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Hungary

Overview and productions

The last year has been a golden one for the Hungarians. Movies and TV dramas shot in the country have been making waves at festivals from Venice to Toronto. Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things, which won the Golden Lion in Venice, was shot in Budapest at Korda and Origo studios. Another high-profile title filmed in Hungary was Lee, the biopic of photographer Lee Miller, which premiered at TIFF to glowing reviews. Lee shot on location and at Hungexpo, a new studio in Budapest, plus a couple of weeks in Croatia (where the south of France was recreated) using Hungarian crew.

Ildiko Kemeny, managing director and lead producer at Budapest-based Pioneer Stillking Films, was co-producer on both titles. “Reliability is an extremely important factor,” says Kemeny of why international productions have been flocking to the country. She also worked on the John Wick TV spin-off The Continental, produced by Lionsgate and Thunder Road, in which Hungary doubles for 1970s New York, as well as Netflix drama series All The Light We Cannot See.

The late Andy Vajna is credited by many with laying the foundations for the current production boom in Hungary. In his time as Hungarian film commissioner, the Total Recall producer used his chutzpah and Hollywood contacts to lure international productions to Budapest.

Four years on from his death, Hungary remains as busy as ever. It is continuing to attract high-profile projects through its 30% tax rebate, strong studio facilities and wealth of locations  — capital Budapest is arguably Europe’s biggest film production base after London. 

“It’s a combination of creative reasons,” says Kemeny. “The wealth of our locations, great [and growing] crew base and our reliable tax rebate.”

It helps, too, that Hungary has excellent studio facilities. Visiting filmmakers can use Korda Studio, Origo Studios (where much of blockbuster Dune was shot) and Stern Film Studio, all just outside Budapest. Astra Studios, which has Budapest’s largest indoor water tank, is currently expanding. Meanwhile, the National Film Institute’s NFI Studios (formerly Mafilm Studios) is being renovated and enlarged in a new $105m (€100m) redevelopment. 

With government backing, the aim is to turn the production hub in Fot, just outside Budapest, into one of Hungary’s biggest studios. Four new 2,312 square metre soundstages, which could be used in pairs as two 4,945 square metre stages, will be built, increasing total studio capacity to 12,670 square metres. The new stages are expected to open by the third quarter of 2024. NFI also invests just under $29m a year on local films and $19m on TV drama. Many of the projects supported are co-productions.

Other projects that have shot or plan to shoot in Hungary include Fede Alvarez’s Alien feature for Hulu; Johnny Depp’s Modigliani; Dune series spin-off The Sisterhood for Max; Abi Morgan’s Netflix series Eric; the TV adaptation of The Day Of The Jackal; CBS’s FBI: International; and season two of Showtime’s Halo.

First person to contact: Csaba Kael, Hungarian film commissioner: kael.csaba@nfi.hu

Overview and productions

Locations and permits

You are spoilt for choice in Hungary. The variety of landscapes is incredible. In popular Budapest alone you will find everything from dramatic history and flamboyant architecture to healing thermal waters, opera houses and sports stadiums.

All location palettes are on offer in the capital city, from classical to modern, industrial to upscale, hipster to retro, with castles and rural landscapes.  

”The locations are varied and offer many look-a-like locations to most European cities making it an attractive place to shoot your next production. Budapest is often called Little Paris for good reason, but you may find a lot of London look-a-like locations as well. The city has stunning bridges over the river Danube,” says Attila Horvath, founder and managing director at Abroad Films.

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Budapest

“There are also abandoned old buildings, factories and army barracks that can be used as locations,” says Gergely Varga at Shooteasy Production Services. “And the seaside of Croatia, mountains of Transylvania and the Alps are just a few hours drive away from Budapest.” 

“You can find several variations of Europe within Budapest city centre,” says Cait Collins, a producer on The Last Kingdom. “Location wise on the street, you pay per square footage, which they have down to a fine art. This is great because you can adjust it according to your budget.”

Hungary’s countryside attractions include Lake Balaton, the largest in Central Europe, where The Last Kingdom was partly shot; Lake Héviz, the second largest thermal lake in the world; and Hortobágy, the largest natural grassland in Europe.

All locations are within a few hours of each other, and thanks to a mild four-season climate, the country can host productions all year round.

Permits to shoot are generally easy to obtain. You contact the person or institution owning/operating the actual location to gain permission. If it is a street or public space, you contact the local government,” says Juan Amin, a producer at Filmreaktor, which assisted with the Emmy nominated Documentary Now! series, starring Cate Blanchett, that shot across Budapest, from the Opera House to classical apartments. “Process times vary from three to five days, or up to three weeks for full closure permits.

Ildikó Kovács, Head of NFI Studios adds that Hungary is a beautiful country with versatile locations. Because of its rich history, there are interesting locations both in the country as well as in the cities.

"After London, Budapest is the most popular place to shoot films in Europe. The cosmopolitan past and present of the capital are reflected in the vast diversity of its fabulous historical, contemporary and industrial architecture, enabling Budapest to stand in for cities such Paris, London or any other city in Europe at any point in history, from classical times to 2023 and beyond, even the future. Additionally, Hungary has stunning natural environments, including amazing forests, ‘Balaton’ the biggest lake in Central Europe, mountains and you can even shoot the desert here.

 

"NFI Studios in Fót have always been very popular and in 2021 the development of the studio began, establishing one of the most modern film production complex in Hungary. With four new studios totaling 10,000 square meters, the development will increase studio capacity fivefold. Two new studios are scheduled to be completed by mid 2024, and filming in the other two studios may start by the end of 2024."


NFI Studios now offer continental Europe’s largest outdoor water tank which was built for filming
Blade Runner 2049 and Terminator: Dark Fate recently. Additionally, there is a Medieval backlot, a Western village, an American suburb street and a 19th century city centre backlot, a costume warehouse, an armoury and two of the country’s biggest set construction service companies – MovieSet and BK Filmstudio – are also based at NFI Studios.

"We are also very proud of Hungarian film professionals working in international productions. National Film Institute Hungary places great emphasis on the development of the Hungarian film industry and film culture, and the training of future film professionals and has initiated various training and educational programs both for the professionals as well as for the youth."

 

Doubling potential 

 

While Hungary offers broad historical heritage (there are plenty of castles of different styles – medieval, English, Hungarian, French, etc), Kovács also notes that the

industrial buildings, abandoned factories, and brutalist villas from the socialist era are also spectacular as they can stand in for 20th century’s historical films as well as for futuristic sci-fis and action movies.

 

There are also plenty of historical baths in the country and in Hévíz filmmakers can find the world’s largest thermal lake. "Our biggest lake, Lake Balaton, with the uplands and vineyards is also a very beautiful and interesting location."

Infrastructure and crews

Hungary has experienced and technically skilled crews and there is a decent proficiency in English. Production companies such as Pioneer Stillking Films and Mid Atlantic Films can help service the biggest studio and streamer projects. Each project must contribute to a training fund to address potential future skills needs. “On each project, we must have five trainees. We take that very seriously,” says Ildiko Kemeny of Pioneer Stillking Films.

Film commissioner Csaba Kael is looking for further investment in post-production services and music score recording. “We have eight excellent symphony orchestras,” he notes.

 

Transport and logistics

No airlines currently offer direct flights from Los Angeles or New York to Budapest, but Hungary is easily reached via major European cities. The film and TV industry is centred on Budapest.

Size matters

Flights from most major US cities have a connecting stop to Budapest. New York can connect via Amsterdam or London.

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