The hero of Brady Corbet’s Oscar contender “The Brutalist”— the fictional, Hungarian-born Jewish architect László Toth — journeys from Budapest to the U.S. to rebuild his life after fleeing a concentration camp and the ravages of post-war Europe. But while Toth’s travels cut across a wide swath of the mid-century world, Corbet’s production had a much smaller footprint: Most of the film — including its depiction of 1950s American suburbia — was shot in Budapest.
“It was a huge challenge,” admits Viktoria Petrányi, of the film’s Hungarian co-producer, Proton Cinema. But Corbet, production designer Judy Becker and a team of Hungarian crew proved “extremely intelligent about choosing locations” while “creating the atmosphere of ’50s U.S. from tiny fractions of Hungarian reality.”
Hungary is enjoying a moment this awards season, with a handful of Oscar hopefuls — including “The Brutalist,” Pablo Larraín’s “Maria” and Dennis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” — making use of the country’s abundant soundstages, skilled below-the-line talent and 30% tax incentive to dramatic effect on the big screen. Home to continental Europe’s largest production hub, the country is showing off its versatility at bringing almost any period and place to life.
Mid-century Philadelphia? Check. Paris’ swanky 16th arrondissement? Check. Fantasy planets spinning at the far end of made-up star systems? Why not! “Dune 2’s” desert scenes were shot on location in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, but the production — which was serviced by Budapest-based Mid Atlantic Films — got heavy usage from the Hungarian capital’s soundstages. It also received a 37.5% rebate on the equipment and local crew that traveled to the Middle East, thanks to a provision in the incentive scheme that added 7.5% to the production’s non-Hungarian costs.
Meanwhile, despite the cost-cutting, restructuring and strike-related turbulence that have thrown a monkey wrench into global production, there’s no sign that the Hungarian industry is slowing down.
“Every time I think it’s not going to be that busy, it’s the same [level of production] that we have every year,” says Mid Atlantic’s Adam Goodman, who this year serviced Sky’s upcoming limited series “Amadeus” and the Ryan Reynolds-starring action movie “Mayday.” “2024 was as busy as any year we’ve been in business. I don’t think it’s going to be much different in 2025.”
The Hungarian government is certainly banking on that, after extending its incentive scheme for another six years. It hopes to build on the success of a program that last year attracted direct annual production spend totaling $910 million — a fourfold increase in the last five years — while also doubling down on investments like an expansion of the NFI Studios on the outskirts of Budapest.
The National Film Institute (NFI) also gave a dramatic upgrade to the post-production facilities at NFI Filmlab, which ranks among the most experienced laboratories in Central Europe. One of the few options on the continent that provide complete analog post-production services, as well as both black-and-white and color film processing, it’s where the film stock was processed for “The Brutalist,” “Maria” and Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things.”
Ildikó Kemény, of Pioneer Stillking Films, who recently wrapped production on Oscar winner László Nemes’ “Orphan,” points to the “reliability” of the Hungarian rebate as driving the industry’s continued success.
“Inflation hit Hungary very badly, and that’s when prices went up enormously,” she says. “We are still better off and more cost-effective than the U.K. or Germany — and especially the U.S. But our well-working tax rebate compensates for the rising prices.” Add to that the deep roster of skilled Hungarian artisans and “the value for money is still really high,” notes Petrányi, who is currently prepping two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Öslund’s “The Entertainment System Is Down.”
There is the fact, too, that Hungary boasts one of Europe’s oldest moviemaking traditions — a legacy that’s borne out on screen. “This is our strength — that we are filmmakers and not only service providers,” Petrányi says. “We can really figure things out together.”
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