[ Film Festivals ]

The traditional showcase of the Hungarian film production of the year, the 37th edition of the Hungarian Film Week will be held in Budapest between January 31 – February 7, 2006.
The event, which presents each year the best of Magyar production, offers 104 films in four competitive sections (features, documentaries, shorts and experimental films). In the main category, 24 features will battle it out for the 2006 prize, headed by Rokonok/Relatives by István Szabó, Taxidermia by György Pálfi, Johanna by Kornél Mundruczó, Az élet vendége - Csoma-legendárium/A Guest of Life - Alexander Csoma de Kőrös by Tibor Szemzô and Fehér tenyér/White Palms by Szabolcs Hajdu. Also on the menu out of competition are 72 other productions including notably six animated films and TV productions.

This year nearly 120 foreign professionals – festival organisers, film critics and reporters, some distributors and producers - accepted the invitation from Magyar Filmunió to the Hungarian Film Week that plays an outstanding part in the international promotion of Hungarian films. The foreign critics’ Gene Moskowitz Award will be handed over at the final ceremony on 7th February.

The screening locations are the Mammut Multiplex and the Millennium Center, where simultaneous translation in English and French is provided for the feature film screenings, while English translation is available for the short features and documentaries.

At the Uránia National Cinema Palace shorts of the Cannes Critics´ Week´s latest official competition are screened to the Hungarian audience for the first time. On Saturday, at 6 p.m., following Paris, Rome and Beirut, Budapest also presents the shorts selected to the Cannes Critics´ Week competition. The shorts are directed by Austrian, Belgian, Taiwan, French, Bulgarian, Australian and Dutch directors.

Have a look at the competition programme.