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FESTIVALS Hungary

The Investigator in competition at Karlovy Vary

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The official selection of the 43rd Karlovy Vary Film Festival (July 4-12) was unveiled yesterday and includes four Hungarian productions. The line-up is headed by Attila Gigor’s thriller The Investigator, which will screen in competition.

Winner of four awards at the Hungarian Film Week 2008 (Best Genre Film, Best Actor for Zsolt Anger, Best Screenplay and Best Editing), The Investigator retraces the misfortunes of Malkáv, a 37-year-old forensic scientist whose mother suffers from cancer. She can only be operated on in Sweden and at a price that is beyond her son’s means.

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This dead-end situation leads Malkáv to agree to commit a murder, upon the suggestion of a stranger known as Cyclops. But this murder turns out to be a fatal mistake for Malkáv who, two days after committing the crime, receives a letter from his victim. Posted just before the killing, this missive plunges Malkáv into a strange investigation.

Produced by Ferenc Pusztai (Producer on the Move 2007 – see interview) for KMH Film (see news), the debut feature was made on a budget of €640,000. This included co-production support from Swedish company Anagram Produktion and Ireland’s Fastnet Films, as well as backing from the Hungarian Culture Ministry, the Motion Picture Public Foundation of Hungary, Film I Väst and the Irish Film Board.

International sales are being handled by Scandinavian company Trust Film Sales and Budapest Films will release the film domestically at the end of September.

Hungarian production will also be represented at Karlovy Vary by two titles set to screen in competition in the East of the West section. Produced by Új Budapest Filmstúdió and Tradewind, Gabor Dettre’s The Class follows a police investigation led by a member of the Hungarian gypsy community. The film is adapted from Ákos Kertész’s novel The Price of Hatred.

Good Luck! – the debut narrative feature by documentary filmmaker Robert Lakatos – recounts the adventures in Egypt of two young Transylvanians who dream of making their fortune. This neo-realist style comedy was co-produced by Hungary (Inforg Stúdió), Austria (Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduction) and Germany (Intuit Pictures).

Finally, screening in the documentary competition is Gyula NemesLost World, which was co-produced with Finland.

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(Translated from French)

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