Hungary celebrates 120th anniversary of its cinema

Hungary’s public media will show more than hundred films on April 30, celebrating the day the first Hungarian-directed film was screened 120 years ago in Budapest.

“We’re celebrating the screening of the first film entitled A táncz (The Dance) on this day in the Uránia Theatre in 1901,” Hungary’s film commissioner, Csaba Káel, told public television channel M1 on Thursday. Made by Béla Zsitkovszky and Gyula Pekár, it features celebrated artists Lujza Blaha, Sári Fedak, Emilia Márkus and Gyula Hegedűs.

April 30 has been celebrated as the Day of Hungarian Film since 2018.

Several films will be shown during the day on public service and commercial TV channels as well as on online platforms, Kael said. Hungarian film streaming service Filmio will make several films accessible free of charge, he added.

The National Film Institute has launched a website that shows images from the collection of its archives, including images from 120 full-length films as well as fragments.

Hungary is celebrating the 120th anniversary throughout the year.

An exhibition on the Hungarian cinema history will open in the Ludwig Museum in mid-July which is to serve later as an initial collection of a planned Hungarian motion picture museum, said Kael.

Read alsoHungarian films to watch from home

Source: MTI