Krisztina Goda's 'CHAMELEON' to Open 9th Hungarian Film Festival of Los Angeles (2009)

Krisztina Goda's 'CHAMELEON' to Open 9th Hungarian Film Festival of Los
Angeles (2009)
Festival Program Includes Three North American Premieres and Four U.S.
Premieres

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Bunyik Entertainment is pleased to
announce the 9th Hungarian Film Festival of Los Angeles, which runs from
November 5th through November 15th, 2009. The Festival will feature multiple
U.S. premieres of Hungary's latest and greatest films as well as a compilation
of American films directed by Hungarians called "Hungarians in Hollywood."

The Opening Night film of the Festival is "CHAMELEON," the Hungarian
foreign-language submission for the 82nd Academy Awards directed by Krisztina
Goda who is considered one of the pre-eminent Hungarian film directors of the
current era. Goda's entertaining contemporary thriller chronicles a swindler
who falls into his own trap when he meets a beautiful, intelligent dancer.
Lushly photographed by award-winning cinematographer Tamas Babos, and
featuring an impressive, highly touted performance from lead actor Ervin Nagy,
"CHAMELEON" was one of Hungary's most anticipated releases of 2008 before
going on to become a hit at the box-office. "CHAMELEON" was also the first
domestic film to be shot in Hungary's recently opened Korda Studios. The film
receives its North American premiere at Laemmle's MONICA 4 Plex, Santa Monica
on November 5th, 2009.

Opening Night Festivities will include the presentation of a Career
Achievement Award to Hungarian-born, award-winning animation artist Gabor
Csupo. Csupo's career began in Hungary at the famed Pannonia animation
studios before moving to Sweden where he contributed to the production of
Sweden's first animated feature. After relocating from Europe to Hollywood in
1979, he first worked at the legendary Hanna Barbera Studios before
co-founding Klasky Csupo, a Los Angeles based multimedia entertainment
production company and animation studio.

Continuing to break new ground, Csupo co-developed, produced and animated the
phenomenally successful Rugrats series, the most popular children's show in
the United States, in addition to producing and animating such distinguished
series as The Simpsons, Duckman and As Told By Ginger. Csupo's feature film
directing credits include Bridge to Terabithia; his feature producing credits
include the Rugrats franchise (The Rugrats Movie, Rugrats in Paris,Rugrats Go
Wild) and The Wild Thornberrys Movie.

In addition to his film, TV and commercial animation career, Csupo is an
acclaimed musician, the founder of two record labels, a noted restaurateur and
an engaged member of the arts community in Los Angeles. His documentary film
Immigrants (L.A. Dolce Vita), a film festival favorite, will receive its US
Premiere at the Hungarian Film Festival on November 13th.

Except for the Opening Night, the remaining films in the festival program will
screen at the United Hungarian House of Los Angeles on November 6th and 8th
followed by Raleigh Studios' Chaplin Screening Room on November 13th -14th
-15th.

Among the highlights:

PRANK (West Coast Premiere)
It is 1912. In a small town's parish school run by priests the school year
starts off in an ordinary way. This autumn, the pupils are overcome by a
strangely overwhelming rowdiness, leading them to come up with increasingly
more outrageous pranks.
Cast: Tamas Lengyel, Lorant Vata, Zsolt Kovacs, Mihaly Kovacs, Marci Kiss,
Gergely Baki
Budapest Hungarian Film Week 2009: Best Director: Peter Gardos
In competition - Moscow Film Festival 2009
Director: Peter Gardos, 2009, 94 minutes

PRIMA PRIMAVERA(US Premiere)
The life of Gabor, a middle-aged man with the manners and naivete of a child,
is turned upside down when his mother is killed in a botched bank robbery. He
and a prostitute, Jolie, are the only ones who can identify the robbers so
they must run for their lives.
Cast: Andor Lukacs, Vesela Kazakova, Djoko Rosic, Eniko Borcsok, Erzsi Mathe ,
Eva Schubert
Budapest Hungarian Film Wee2009: Best Actor: Andor Lukats
Varna Love is Folly International Film Festival 2009: Special Award of the
Jury, Best Actress: Vesela Kazakova
Director: Janos Edelenyi, 2009, 91 minutes

MADE IN HUNGARIA(West Coast Premiere)
It's rock 'n' roll versus communism in this rollicking musical comedy. Teen
Miki and his parents return to oppressive 1960s Hungary after four years in
the States. Miki's stash of contraband Jack Daniels and 45s by Buddy Holly and
Jerry Lee Lewis makes him a hit with local kids starved for American pop
culture--but it'll be harder to win over his ex-flame Vera, tough-guy rocker
Rone... and especially the local comrades.
Cast:Tamas Szabo Kimmel, Tunde Kiss, Eva Vandor, Tamas Dunai, Peter Scherer,
Ivan Fenyo
Director: Gergely Fonyo, 2009, 109 minutes

