Miskolc International Film Festival

The CineFest Miskolc International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the town of Miskolc, in Hungary. It was founded under the name of Festival of Young Filmmakers in 2004 with a focus on filmmakers under the age of 35. The festival now presents feature films, shorts, documentaries, and animated films. All programs, screenings, conferences, and exhibitions are free to attend.[1][2]

Miskolc International Film Festival
CineFest opening ceremony, 2018
LocationMiskolc, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Hungary
PredecessorLillafüred National Film Days
Founded2004
Awards
  • Europe Awards
  • Lifetime Awards
  • European Cinema Ambassador Award
  • Emeric Pressburger Prize
  • Adolph Zukor Prize
  • Attila Dargay Prize
Festival dateSeptember
Websitecinefest.hu

History

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Miskolc film tradition

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The first Hungarian film festival was held in Miskolc in 1938. Using the Venice Film Festival as an inspiration, the rooms of the Palace Hotel hosted numerous Hungarian stars and directors during the Lillafüred National Film Days. For decades since the 1960s, the most important Hungarian documentary and television festivals were also held in Miskolc. In addition to this, Miskolc and its surroundings play a role in the history of Hollywood cinema: William Fox (producer), founder of Fox Film, which went on to become 20th Century Fox, was born in the nearby village of Tolcsva,[3] while Adolph Zukor, founder of Paramount Pictures, was born in Ricse.[4]

CineFest

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The festival was founded in 2004 with the idea of providing young filmmakers a platform to showcase their creations. The event grew with each year, increasing the number of submissions and films screened, and the number of awards grew as well. This was accompanied by film-related programs and workshops, conferences, concerts, and parties.

In 2010, the CineClassics category was established, drawing attention to Hungarian filmmakers with global renown but little prominence in their home country, such as William Fox and Adolph Zukor. The first to be featured was Emeric Pressburger, the Oscar-winning British screenwriter-director, born in Miskolc, and best known for his film collaboration with Michael Powell in the multiple award-winning partnership known as The Archers. Since 2010, the Emeric Pressburger Prize has been the highest honour conferred by the festival.

Since 2017, thanks to the festival's partnership agreement with the Shanghai International Film Festival, works of Chinese cinema have been screened at Miskolc.[5] Also in 2017, the festival organized the first Central European TorinoFilmLab, which is dedicated to the script development process, and helps creative teams working on their first or second feature films in project development and attention-grabbing devices.

In 2019, FIPRESCI held its general assembly at CineFest. The festival's jury is made up of members of FIPRESCI, CICAE, as well as various other international film associations.

Awards

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  • Imre Pressburger Prize
  • Zukor Adolf Award
  • Special jury prize
  • Best short film
  • International Ecumenical Jury Prize[6]
  • Dargay Attila Prize
  • CineNewWave category award
  • CICAE Jury Award
  • FIPRESCI Jury Award
  • Audience Award
  • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • European Cinema Ambassador Award
  • Cinematography Award
 
Szabó István at CineFest

Lifetime Achievement Awards

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Emeric Pressburger Prize

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Film title Director Year Of Production Ref
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy Ryûsuke Hamaguchi 2021 [7]
Monos Alejandro Landes 2019
The Guilty Gustav Möller 2018
Western Valeska Grisebach 2017
From Nowhere Matthew Newton 2016
Mustang Deniz Gamze Ergüven 2015
Class Enemy Rok Biček 2014
Nothing Bad Can Happen Katrin Gebbe 2013
Vanishing Waves Kristina Buožytė 2012
Breathing[8] Karl Markovics 2011
Women Without Men Shirin Neshat, Shoja Azari 2010
Thomas Miika Soini 2009
In Transit (En Transito) Isabel Muñoz 2008
A Tooth for an Eye (Diente por ojo) Elvind Holmboe-Salmón 2007
Oskar Guro Ekornholmen 2006
The Bridge Ilena Stanculescu 2005
Indecision Charles Barker 2004
The Last Day (Der Letzte Tag) Thorsten Trimpop 2004

Reviews

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  • László Kolozsi of Revizor Online wrote in 2010 that "CineFest needed less than ten years to grow into becoming the most important Hungarian film festival with the best official selection"[9]
  • László Valuska stated in 2011 that "Miskolc is no less than being the Cannes of the Hungarian man"[10]
  • In 2018, Zoltán Huber stated that "...the CineFest in Miskolc...is worth visiting at least once, even if you are not at all excited about watching promising movies a few days or weeks before their show. The “CineFest experience” is always more than what the program has to offer..."[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Jameson CineFest". festagent.com. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  2. ^ "CineFest Miskolc". cicae.org. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  3. ^ "A 20th Century Foxot is magyar alapította" [20th Century Fox was also founded by a Hungarian]. nol.hu (in Hungarian). 10 December 2008. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Adolph Zukor Is Dead at 103; Built Paramount Movie Empire". nytimes.com. 11 June 1976. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  5. ^ ""SIFF Presents" at Jameson CineFest Miskolc International Film Festival – First Stop of the Belt and Road". siff.com. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Ecumenical prize at Miskolc international film festival 2019". signis.net. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  7. ^ "The award winners of the 17th CineFest Miskolc Film Festival | CineFest". Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Az emberi fesztivál" [The human festival]. filmtett.ro (in Hungarian). 28 September 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Jameson CineFest / Miskolc International Film Festival 2010". revizoronline.com (in Hungarian). 20 September 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Már csak Brad Pitt hiányzik" [Only Brad Pitt Is Missing]. index.hu (in Hungarian). 25 September 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Karakteres ízjegyek - CineFest tizenötödször" [Character flavors - CineFest fifteenth]. filmvilag.blog.hu (in Hungarian). 26 September 2018. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
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