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Film is both an art and an industry: art is free, but the state is needed to develop the film industry, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Thursday at the opening of the National Film Institute’s new studio complex in Fót. He stressed that film production is in the blood of the Hungarians, who were present at the first silent films and the birth of Hollywood.
In the first half of the last century, Hungarian filmmakers set out on their conquest of the world, and in the second half of the century, film helped us to endure the unbearable and to say the unspeakable, the Prime Minister emphasized. He added that he was convinced that films made under communism had also made a significant contribution to the fall of communism.
This momentum was broken after the regime change, however, and the struggle between the “regime-changers like us” and the “ancient regime” lasted for 20 years, which did Hungarian cinema no good, he reminded. He added that this was because the state also had a responsibility for the state of Hungarian film production. “It is not about film creativity, fortunately the government is not competent in this at all.
Film is not only an industry, it is also art, and art is free. Filmmakers know this best. However, in order to develop the film industry, the state is also needed,”
Mr Orbán stressed.
A program at the opening of the National Film Institute’s new studio complex in Fót. Photo: MTI/Máthé Zoltán
He said that Hungary had lost $200 million in revenue because of the misguided film policy of the 2000s, and that the Hungarian people, Hungarian filmmakers and Hungarian film had “lost out” on this. The formerly world-class Hungarian film infrastructure had been allowed to deteriorate, leaving Hungary off the world film map for a while, with foreign crews choosing other cities instead of Budapest.
He pointed out that
the national government refused to accept this and found in Andy Vajna a man who understood what makes a good modern film and how to make up for the knowledge that had been lost.
In praising the work of the former government commissioner, who died in 2019, Mr Orbán stressed that Andy Vajna created the institutional system around the National Film Institute, which was responsible for the renewal of Hungarian film.
The Prime Minister pointed out that film development in Hungary attracts over 100 billion forints in service production spending every year. He emphasized that even in the year of the coronavirus epidemic, Hungarian film production generated a turnover of 220 billion forints, and today the registered expenditure exceeds 250 billion forints.
Viktor Orbán highlighted that
there are now several world-famous studios in Hungary, such as Korda, Origo and Stern, making the country the most sought-after film production center in Europe after London.
“But of course, we want to leave the British capital behind us,” he added.
Mr Orbán said that the development of Fót (north of Budapest) would bring the Hungarian film industry to a new level, emphasizing that the HUF 42 billion project is the biggest state studio development ever. The new studios, the large number of films shot here and the constantly developing professionals all show that Hungary has once again become an important location for film production in the world, the Prime Minister reminded. He noted that this is not only thanks to major international productions, but also to Hungarian filmmakers and Hungarian films, which are winning over more and more viewers at home and abroad.
The Prime Minister hoped that this was the beginning of an era of which we can all be proud. This studio also sends out the message that we Hungarians cannot settle for mediocrity, “we are not interested in the back row or the rooster seat, we need the big stage,” Mr Orbán concluded.
Via MTI, Featured photo via MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher
