Soulful Win in Berlin: Hungarian film takes home the Golden Bear

While we are seeing more and more big budget productions from all around the world make their way to Budapest, it is also gratifying to see the local film culture thrive creatively, and get recognition beyond our borders. Recently, there was the short “Sing,” which will see how it fares with Academy voters on Sunday’s Oscars, but closer to home Hungary saw a win with Hungarian filmmaker Ildiko Enyedi winning the Golden Bear for her film On Body and Soul at Berlin International Film Festival. This marks a return to the spotlight for the director, who won the Cannes Camera d’Or prize for first feature way back in 1989 for her debut My Twentieth Century.

By all accounts On Body and Soul was an underdog, but the ‘dramedy’ wowed audiences and judges with its sensitive treatment of two slaughterhouse employees who are comically/tragically drawn to each. The synopsis, as per Cineruopa is: "What would happen if you met someone who dreamt the same as you or, to be more precise, had been meeting you in the same world every night for years? Would you be pleased? Or would you feel that you had been in some way robbed? And what if this specific individual didn’t exactly appeal to you? What if you actually hated that person?" These are all good questions, and apparently the judges were pleased with the answers, as the film also picked up three other awards from Berlin's independent juries, including best film honors from FIPRESCI, the association of international film critics.

Critics also responded well to the pic. The Hollywood Reporter called the movie “quirky, deadpan and sometimes rather brutal,” while Daily Variety said the film “blends mournfully poetic whimsy with stabs of visceral brute reality.” Both sources hesitate to say that this particular film, with rather explicit and brutal scenes from the daily workings of an abattoir, will have the success of a Son of Saul, but are hopeful it will get a broader international audience after festival wins. We can only hope so as well, and send huge congratulations to the film and its creators.

photo of Ildikó Eyedi via berlinale.de

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible. 

Filmed in Budapest: Spy Game

Every once and a while it is important to remind ourselves just how good Budapest appears on the screen. It looks especially good when we are talking about its use in Cold War and post Cold War spy films. For example, the photogenic rooftops of the downtown 7th District are made excellent use of here in Spy Game, one of the more prominent Hollywood movies shot in the city, back in 2000 before Budapest became a go-to location for so many international shoots. The dizzying establishing shot gives us a peek at the wonderful pair of onion domes atop the Dohány Street Synagogue, in all its Byzantine, Romantic, and Gothic glory, before focusing on the film's stars.

Directed by now-departed Tony Scott, the film was one of the larger box office successes to be shot here, grossing nearly 150 million dollar worldwide. Scott’s brother, Ridley Scott, would also spend time in Budapest a decade and a half later when he shot the much lauded and award-winning film The Martian here. But the big coupe in 2000 was that we got both Robert Redford and Brad Pitt in town for weeks on end. Pitt would return to Budapest and Hungary with his then wife, not just to shoot the zombie film World War Z, but to spend summer vacation with his family on the picturesque Lake Balaton peninsula of Tihány.

Spy Game wouldn’t be the only spy-themed film to use Budapest as a backdrop. The wonderfully executed Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy made use of the Párizsi Arcade for one of its pivotal scenes, and the delightfully retro video for Selena Gomez’s song “Round and Round” also casts the city as its shaddowy backdrop. Oh, and of course there is the movie Spy, the comedy starring Melissa McCarthy that was shot here several years ago. And while A Good Day to Die Hard isn’t exactly a spy movie, it does utilize the same gritty Soviet atmosphere some of the city’s neighborhoods conjure up. And who can forget I Spy and Mission Impossible: the Ghost Protocol. There is no huge reveal here: Budapest looks good cast with a cloak and dagger, whether it is in disguise or not.

Have a look at the rooftop sequence from Spy Game here:

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible. 

Hungarians in Hollywood: Casablanca turns 75

Not many films are so notable that their birthdays get observed, but when the film is Casablanca, culture mavens are bound to make a fuss. As pointed out in this article in the Paris Review, Casablanca turns 75 soon, and its influence and renown are only growing.

Directed by Hungarian Michael Curtiz, born Mihaly Kertész in 1888 (see the Hungarian connection?), Casablanca is rarely left off of ‘best all-time films’ lists. It is more relevant now than ever, made by an immigrant (Curtiz moved to Hollywood at age 38 to direct for Warner Brothers, and many of the actors are either immigrants or refugees in this film about expats/refugees during political tumult). According to Wikipedia: “Much of the emotional impact of the film has been attributed to the large proportion of European exiles and refugees who were extras or played minor roles (in addition to leading actors Paul Henried, Conrad Veidt and Peter Lorre.” Incidentally, character actor Peter Lorre also had Hungarian roots. Even though Curtiz directed many other Hollywood classics, including Yankee Doodle Dandy and Mildred Pierce, he will be best remembered for this anti-fascism-themed war film with a Hungarian flavor.

American film critic Roger Ebert once summed up his feelings for the commercially and artistically ambitious Casablanca as such: “When asked what is the greatest film of all time, I say Citizen Kane. When asked what is the movie you like the best, I say Casablanca.”

Following are some of the more interesting, less known factoids about the film:

It was originally slated to be directed by Ben Hur director William Wyler.

It was a rare case of a film being shot in sequence, done so because to script wasn’t finished until halfway through shooting.

It was filmed entirely on a sound stage in Los Angeles.

Ingrid Bergman was 5 centimeters taller than Humphrey Bogart. He needed to stand on cement blocks or cushions for their more intimate scenes.

The film’s iconic line “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” was written by a producer and dubbed in a month after final shooting.

The New Yorker magazine was not impressed, calling the film “pretty tolerable”.

Casablanca was nominated for eight Oscars and won three, including best director and best picture.

The film premiered at the Hollywood Theater in New York City on November 26, 1942, to coincide with the Allied invasion of North Africa and the capture of Casablanca.

François Truffaut refused an offer to remake the film in 1974. Later there was talk of Ben Affleck remaking it with Jennifer Lopez.

There is an unconfirmed rumor that Ronald Reagan was going to play Rick instead of Bogart.

A hugely unpopular colorized version of the film was released on cable TV in the 80s.

The hero of the film is an anti-fascist with a Hungarian name – Viktor Laszlo.

The airplane in the final scene is actually constructed of cardboard.

Happy 75 Casablanca! Here's looking at you, kid.

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible. 

After Hours: Trip Advisor Sings the Praises of Budapest's Aria Hotel

We are always thrilled when Budapest and the hospitality our city has to offer are recognized by international awards. It only validates the fact that if you are coming here for work or play, you will be looked after, and done so in high style. It is especially gratifying, though, when accolades are handed down from average visitors to the city, as was done last week when the recently opened Aria hotel won the top prize from Trip Advisor in 2017 Travelers’ Choice Award, adding to its win of the Best Hotel in Central Europe award, given by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler in 2016.

The Aria is located on the cozy but cosmopolitan Hercegprímás street in Distrivt V, a neighborhood that has a downtown vibe but is also quite historical. The interior of the seven-story, 18th century building was renovated and decorated with the theme of music in mind. Each of its four wings is dedicated to a different style of music: classical, contemporary, opera, and jazz; the decorations paying homage to such greats as Bob Dylan, Maria Callas, James Brown, and Hungarian-born Ferenc Liszt. Guests who stayed there touted the rooftop bar with their sweeping, 360-degree views of the cityscape, dominated by Budapest’s famous Basilica just down the street. Moreover, two of Budapest’s five Michelin star restaurants are in the immediate area.

Behind the hotel, which also has a Prague outpost, is New York City-based hotelier Henry Callan, a man who got his start in the hotel business as a busboy in Manhattan. Callan’s aim with Aria, according to the website budapestbylocals.com, was “to design a hotel for Budapest that felt like a private home with a distinctive personality and cultural experience along with the personal care for which we’re known”  By all accounts, he has succeeded here.

It is a new year, and already it appears it will be the best one yet in getting Budapest and Hungary recognized for its value as a value-oriented location with high-end amenities.  

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible. 

Huge Hopes for a Short Film: A Hungarian Oscar Nomination

It’s fair to say that the spotlight has been on Hungary both as a go-to location as well as a source for rigorous, exciting home-grown cinema in the past few years. With the huge win at the Oscars last year for Son of Saul, the intensity of this expectation has only grown. That is one reason why this year it is so gratifying to see local film-making live up to such pressure, with the announcement of the Academy Award nominations, which saw a Hungarian language short film nominated for Best Live Action Short Film.

The film in question is called Mindenki in Hungarian, though re-titled as Sing for foreign audiences. Written and directed by a young graduate of the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest, Kristóf Deák, the short revolves around a new student at a Hungarian primary school who finds a way to stand up to a choral instructor,  an authoritative figure seeking to silence her in order to better win a prize trip abroad. The Oscar nomination is one more laurel for the film, which already won the Grand Prize at the Short Shorts Film Festival in Tokyo and Best Short Film at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival as well as several other international honors. It is perhaps an underdog, as it will go up against a few shorts screened without subtitles, though the theme of the film, the individual standing up against authority, could not be more timely.

Deák, who now splits his time between London and Budapest, has this to say about his personal film-making style: “I believe pacing and timing are the most important tools in a director's hands. Only perfect timing will evoke real emotions - and that all comes down to actors and director.”

Following is the official trailer for Sing. It’s without subtitles, but still gives you a taste of the film, foremost because, after all, music, is the universal language.  

You can find Deák Kristóf's vimeo channel here.

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible.

Location Spotter: Urania and Pushkin Cinemas in Budapest

Lists are great and we love being featured on them. Here, from Bored Panda, where sophisticated lazybones go to waste time, we find a list where Budapest gets not one, but two mentions. Conveniently, it’s a list of the most beautiful movie theaters in the world, where we can claim both the third and sixth spot, with the Urania National Theater, and the Puskin Theater respectively.

The Urania is something like a functioning monument to the great artistic achievements of film and a monument to audiences who still like to enjoy cinema in a traditional movie theater. The structure housing the Urania was constructed in the 1880s. Its original purpose was actually not film related: nickelodeons had yet to even debut at that point in history. The Urania was what is known as an ‘Orpheum’, which is a kind of cabaret/dance hall. Right before the turn of the century, it was refitted to be a movie theater, in order to first host a Hungarian Scientific Society’s presentation, and then later to accommodate the rush of interest in this new crowd-pleasing medium.” Currently, it is the theater of choice for film festivals and movie premiers.

The Pushkin is smaller than the Urania, but still elegant and painstakingly preserved. When it opened in 1926, it was then the largest cinema in Europe. Though it has passed hands many times, the splendor of the main theater has been kept intact, with the original gilded ornamentation of sculpture Sándor Kristián having created a regal, majestic atmosphere for film-goers. Perhaps the attention to the opulent ornamentation is due to the fact that the Pushkin was originally a casino before being converted. Like the Urania, it bucks the trend towards blockbuster films, and serves primarily as an art-house cinema for Hungarian and foreign films alike.

So stop by Budapest; it’s a film lovers’ city, for those who make them but also for those who just enjoy them. Here you will find two of the most beautiful cinemas in the world. We know, because lists don't lie.

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible.

Chilling Beauty: the Danube in the WInter

Well, as dynamic and photogenic a city as Budapest is as a location, its current primary characteristic is that it is cold. With a record cold snap in effect, buildings are shining with frost, snow covers the statues in the parks, and the Danube is freezing over. What? The Danube is freezing over? It’s true. Though it seems inconceivable for a body of water as vast and constantly in motion as the Danube, which flows from Germany, splitting Budapest down the middle, before making its way through the Balkans and on to the Black Sea, it is true. And wonderfully so, as the below drone video, taken by FlyingEyes Media shows.

But, characteristically of the city, a little intemperate weather won’t keep us down. In fact, there are more and more films being shot here in Hungary than ever, including hottie Jennifer Lawrence’s latest (if she can’t melt the ice, then at least she’ll melt a few local hearts, as she has been sighted around town as of late).

You can see the denizens of the city taking up the challenge of the cold and making the best of it. That included recording the strikingly beautiful ice floes that are currently floating by, some the size of barges. So we invite you to see just how majestic this particular winter has turned this essential part of Budapest and this part of Europe’s landscape. Enjoy.

Budapest Then and Now: a Walk through the Ages

There is nothing like the turn of the dial on the year to cause one to get a bit nostalgic and with a bit of wistfulness, look back. Luckily, with the Internet and other media, it is becoming easier and easier to take a peek and see things as they were years, even decades ago. It is our good fortune to have stumbled upon this thrilling – yet somehow meditative – video that highlights gorgeous old photographs of Budapest as it was a century ago. And because we love putting locations in Budapest in front of your eyes, we went ahead and did a little photo research of our own and gathered a few of the same sites as they are now. It is amazing to see what has changed, and what has stayed the same. That’s one of the things that makes Budapest such a fantastic place to work and film: the melding of the old and regal with the modern and sleek. But enough chattering, have a look at the video, then join us below for a cozy trip back in time. No need to bring your camera: we’ve got you covered.

Lukacs Baths (.33 in the video):

via Lukacs Baths

Hungarian Parliament (.50 in the video):

via wikipedia commons

Keleti Train Station (1.05 in the video)

Kalvin Square (1.09 in the video)

Fisherman's Bastian (2:19 in the video)

via By Ealdgyth - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2674945

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible.

Deep Winter in the Old World: the photos of Tamás Hajdu

In Transylvania the snow is deeper, the nights are darker, and everything just appears a bit stranger. At least it does through the eyes of veterinarian and photographer Dr. Tamás Hajdu, whose photographs of the area have brought him much international attention. While the area around Nagybánya, where the photographer lives, falls within Romanian borders, it was formerly part of Hungary, and many villages retain their Hungarian identity in language and culture. But you won't find Gothic castles or vampire allusions here: Hajdu specializes in capturing the unexpected in everyday life, and doesn't let a cold snowy day keep him from his craft.

You can find more of these stunning photos on Dr. Hajdu's blog here, or follow him on Facebook here. Click on the photos to enlarge. 

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible.

Krampus Conquers America and Beyond

Much like Budapest as a filming location over the past few years, the seasonal monster known as Krampus, the ‘Christmas Devil’, has gotten a lot of play in the media. A holdover from ancient European pagan traditions, Krampus has emerged as an unlikely Christmas anti-hero, beloved by Westerners who have grown weary of the sugar-coated commercialization of the holiday season. It seems that the goatlike demon has become a star of new media–with his own twitter account–as well as making appearances on the silver screen and television.

If you haven’t heard, Krampus is St. Nick’s macabre sidekick, the guy who does the dirty work when Santa has to attend to children on the ‘naughty’ list. This coal-colored, devil-tongued and chain wielding half-goat, half-man demon is known to sneak into children’s bedrooms and kidnap them in a sack, spiriting them away to a fiery corner of the underworld, where they languish for a year.

Though Krampus has long been part of the Christmas tradition in Hungary, its origins can be traced back to Alpine Austria and Germany. In small mountain towns the shadowy figure of Krampus is so ingrained in the culture that there are celebratory parades around this time of year when townsfolk dress in Krampus costumes and masks, arming themselves with gold-painted switches to harass spectators. Krampus parades and ceremonies have recently been taken up by forward-thinking, less traditional communities in America like Portland, Oregon as well as San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington DC. It seems like soon Krampus will be as well traveled as Santa Claus.

It should be noted that the Krampus movie, which came out last year, was so successful (despite not being filmed in Hungary) that there is already a sequel planned. We’re not sure why this age-old Christmas antihero of Central Europe is having his close-up moment now, but you can be sure that his celebrity will only grow. In short, to steal the tagline from the Christmas carol “Santa Claus is coming to town"…you better watch out…

The author, Matt Henderson Ellis gives manuscript critiques and writes about Budapest and other things real and imagined.

Budapest Burger Conquers Brooklyn!

If you live in or have been to Budapest recently, you know the city has undergone a street-food revolution, with the once-humble hamburger on the front lines. Five years ago, you couldn’t get a good burger in this city outside of the Gresham Palace Four Seasons Hotel bar. Now there seem to be burger shacks on every corner, each trying to outdo each other for flavorful, inventive hamburgers. We’ve seen goose-liver burgers, spicy paprika burgers, burgers served on bagels, pretzels, and donuts. Burgers have come so far that even the simpler, blander Hungarian Retro Burgers of yore are returning to popularity: limp patties on huge buns complete with Hungarian pickled cabbage coleslaw. In this sizzling golden age of burger, is there anything left to do? Have we not hit peak burger?

We need to look Stateside for the next step forward, where good-intentioned Eastern/Central Europeans have emigrated, taking ideas from their own cuisine and fusing them with American street-food traditions. This cultural melding has brought us the first lángos (deep fried flat bread) burger, where-by a burger patty, hand-formed ground beef, is attended to on the grill, then bundled into lángos doe and dipped in the deep fryer. Hot Hungarian peppers as a condiment are optional. This ungodly (or divine, depending) creation is the brainchild of Korzo’s, a Hungarian/Slovak American outpost in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The burger is known as the 'Deep Fried Burger' and comes in multiple variations. This Hungarian/American hybrid has thus far been rated the best in America by Inside Edition and best in New York by the Village Voice. With that kind of hype, and with the local willingness to evolve their tastes in this territory, it is only a matter of time before the lángos burger makes an appearance on menus in Budapest, where to competition is fierce, and the burger battle is always hotting up. 

But don't take our word for it: have a look at the cooking of the Deep Fried Burger here:

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible.

A Ride Through the Past: A Brief Trams in Budapest

One of the things that makes Budapest such a great city to live in, work in, and visit, is its comprehensive and dependable public transportation system, the oldest of which is the network of tramlines. Why waste money on bus tours when the city’s tram system can take you to the most scenic locations in Budapest for around a Euro? Like blood vessels through the body, the trams run everywhere, delivering a staggering 10 million passengers a year to their destinations around Buda and Pest.

With many of the trams currently under 10 years old, it is also a modern system. It’s hard to believe that the very first trams in Budapest were neither electric, gas, nor steam, but actually horse powered. This was back in 1866 when the inaugural tram ran from inner Pest to an outer northern suburb. The system was quickly expanded to include fifteen more lines, as well as a steam-powered commuter rail. The horses had a short run, being replaced by the city's first electrical tram a mere eleven years later. This system was quickly expanded until it became the city-wide one we know today.

Instead of the numbered tram lines we currently use, the original lines were color-coded, using circular discs with a symbol on it or a strip across it to signify the line. But this proved too complicated when by 1900 there were more than 30 tram lines in use. Confusingly, there were two different companies presiding over the system. One was granted the use of even numbers, the other the use of odd numbers for their lines.

It could be said that the tram system had its heyday in the years of 1939-44 when it operated 66 lines. This was of course before WWII, and before the underground metro was constructed, which took a good deal of burden off the evermore crowded trams, not to mention the introduction of gas-powered buses and electric trolleys. Still, the trams of Budapest’s 33 tramlines are consistently replaced with more modern carriages, making it an efficient, even thrilling way to travel across the city.

For a more in-depth history of the trams in Budapest in addition to a deep photo archive of trams old and new, see this excellent site.

Matt Henderson Ellis is a free-lance writer based in Budapest.

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible.

Star Géza: a Hungarian Actor in Fashion

Last year was a big one for Hungarian-born actor/writer/educator Géza Röhrig, with the unexpected Best Foreign Film Oscar win for Hungary’s entry Son of Saul. Röhrig visited over 20 countries to publicize the film, sat on a panel with the Pope, and was awarded Hungary’s highest honor in the field of culture. But perhaps one of the more unlikely venues he popped up in was the pages of glossy magazines as a model for the high fashion brand and department store Barney’s.

With eight books of poetry published in Hungary, he is now writing a novel, the content of which involves several generations of a Hungarian Roma family. No stranger to hardship himself, the actor spent the first portion of his life in foster care, and was eventually adopted by a Jewish family in Budapest. Though he has a strong background in theology (with a degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, and time spent at a Yeshiva in Israel) he also has a degree from the Academy of Film and Theater in Budapest where he studied under fellow Oscar-winner István Szabó, as well as a Masters in Eastern European Literature. In his youth he spent time in anti-authoritarian punk rock bands and boxing.

Though it brings less fame, it is writing that drives Röhrig as an artist.  He tells Barney’s of the eight books of poetry he has published in Hungary: “Poetry has been my main focus, my lifeblood. But [you] accumulate things that are more prosaic as you get older. I got through stuff. I lost things and people. I lost a marriage. There are these things that I can’t poet out of my system, so to speak. I have to prose them out. Because they’re still sitting with me, you know?”

