Hungarian films won American hearts in Los Angeles, “Hungarian Wedding” set to premiere in New York
The Made in Hungary film festival, organised by the National Film Institute (NFI), screened the most popular Hungarian films of the recent period in Los Angeles over the weekend. The upcoming US screening of “Hungarian Wedding” will take place on 9 December at the Museum of Moving Image in New York.
Hungarian films won the hearts of locals in Los Angeles
The Lumiere cinema in Beverly Hills presented Hungary’s Oscar pick, Orphan by Oscar winner László Nemes, and other recent works such as the comedy How Could I Live Without You?, the crime comedy Tonight We Kill, a portrait on singer-songwriter Ákos, Stay Human — the Ákos Story, and the popular children’s film I Accidentally Wrote a Book.
It also featured a biography of poet Attila József called Hopelessly and a film on the life and work of Nobel laureate physicist Ferenc Krausz. The closing event featured two episodes of Hunyadi, a series on the Hungarian warlord fighting the Ottoman empire. Festival director Csenge Palotai said feedback on the second Made in Hungary festival in Los Angeles showed that “the stories and heroes of Hungarians are interesting in the US”.
Hungarian Wedding conquers New York in December
The upcoming US screening of “Hungarian Wedding,” directed by Csaba Káel and produced by Tamás Lajos, will take place on 9 December at the Museum of Moving Image in New York. This captivating film showcases a vibrant celebration of Hungarian folk dance and music, woven around a timeless love story set in the 1970s Kalotaszeg region.
The film follows two young men, András and Péter, students and members of a punk-rock band in Budapest, who journey to a traditional Hungarian wedding in Transylvania during the Communist era—a time when travel abroad was nearly impossible. Their plan to smuggle icons across the border turns into a life-changing adventure filled with romance, local customs, spirited folk dances, and music, highlighted by choreography to authentic Kalotaszeg folk tunes curated by István “Szalonna” Pál. The movie also pays homage to the legendary choreographer Ferenc “Tata” Novák, emphasising cultural treasures such as costumes, customs, and music with great authenticity.
Shot in Budapest, the Szentenre Open-Air Museum, and the Kalotaszeg region, the film brings to life the richness of Hungarian folk traditions against a backdrop of lively dance “duels,” traditional drinks like pálinka, and the warm, festive atmosphere of a Transylvanian wedding. The protagonists’ story blends adventure and romance, as Péter falls for Kati, the bride’s sister, transforming a marriage of convenience into genuine devotion.
The New York event, free for attendees, offers a wonderful opportunity to experience Hungarian cultural heritage through film, dance, and music. Interested viewers can watch the trailer and register on eventbrite.com to attend.
The promotional social media page from the Liszt Institute New York highlights the film’s dedication to preserving Hungarian folk culture and the emotional depth of the story, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in a vibrant, spirited journey back to the 1970s musical folk revival era of Hungary. Check out the trailer below:
The film’s premiere was on 19 November in Cluj Napoca (Kolozsvár), one of Transylvania’s biggest cities located near the Kalotaszeg region.
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