Most recently, two Hungarians, Dániel Richárd Kovács and Marina Gera, have become members of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In addition to Kovács and Gera, Balázs Medveczky, Director of Television of the Danube Media Service, and Csaba Káel, film director and CEO of Müpa Budapest, are members of the academy.
Dániel Richárd Kovács, director and producer of RTL Hungary, has been elected a member of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. This organization awards the Emmy Award for Best Television Production in 20 categories each year.
Kovács began his television career as a presenter in the early 1990s, then he continued as the editor-in-chief of different shows and reality series. Later he was a creative producer and directed the background work for successful productions in different genres. The director-producer studied film directing at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles until 2012, and then, as the chief director of RTL Hungary, he mainly dealt with the production and direction of fictional content.
“Even the nomination was an honor, but it’s quite unbelievable to me that I’m an actual academy member now. This is both a serious opportunity and a responsibility. In the future, I will be able to attend conferences where I can get an idea of the latest television trends. This knowledge can be used as a great guideline, and this also means that the academy is curious about my opinion, because as a member I will be involved in ranking entries as well,” Kovács said.
In addition to Kovács, Marina Gera, Emmy-award winning Hungarian actress, has also recently become a member of the academy. Marina Gera won Hungary’s first International Emmy Award, the ‘Oscar of television films,’ for the Best Performance by an Actress for her role in the Hungarian television drama Eternal Winter. The plot of the movie describes the conditions in Hungary after Soviet occupation in 1944. Ethnic German women are taken from their small village, loaded into cattle wagons and forced to work in coal mines under inhumane conditions at a Ukrainian labor camp. Here, Irén – played by Marina Gera – meets fellow prisoner Rajmund who decides to teach her how to survive.
After receiving the Emmy award back in 2019, Hungary Today had the opportunity to speak to the actress about the award and the opportunities it brought her. Gera revealed that the performance was demanding both physically and mentally, however, she gave her best in every single scene. She also added that the award showed her that someone from Hungary could also become visible to the international film and television academy.
On top of this success, last week on March 18th it was reported that Marina Gera became an official member of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, alongside Dániel Richárd Kovács. Membership in the academy is voted by existing members after nomination and lasts for a lifetime. Gera was nominated by Polish producer Pola Hempowicz, who was the first woman elected to represent Poland in the Academy and was looking for a candidate who followed a similar path as her.
She is the first Hungarian member of the Academy as an actress. Marina Gera can now nominate members and vote for international Emmy nominees as well.
Featured photo by Márton Mónus/MTI