Röhrig is a recipient of the prestigious Kossuth Prize, given by the Hungarian State as recognition for the highest achievement in Hungarian culture. But Röhrig does not focus on such accolades. As he told the Times of Israel: “The joy is not in recognition. The joy is actually creating something.” Either way, it looks good on him.

All photos via thewindow.barneys.com

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible.

Location Spotter: Vajdahunyad Castle, City Park, Budapest

Sometimes it takes an outsider’s eye to appreciate what has been in front of you all along. Take, for instance, the City Park, a place that is often overlooked for flashier locations in Budapest. One thing that stands out in this huge green space is the historic and curious history of the Vajdahunyad Castle, which is fast achieving a place as a top tourist site and ever-more intriguing location, so much so that it was recently the subject of a profile on the ultra-hip and in-the-know travel site Atlas Obscura.  

Most passersby don’t recognize that the Vajdahunyad Castle wasn’t intended to be a residential castle at all, but rather was only for show (it now houses the much-overlooked agricultural museum). Utilizing four styles of architecture: Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance, and Romanesque, the structure was originally constructed out of wooden planks and cardboard, for the Millennial Exhibition (Hungary’s 1000th year birthday), and though it was slated to be torn down, was reconstructed with proper building materials due to its popularity with locals.

According to the castle’s official site: “The concept of Vajdahunyad Castle Budapest was to blend the various architectural styles into one composite castle. The design of Ignác Alpár contains the architectural details of 21 buildings, some only in minor additions, while others as main characters.” While Atlas Obscura describes the building as having a funhouse quality and ‘dreamy ambivalence’ it is in fact a more serious affair, lending a sinister and Medieval air to its surroundings. While the Vajdahunyad Castle may fit the bill perfectly as the pied-a-terre of a wealthy vampire, and it has been speculated that Bram Stoker visited the place and took inspiration from it for his creation, there is no real proof of this, though it is interesting to note that there is a bust of Bela Lugosi, the Hungarian actor who originated the role of Dracula, outside the castle. Just like with Dracula, the profile of the castle only grows with time.

All images via vajdahunyadcastle.com and wiki commons.

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible.

Olympics 2024: Project Budapest

We love seeing creative minds apply themselves to the cityscape of Budapest, because there is just so much possibility here. It is a city that constantly re-invents itself, yet somehow stays true to its own unique spirit. This is why the pictures released by the 2024 Budapest Olympic Bid committee were so thrilling. They have taken historic and iconic sites from around Budapest and recontextualized them to show how adaptable the city is, in this case for venues that would host the 2024 summer games.

via budapest2024.org

For the first time in recent history, Budapest is considered to be one of the main contenders for the honor of hosting the games, along with more obvious choices like Paris, Los Angeles, and Rome (with Hamburg recently dropping their bid).  The winner will be announced at the IOC's September 2017 conference in Lima, Peru. That’s not so far away, and when it comes to Olympic planning, neither is 2024.

via budapest2024.org

It should be stated that while the team behind the bid are optimistic, Budapest is considered the underdog. Paris, though having already hosted two Olympics, is a sentimental favorite, having rebounded from last year’s terrorist attacks, though smart money is on LA, as the summer games have not been in LA in almost 30 years and the city already has much of the necessary infrastructure in place. One advantage Budapest may have is that the Olympic committee is stressing sustainability this time around. As it is a compact, cozy city, all the venues would be not far from each other, cutting down on transportation needs.

via budapest2024.orgbudapest2024.org

It is true that much infrastructure would have to be built in Budapest to make the games viable, but the photos reveal that the games would also benefit from a classical setting, one that cleans up and adapts itself so well to each new incarnation. No matter what decision is taken, there is no doubt that we have gamily thrown our hat into the ring and will be take seriously as a global venue for entertainment that extends past film.

via budapest2024.org

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible.

Blade Runner 2: the Budapest Proposition

It’s not new news that Blade Runner II has been shooting in Budapest at Origo Studios for the better part of 2016, making use of the amazing sound stages and crews Hungary has to offer. Not much is known of the plot of the long awaited sequel, except what the director Denis Villeneuve told Entertainment Weekly when she briefly discussed the film, revealing that the story is set a few decades after the original, and that it will take place in Los Angeles again. "The climate has gone berserk — the ocean, the rain, the snow is all toxic," she said in the interview.

