Media Patronage Programme: the Year with the First Oscar

2017 was a year to remember for the Media Council’s Media Patronage Programme: the short film ‘Sing’ won the Academy Award in the Best Short Film category, making it the first Hungarian film ever to do so. Congratulations to the director Kristóf Deák and to the producer Anna Udvardy!

This historic achievement is only the tip of the iceberg, and let us not forget the hundreds of other projects that are funded by the Media Patronage Programme each year.

A total of 49 documentaries were supported in 2017 for a total sum of 1.103 million euros, while 30 nature/education docs were allocated 825.773 euros. Authors such as Attila Mispál, Gábor Hörcher, Mihály Schwechtje, Gábor Zsigmond Papp and Márton Szirmai were all given support. Other notable projects included András Dér’s film, which will be a documentary about József Antall, the first Hungarian prime minister after 1989, and Glória Halász’s latest documentary, which will chronicle the life and struggles of the legendary 100-member Gipsy Orchestra.

Kristóf Deák with the Oscar

Five TV-films were also supported, each receiving just over 380.000 euros. Trust was bestowed upon veteran helmers László Vitézy and Róbert Pajer once again, as well as young talents Barnabás Tóth and Kristóf Deák, fresh off his Oscar win. Péter Bergendy represents the middle generation; the prolific commercial director’s previous TV-film ‘The Exam’ was the first in the wave of hit movies of this genre.

Animation is also an important part of the Media Patronage Programme. Previous hits include Réka Bucsi’s ‘LOVE’, which has now been selected for more than 160 festivals since its debut at the Berlinale Shorts in 2016 and was also a nominee at the European Film Awards in 2017, and Luca Tóth’s ‘Superbia’, which debuted at the Cannes Semaine de la Critique and now has an extensive list of festivals, including 76 more selections. In 2017, the total budget for individual animation projects and series was 1.22 million euros.

But which film will be the next ‘Sing’? The Hungarian Media Patronage Programme has a total budget of 480.000 euros for live-action shorts this year, but at the time of writing this article only the first half had been announced. Young directors Szonja Szabó, Yvonne Kerékgyártó, Fanni Szilágyi and Attila Damokos are among the 12 who have already been chosen – fingers crossed!