A KIND OF AMERICA 2(US Premiere)
The three brothers - Tamas, Akos and Andras - are stumped. Tamas's dream film
project, "City of Sin," is a failure, and their lottery win is a thing of the
past, so the guys must do something together if they want to get back into the
game. They accidentally stumble upon a clue that leads them to Alex and they
come up with a plan to squeeze the sixty million forints out of him that he
had tricked out of them.
Cast:Gyozo Szabo, Csaba Pindroch, Ferenc Hujber, Tibor Szervet, Szonja
Oroszlan, Eszter Onodi Lucia Brawley
Director: Gabor Herendi, 2008, 110 minutes

THE SUN STREET BOYS(US Premiere)
The story begins on October 23, 1956 and ends on November 4 of the same year.
A group of boys living in the outskirts of the capital are playing football in
an abandoned lot when Juli, a ticket inspector, brings news of protests
breaking out in the city. Only Gabor accompanies her into town, and together
they become part of this historical event.
Cast:Peter Barnai, Sandor Czeczo, Kata Gaspar, Tamas Bruckner, Gergo Fekete,
David Hervaci
Director: Gyorgy Szomjas, 2007, 90 minutes

HUNKY BLUES Hungarian Immigrants and the American Dream (West Coast Premiere)
Peter Forgacs created a documentary exploring the fate of hundreds of
thousands of Hungarian men and women who arrived to the United States between
1890 and 1921. To tell their sagas Forgacs weaved this grand epic from the
early American cinema, found footage, photographs and interviews.
World Premiere: The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) May 4, 2009, New York
Director: Peter Forgacs, 2009, B/W, 100 minutes

PUSKAS HUNGARY(North American Premiere) (Documentary)
This documentary tells the story of legendary soccer player Ferenc Puskas, who
started from the Budapest slums and became an international star, living his
life irrespective of politics, war and conventions of society, doing the one
thing he loved and knew best: play soccer.
Director: Tamas Almasi, 2009, 116 minutes

Hungarians in Hollywood:

IMMIGRANTS (L.A. DOLCE VITA)(US Premiere) (Animation)
Immigrants is the story of Vladislav (a Russian), and Joska (a Hungarian).
Both are immigrants and best friends, living and chasing the American dream
together.
Director: Gabor Csupo, 2008, 87 minutes

AN AMERICAN RHAPSODY
15-year-old Suzanne, rebellious and unsure-of-herself, tries to come to terms
with her roots and decides to travel back to Budapest, Hungary to unravel her
past and to find her true identity.
Cast:Scarlett Johansson, Nastassja Kinski, Raffaella Bansagi, Tony Goldwyn,
Agnes Banfalvy, Zoltan Seress, Kata Dobo, Eva Szorenyi, Colleen Camp
Director: Eva Gardos, 2001, 106 minutes

A MAN FROM MUNKACS - Portrait of Ferenc Javori (North American Premiere)
(Documentary)
Ferenc Javori learned about Jewish culture in his hometown, Munkacs, and he
got to know traditional Jewish music, klezmer, from a versatile Gypsy musician
called Gyula Galambos. "Fegya" resettled in Hungary in the late 80s, and in
1990 he formed the first ever klezmer band in Hungary, the Budapest Klezmer
Band.
Director: Yale Strom, 2005, 54 minutes

Short films:

THE HISTORY OF AVIATION
Normandy, 1905. The picnic is over; the upper middle class party prepare to go
home.
They are waiting for just one last photograph, but someone is still missing
from the group...
Cast:Marie Mure, Juli Nyako, Laszlo Babarczy, Eszter Adorjan, Caroline
Matthieu
Director: Balint Kenyeres, 2009, 15 minutes

THE DINNER
A day in the life of a small, rural Hungarian family during the riots of
September 2006. The adult son of the family slips and falls during the
morning feeding round and lies unconscious in the pigpen. The town also wakes
up and goes about its business but nobody notices. The constant radio chatter
brings the outside world in, echoing the cultural and political pulse of
Hungary. As the day ends and the sun sets, the story also unwinds, but not
without the proverbial irony we know life to have.
Cast:Piroska Molnar, Olga Koos, Judit Pogany, Laszlo Klementisz
Director: Karchi Perlman, 2008, 26 minutes

About the US Hungarian Film Festival:

The Hungarian Film Festival of Los Angeles aims each year to take a thorough
look and highlight the richness of new Hungarian cinema. The Festival was
established in 1996 by Bunyik Entertainment.

For more information, contact: Bonnie Anderle
Tel: 1 818 848 5902
Or visit: www.hffla.org

SOURCE Raleigh Studios

Bonnie Anderle, +1-818-848-5902, for Raleigh Studios