News

If we’ve learned anything from the last few years of polarized political discourse surrounding everything from gun control to gender identity, it’s that when somebody pulls out the “won’t somebody please think of the children” card, the children are rarely the first thing on their mind. Even as it plays out on a specifically Hungarian social landscape, the satire of Gábor Reisz’s astute, drily funny third feature “Explanation for Everything” — in which an underachieving high-schooler becomes a right-wing cause célèbre on the strength of some dicey tabloid reporting — resonates more widely. Escalatingly absurd but underpinned by a mordant plausibility throughout, this confidently imposing work is among the high points of this year’s Orizzonti sidebar at Venice.

Reisz scored a domestic hit, and made a strong impression on the international festival circuit, with his 2014 debut, the endearingly scruffy quarter-life crisis comedy “For Some Inexplicable Reason.” His...

Explanation for Everything, Hungarian director Gabor Reisz’s third feature (after For Some Inexplicable Reason and Bad Poems), is set very specifically in present-day Budapest.

The talky script, which revolves around an argument between a high-school student and his family over a remark made by a teacher during the student’s final oral exam, makes many references to events and people from Hungary’s history and current political scene — most of which, apart from the country’s neo-fascist Prime Minister Victor Orban, will be unfamiliar to viewers beyond Central Europe. And yet the core conflicts depicted here between generations, and especially between left- and right-wing citizens, will be immediately familiar to viewers everywhere, particularly in places like the United States, Brazil, Italy or Israel, where political polarization has become even more acute and rancorous. Much like some of the naturalistic, dialectical dramas from Romania, which this resembles, Reisz’s work...

The bipolar nature of Hungary’s politics and the country’s education system are the targets of Gábor Reisz’s “Explanation for Everything,” which world premieres in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons strand.

The film is Reisz’s third feature after the acclaimed “Some Inexplicable Reason” (2014) and “Bad Poems” (2018). Set in summer in Budapest, “Explanation for Everything” follows high school student Abel, who is struggling to focus on his final exams while coming to the realization that he is hopelessly in love with his best friend Janka. The studious Janka has her own unrequited love with married history teacher Jakab — who had a previous confrontation with Abel’s conservative father. The tensions of a polarized society come unexpectedly to the surface when Abel’s history graduation exam turns into a national scandal.

Hungary has been ruled by a right-wing government since 2010. “I never wanted to make a political movie...

International sales agent Films Boutique has revealed the first sales and a trailer for Hungarian filmmaker Gábor Reisz’s “Explanation for Everything,” which will world premiere at the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons strand.

Films Boutique has sold the film to I Wonder Pictures for Italy and Filmtett for Romania.

The film is Reisz’s third feature after the acclaimed “Some Inexplicable Reason” (2014) and “Bad Poems” (2018). Set in summer in Budapest, the film follows high school student Abel who is struggling to focus on his final exams, while coming to the realization that he is hopelessly in love with his best friend Janka. The studious Janka has her own unrequited love with married history teacher Jakab — who had a previous confrontation with Abel’s conservative father. The tensions of a polarized society come unexpectedly to the surface when Abel’s history graduation exam turns into a national scandal.

“For a long time,...

Twenty emerging producers from across Europe have been selected to take part in European Film Promotion’s promotion and networking platform Producers on the Move before and during the Cannes Film Festival.

The producers who were selected for the program from nominations submitted by Efp’s member organizations are Gentian Koçi (Albania), David Bohun (Austria), Julie Esparbes (Belgium), Vanya Rainova (Bulgaria), Miljenka Čogelja (Croatia), Stelana Kliris (Cyprus), Alice Tabery (Czech Republic), Emile Hertling Péronard (Denmark), Emilia Haukka (Finland), Silvana Santamaria (Germany), Vicky Miha (Greece), Júlia Berkes (Hungary), Kathryn Kennedy (Ireland), Valon Bajgora (Kosovo), Dominiks Jarmakovičs (Latvia), Erik Glijnis (The Netherlands), Elisa Fernanda Pirir (Norway), Radu Stancu (Romania), Juraj Krasnohorský (Slovak Republic), and Julia Gebauer (Sweden).

They will take part in a tailor-made program to foster international co-productions, increase the exchange of experiences, and help create new professional networks. The pre-festival online program, which started yesterday and runs until May 4, includes 1:1 speed meetings,...

Event to run from November 8-14.

Gabor Reisz will attend the screening of his comedy Bad Poems on the opening night of the 19th Hungarian Film Festival on November 7 at the Laemmle Royal in Santa Monica.

The festival is scheduled to run from November 8-14 at the Laemmle Town Center 5 and will showcase the latest Hungarian features, TV, documentaries, and animation.

Highlights are expected to include Barnabas Toth attending with his international feature film Oscar submission Those Who Remained, a restored version of cult 1981 cult animation Son Of The White Mare, and Peter Bergendy’s Trezor, the first Hungarian film...

András Ötvös and Viola Lotti Gombó topline the second feature by the director, principal photography for which is about to begin; Campfilm is producing, while sales are by Hnff World Sales. The shoot will kick off on 1 July for Bullhorn Lullaby (Más liga – working title), the second feature by Viktor Oszkár Nagy, who made a splash with his feature debut, Father’s Acre (Gene Moskowitz Award from the international critics at the 2009 Hungarian Film Week), as well as with Bureau (a 52-minute TV fiction that was singled out with the Fipa d’Or for Best Screenplay in 2016), among other works. The cast includes András Ötvös (Heavenly Shift) and Viola Lotti Gombó in the leading roles, and they will be acting alongside Szabolcs Thuróczy (Kills on Wheels), Angéla Stefanovics (Lily Lane), Ádám Piller, Ákos Orosz, Szabolcs Hajdu (who recently appeared in Bad Poems and...

Two Fridas is Ishtar Yasin's second film Photo: Courtesy of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival The first eight films in Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Official Selection competition strand have been announced.

Seven of the films that will screen at the festival - which runs from November 16 to December 2 - are world premieres.

The announcement features four European films, three from the Americas and one from Egypt.

Among them are Ishtar Yasin's Two Fridas, starring Venice Best Actress Award winner Maria de Mereiros, and Bernard Émond's A Place To Live, which will have its international premiere in Tallinn.

The selection includes four films from Europe, with director Samanou Acheche Sahlstrøm’s Until We Fall representing Denmark, Robert Budina’s A Shelter Among the Clouds coming from Albania, Gábor Reisz’s Bad Poems from Hungary and Juha Lehtola’s The Human Part produced in Finland.

The full Official Selection slate...