The shoot has been kept under the tightest secrecy, with no scripts being leaked or pictures from the set posted on social media. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t visit the Blade Runner II set. It was announced in late September that a raffle is being held to benefit a number of worthy causes, the prize including a visit to Budapest and tour of the set with tour guide/ occasional movie star Ryan Gossling. Here is the actor himself pitching the charitable contest, which will benefit Enough Project, Imerman Angels, and the Hummingbirds Foundation in their missions.

Meanwhile Harrison Ford, making the most of Budapest in the autumn, has been spotted around town, from picking up a bike to grabbing a bowl of famous Hungarian Fisherman’s soup and sampling Hungarian red wine (apparently the Villanyi producer Gere was choice of the night).

via Facebook/ Blade Runner 2049

Ridley Scott, director of the first Blade Runner is producing the sequel. In addition to Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto, Robin Wright, and Mackenzie Davis star in the project, based on the writing of Philip K. Dick. It is set for an October 2017 release.

Donate and enter for your chance for the ultimate insider trip to Budapest at Omaze.com.

It’s not new news that Blade Runner II has been shooting in Budapest at Origo Studios for the better part of 2016, making use of the amazing sound stages and crews shooting in Hungary has to offer. Not much is known of the plot, except what the director Denis Villeneuve told Entertainment Weekly briefly discussed the film, revealing it's set a few decades after the original. It'll take place in Los Angeles again, and the earth's atmosphere will be different. "The climate has gone berserk — the ocean, the rain, the snow is all toxic". The shoot has been kept under the tightest secrecy, with no scripts being leaked or pictures from the set posted on social media. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t visit the Blade Runner II set. It was announced in late September that a raffle is being held to benefit a number of worthy causes, the prize being a visit to Budapest and tour of the set with tour guide/ movie star Ryan Gossling. Here is the actor himself pitching the charitable contest, which will benefit Enough Project, Imerman Angels, and the Hummingbirds Foundation in their missions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3N0kwYr43g

Meanwhile Harrison Ford, making the most of Budapest in the autumn, has been spotted around town, from picking up a bike to grabbing a bowl of famous Hungarian Fisherman’s soup and sampling Hungarian red wine (apparently the Villanyi producer Gere was choice of the night.

The Blade Runner sequel is being directed by Denis Villeneuve with Blade Runner director Ridley Scott producing. In addition to Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto, Robin Wright, and Mackenzie Davis star in the project, based on the writing of Philip K. Dick and is set for an October 2017 release.

Donate and enter for your chance for the ultimate insider trip to Budapest at Omaze.com.

Snow-covered Budapest From Above: A Bird's Eye View on Winter

Just because winter is fast approaching doesn’t mean we can’t find things about Budapest to love. This stunning video comes from dronemediastudio.hu, where they specialize in professionally shot drone footage. It is impossible not to see just how magical the city is when under a fresh blanket of snow. The footage captures some of the city’s most prominent and photogenic settings, beginning with the Palace, then later with shots on the Chain Bridge and the Danube, snaking between Pest and Buda. The parliament looks appropriately huge and austere from above the river. Back on the Buda side, we can see Clark Adams Square with its tunnel and funicular. Later there are shots of less covered locations like the newly renovated Széll Kálmán Square and Millenáris Park.

In short, you can cover Budapest in snow, but you can’t hide the beauty of the city, which is photogenic, friendly, and imminently atmospheric year-round.

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible.

Hungary by the Bite: My Virgin Kitchen Takes on Hungarian Snack Food

It must be said that the hungry/Hungary pun gets a little old (as in ‘I am a hungry Hungarian'). Just about everybody in front of a camera or mic who arrives in Hungary tries it on nonetheless. We don’t mind, so long as they also offer something original and fun. Luckily, Barry of the You Tube munchie-gorging channel My Virgin Kitchen, also has some chops (sorry for a bad pun of our own) when it comes to sampling and describing Hungarian snack food. Though the selection of snack-food on offer in the video (bake rolls, cookies) is not terribly inspired, the host’s pronunciation is. He mistakes brands for products, but the fact that he has a little black pug looking on in boredom makes it all forgivable. That he disdains marzipan, which Hungarians are known for, endears him to no local, but his enthusiasm for Túró Rudi almost makes up for this momentary digression in taste.

