A never-before-seen international ten-part TV series about the savior of Europe, János Hunyadi, is being prepared with foreign partners, with the support of the National Film Institute (NFI) and the cooperation of TV2.
According to NFI's information on Friday, the script was based on Mór Bán's highly successful Hunyadi series, the producer is Robert Lantos, the directors are George Mihalka, Nagypál Orsi and Robert Dornhelm of Hungarian origin. Preparations and casting are already underway, filming will begin in 2022.
The Hunyadi series was announced in Variety magazine at the Cannes Film Festival by international distributor Beta Cinema.
"The battle of Hunyadi and Nándorfehérvár was of enormous importance in the Middle Ages, and determined the fate of our continent for decades. Today, in the age of incomparably popular series, we can bring this glorious story to audiences worldwide as a spectacular, heart-to-soul experience. The work, which surpasses the previous scale of domestic film production, is filmed by an international crew of leading filmmakers in Central European locations. The unparalleled raw material, the excellent domestic specialists, the worldwide success of Robert Lantos, the worldwide distributor Beta Cinema and the considerable support of the Government together ensure that the domestic series production will reach an international level," the announcement quotes Káel Csaba, the government commissioner responsible for the development of the Hungarian film industry, the President of the National Film Institute.
The majority of the state support for the ten-part Hunyadi series - HUF 6.9 billion based on a government decision - is provided by the government, while the National Film Institute provides HUF 3.6 billion in support from its own funds. Preparations are already in full swing, filming will begin next year, the announcement reads.
"The fact that I made 6 films in Hungary was an important part of my career so far. The Hunyadi series will still be a real premiere, since for the first time I am shooting a real Hungarian story with Hungarian actors in the Hungarian language," said Robert Lantos, the Canadian Hungarian producer of the series, who has produced many highly successful films since the 1970s (Barney and the Women, Eastern Promises-Killer promises, Wonderful Juliet, The judgment, In the captivity of the truth, The taste of sunlight, Beautiful days to come, Carambol) and worked with almost all the world stars.
The production team consists of Tibor Krskó (Destiny, Freedom, Love, The Song of Names), Cecília Hazai and Kinga Hazai.
The showrunner of the Hunyadi series, Hungarian-born George Mihalka, has produced hundreds of hours of premium content for television and dozens of movies, and his work has also been awarded by the Canadian Directors Guild. "Ever since I left Hungary as a child, it has been my dream to return and work in my native land and my native language. I am happy to be part of this fabulous team and the first international series produced and filmed in Hungary," he said.
In addition to one of the most successful Hungarian directors, Nagypál Orsi (Open, Terápia), Timisvár-born Robert Dornhelm (Mária Terézia, My Father's Sins, The True Story of Anne Frank) will also be an episode director.
The Hunyadi series was written by George Mihalka, Balázs Lengyel, Balázs Lovas, Zsófia Ruttkay and Attila Veres based on the popular series of novels by Mór Bán, announced the NFI.
MFI
