming locations, which makes Hungary one of the busiest film production centers in the European Union.

Featured Photo: www.goldenglobes.com