Túró Rudi is a national treasure that – as a visitor – you will either love or hate. Literally translated as ‘curd rod’ it is just that: cheese curd dipped in rich chocolate. Mostly sweet but kind of savory, it is uniquely Hungarian. It can be spotted by its distinctive red-and-white polka-dot packaging. It’s enough to make a bad pun seem very tasty indeed.

Have a look at the full video below. Thank you My Virgin Kitchen and happy snacking.

Flight to Freedom: A Daring Escape from Hungary

Hungarians take great pride in their inventions. And with good reason: many ingenious items were hatched in the minds of Hungarians, from the atom bomb to the Rubik’s Cube. But did you know that the concept of air-plane hijacking was also ‘invented’ by a Hungarian. Detailed in his book Free for All to Freedom, Hungarian-born Frank Iszak tells of how he and his cohort George Polyak forcibly commandeered a flight over Hungary in order to jump the Iron Curtain and escape the oppressive communist controlled country to get to the West, making their plot the first recorded hi-jacking of a commercial flight.

Boarding a 1956 a twin engine DC-3 on a commercial flight on Friday 13th of July in 1956, Iszak, a Hungarian forced laborer who worked in a brick factory, and his companion were in the company of other passengers, who were all in on the plot, except for one who happened to be a KGB agent. In midair they would have to overcome faulty firearms and a violent struggle in order to commandeer the plane, then later would need to weave through the peaks of the treacherous Alps as the plane ran out of gas. But in the end, they were successful, and freedom was theirs as they crossed into the West, landing in West Germany, where several of the conspirators were taken to the hospital, having sustained injuries while taking possession of the plane.

Iszak told WBUR.org "The door to the outside was cracked open, so we couldn’t close it fully. So the plane had to stay at 10,000 feet, and we started to run into thunderstorms. Sometimes I looked out the window - it was as close to the next mountain that I ever wanted to see. So we’re flying through the Alps for an hour and a half without any navigation - total soup, 10,000 feet when the mountains could be 11,000 feet. And then eventually we run out of fuel, so now you have to descend from 10,000 feet to 300 and some. When we finally broke out of the clouds, it was the most harrowing experience you can even dream of."

It is an incredible story, one that has garnered interest from Hollywood. There is currently a plan to turn Iszak’s memoir of the event into a film by director Endre Hules, who enlisted actors David Kross and Sam Neil.

Frank Iszak calls the day the plane landed on a NATO airstrip his "second birthday". Iszak has led a full life since escaping the Soviet Union. Once in the USA, he went on to found an advertising studio, run a yoga foundation, and work as a private investigator.

Have a look at the news clip documenting the event - the world's first hijacking - here:

Bookstores Budapest

Apologies for the pause in regular programming, but we were lost among the bookshelves of a few of the most charming and personable bookstores on the planet. But lucky you, we took some photos along the way, just to show off. As locations, the bookstores in Budapest conjure up dreamy afternoons spent in some romantic reverie. Just what you would expect from a location in Budapest.

First up is Atlantisz bookshop. Located in the heart of the Jewish quarter, even though it is a relatively new bookstore, the space is drenched with old-world atmosphere and romantic lighting that calls to mind the Travel Bookshop from the film Notting Hill.

via Atlantisz Bookshop

Massolit Books is a used-books bookstore, also in the Jewish Quarter, that doubles as a café.  The space has five-meter high ceilings and huge windows that brighten the room with lots of natural light. It is a youthful place that also blends well into the old buildings of central Pest.

via Massolit Bookstore

The prize bookstore in Budapest might be the flagship of the Alexandra publishing house. As a bookstore it is large and somewhat impersonal, like a European Barnes and Noble superstore. But it is the café in the back, the Lotz Hall, also known as the Book Café, that steals the show. Originally opened in was was called the Grande Parisienne Department store in the early 1900s, it was part of the first department store in Budapest. The interior of the cafe, which will have you craning your neck looking up, has been painstakingly restored and is a museum piece in itself. This Neo-Renaissance building is one of the most opulent and elegant on Budapest’s great Andrássy Avenue.

So now that we have gotten our heads out from in between the pages of books old and new, and found our way from the aisles of Budapest’s most picturesque bookstores, we will happily resume this blog next week. Until then, happy browsing.