Backlot and Fund

Hungarian Film & Television

Course 1 · Chapter 9 · Budapest as a Backlot & the Film Fund

Budapest's old streets, grand buildings and large studios, together with skilled crews and lower costs than in the West, have made it a favourite location for foreign productions since the 1990s. Alongside this "service" industry runs a separate story: how the Hungarian state has funded its own films, especially since the National Film Fund was set up in 2011. This chapter covers both, and the debate about who benefits. Names, figures and dates are from general knowledge and flagged "check", and recent politics should be checked against current sources.

The Studio and Location City

Why Budapest

The city can double for Paris, Vienna, Berlin or other European cities, and its architecture covers many periods (check which productions used which districts). Crews and facilities were available at lower cost than in many Western cities.

The studios

Mafilm's older studio sites continued to be used (Chapter 3; check), and a large new complex opened outside Budapest at Etyek in 2007, first called Korda Studios after Alexander Korda (Chapter 2) and later known as Origo Studios (check the names and dates).

The crews

Foreign productions hire local crews, builders, stunt teams and extras, which builds up skills that Hungarian films can also use (check examples). Visual-effects and post-production companies have also grown.

Films Shot There

Production (check each)Note
Evita (1996)Filmed partly in Budapest, which stood in for Buenos Aires (check).
Atomic Blonde (2017)Budapest doubled for Cold War Berlin in this thriller (check).
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)Large sets were built in Budapest studios (check).
Dune (2021)Parts were shot at Origo Studios (check).
The Alienist (2018)A television series set in nineteenth-century New York, shot in Budapest (check).

The list is a sample, not a complete record, and which scenes were shot where differs from source to source.

The Film Fund

  • The rebate. A tax incentive for film production, introduced in the 2000s and increased over time, returns a share of local spending to foreign and domestic productions (check the rates and rules).
  • The National Film Fund. In 2011 the Hungarian government set up a body to fund Hungarian films, led at first by the Hungarian-born Hollywood producer Andy Vajna as government commissioner (check the date, the role and the structure).
  • Output. The Fund supported a number of films that won prizes, including Son of Saul (Chapter 8), and also many commercial films (check which were supported).
  • The debate. Supporters point to the stability of funding and the international successes. Critics argued about transparency, the concentration of decisions in a few hands and political influence over what is funded (check; sources differ, and later reforms changed the system).
Two industries in one city The service industry, which hires out Budapest to the world, and the national film culture, which tells Hungarian stories, overlap but are not the same. The first brings jobs, skills and income, and the second produces the films discussed in this course. Money and attention can flow between them or compete, and claims that one "supports" the other should be tested with figures (check the sources).

The Streaming Era

  • Platforms. International streaming services commission series filmed in Hungary and carry Hungarian films to wider audiences with subtitles (check which).
  • Domestic viewing. Hungarian audiences watch foreign and local series on streaming services as well as the commercial channels of Chapter 7.
  • Open questions. How far streaming helps Hungarian-language work reach outsiders, and how much of the benefit stays in Hungary, are still being worked out (check current studies).
A British comparison The closest British parallel is Britain's own film tax relief and the studios at Leavesden and Pinewood, which host Hollywood productions and train large crews. Britain's film and television tax reliefs have raised the same questions about how much of the benefit reaches British-made stories (check).
Check the details Production lists, tax rates and the organisation of the Fund are from general knowledge and have changed more than once. This is a politically contested area, so verify against official sources, audits and several news reports before repeating any claim about who gained or lost.

Exercises

Exercise 1

Explain why Budapest became a popular filming location and what a local crew gains from foreign productions.

→ Solution
Exercise 2

Summarise the arguments for and against the 2011 model of the National Film Fund, marking which claims are documented.

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Exercise 3

Describe how you would test the claim that foreign filming "supports" Hungarian film, and what figures you would need.

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Quick Reference

  • Location city: Budapest doubles for other cities; studios at Etyek (check)
  • Samples: Evita, Atomic Blonde, Blade Runner 2049, Dune (check)
  • Fund: National Film Fund from 2011 (check)
  • Debate: transparency and political influence
  • The caution: service work and national film are different things