CARTA DE BELA TARR. LA REBELION DEL CINE HUNGARO

Dear Colleagues,

Dear Friends,

Instead of the forthcoming 44th Hungarian Film Week the Hungarian Filmmakers’ Association will hold an extraordinary and public General Assembly Meeting on Feburay 2nd, 2013 in the Urania Cinema.

Believe me, we would rather organise the traditional February film week, we would rather screen films, we would rather talk about them and we would rather appreciate and honour quality achievements.

Because the Hungarian Film Week has always been the celebration of the Hungarian cinema.

This is the very first year when we are not able to organise it.

THERE IS NOTHING TO SCREEN! THERE IS NOTHING TO CELEBRATE!

The Hungarian film production has been in a standstill for two years, outstanding colleagues are unemployed and have harder and harder living conditions without any perspectives, practically on  the brink of starvation.

The Hungarian film production is not only art representing the culture of a nation but it is also an industry which had employed hundreds of people picking up a living for their families.

By now this industry has been crushed.

I feel that it is high time to review the actual situation of our profession, to discuss some common issues together and to shape up our ideas for the future.   

We are in the very last moment and we cannot afford to drifting further. We have to demonstrate that like grown-up people we are able to take the control of our fate in hand.

The Hungarian filmmakers, - should they make documentaries, animated or educational films, films for children or fiction features, - represent together the Hungarian cinema.

The Hungarian filmmakers’ community, grips and gaffers, make-up artists, props, set designers, production managers, assistants, sound engineers, editors, cinematographers, producers and directors in cooperation with our distributors, exhibitors and film critics, we are a big family.

We love to and know how to make films, we have already proven our competency and knowledge over and over again. Hungarian cinema means all of us in one, we have created it and we are going to make it togeteher.

Let’s meet in the Urania!

Béla Tarr