At the end of July, one of the largest European television productions with a historical theme of all time, the Hunyadi TV series, began filming in the Budapest area with the participation of more than 600 actors and stuntmen.
As we wrote last week, the Hunyadi series is running. New news is that the Austrian public television ORF is the first foreign TV company to join the project, which is the well-known Canadian producer of Hungarian origin, Robert Lantos (The taste of sunshine, Beautiful days to come, Johnny Mnemonic - A fugitive from the future, Eastern Promises - Killing promises, Sins of the Future) is attributed to him. Tibor Krsko (Destiny, Freedom, Love, Song of the Names), Cecilia Hazai, Kinga Hazai and Ari Lantos (Remember, Barney and the Women) and Oliver Auspitz and Andreas Kamm from MR Film (Viennese Blood) are involved in the production work. Koby Gal Raday, Head of Content Production at Beta.
Several Hungarian artists will play in the series, János Hunyadi will be played by Kádár L. Gellert, and Erzsébet Szilágyi by Vivien Rujder. Alongside them, international stars make up the cast, including the Austrian Laurence Rupp (Barbarians), Cornelius Obonya (Maria Theresa), Murathan Muslu (8 Days), the Italian Francesco Acquaroli (Fargo, Suburra – Bloody Rome), the multiple award-winning Czech Karel Roden (The Bourne Trap, Mr. Bean, The Pleasure Principle), the Serbian Rade Serbedzija (Batman: It Begins, Mission: Impossible II, In the Land of Blood and Honey), and two other Italian actors: Thomas Trabacchi (Studio Battaglia) and Elena Rusconi (6 Underground - Six from the underworld).
The Hunyadi TV series presents the life of the heroic warrior János Hunyadi, full of adventures, in the 15th century full of struggles. While Hunyadi's life is punctuated by scandals, political power plays and conspiracies between the noble families of Warsaw, Rome, Belgrade, Vienna and Prague, his strongest allies are women: Erzsébet Szilágyi, his wife, who stood by him in his battles and his first love, Mara Brankovics, who is Sultan Murád became the leading concubine of his court. When the Ottoman Empire mobilizes an army of unprecedented size, marching west with the goal of conquering the Vatican and subjugating Europe, Hunyadi, despite the odds, wins a decisive victory in the Battle of Nándorfehérvár, standing in the way of the Ottoman invasion and thus reshaping the history of Europe.
The director is Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning Robert Dornhelm (Children of Theater Street, Blood of Vienna, Mária Terézia, War and Peace), Orsi Nagypál (Open, Pactum, The Outpost) and Attila Szász (Little Tales, Eternal Winter). . The showrunner Balázs Lengyel (Aranyélet, Lajkó – Gypsy in Space), who, together with Hungarian-born George Mihalka, Balázs Lovas, Zsófia Ruttkay and Attila Veres, joined Mór Bán as a screenwriter, the author of the historical novel on which the series is based.
The author of the Hunyadi series of historical novels is János Bán, pen name Mór Bán/Photo: keol.hu
Csaba Káel, the government commissioner responsible for the development of the Hungarian film industry and the president of the Hungarian National Film Institute, said about the TV series that "in the 15th century, Hunyadi's victories changed the course of European history. Our goal is to bring this amazing story to an international audience by creating a high-quality series that draws on the emerging talent of Central Europe."
Roland Weißmann, director general of ORF, said: “We share a history with neighboring nations and it is really exciting to be able to film historical events and the lives and deeds of great personalities together. I am very happy that ORF can be a part of this great international production, which tells the story of the legendary general János Hunyadi in a visually stunning and captivating series for TV viewers - directed by Robert Dornhelm, with an excellent international and Austrian cast, such as Laurence Rupp, Cornelius Obonya and Murathan Muslu. I wish the creators both in front of and behind the camera the best of luck with this fascinating historical series.”
TV2 has previously joined the production, and CEO Pavel Stantchev, who visited the set, said: “TV2 Media Group is proud to be a part of this epic TV series, which has everything it needs to become an international blockbuster. By protecting Europe from the Ottoman invasion, Hunyadi became not only a Hungarian hero, but also a historical figure of global importance."
Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz, ORF's program director, emphasized: "Through international cooperation, we can realize productions that we would not otherwise have the opportunity to do, and with our Austrian expertise, we can contribute to the success of the joint venture. It fills me with pride that, as a relatively small country, we are part of this large-scale production. I thank our partners and everyone - above all master director Robert Dornhelm - and I wish the Hunyadi series a lot of success."
Producer Robert Lantos said, “My partners and I have been working on this historical TV series for over ten years about the man for whom the Southern bell rings,” says Lantos. "The creative team is fantastic, the cast and crew are amazing - the most skilled I've ever worked with - who put their heart and soul into bringing this fascinating drama that changed the course of history to life."
The ten-hour historical series, which explores the values, human and political challenges of the Middle Ages, as well as the turning points, is being produced with the funding of the Hungarian National Film Institute, Beta Film, ORF and Hungarian TV2. The series is produced by Serendipity Point Films, Twin Media, HG Media, MR Film and Beta Film. TV2 Media Group broadcasts the program in Hungary and Slovenia, ORF in Austria. The series is scheduled to premiere in the final months of 2024.
Source: Hungarian. film.hu
Featured image: MTI
