Call for Participation: Hungarian Film Industry Launches Consultations on the Future of Film Financing and Institutional Frameworks

Budapest, 21st of April, 2026. – Approximately 80 participants gathered at the Budapest Music Center under the name Filmreform, including leaders of professional film organizations and representatives from across the Hungarian film industry. The initiative convened representatives of industry bodies for a joint consultation process and began reviewing the most urgent cultural policy issues facing Hungarian Film Industry, with particular focus on the future of public funding policies and the future role of the National Film Institute.

The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the participating organizations, present their professional programs, and jointly establish the principles and procedures through which a consensus-based package of proposals for film support policy could be developed. The objective of the process is to prepare recommendations for the future ministry responsible for the sector, grounded in democratic legitimacy, professional expertise, and broad-based consultation.

Filmreform also serves as an open call to all members of the Hungarian film community. The organizers invite filmmakers, producers, distributors, educators, technical professionals, critics, and all other industry members to join the common effort, connect with already existing professional organizations, and take part in their activities. Where adequate representation does not yet exist, they also encourage the creation of new professional communities and representative bodies.

The founding principles of the initiative are: democracy, professionalism, trust, transparency, and consensus. Participants agreed that the renewal of Hungarian Film policies requires legitimate professional representation, rules-based governance, merit-based funding policy, and the consistent application of European standards and democratic institutional practices. The aim of the process is the responsible representation of professional interests and the establishment of a fairer, more transparent, and more European-oriented film policy framework.

Partial list of organizations participating in the Filmreform process:
• HDA – Hungarian Documentary Association
• Hungarian Independent Film and Video Association
• Hungarian Feature Film Directors Association
• HCA – Hungarian Cinematographers Association
• HSC – Hungarian Cinematographers Society
• HSE – Hungarian Film and Video Editors Association
• Hungarian Sound Creators Association
• Hungarian Animation Producers Association
• AA1 – Hungarian Animation Artists Association
• Hungarian Screenwriters Society Film and Television
• Critics Section of MÚOSZ (National Association of Hungarian Journalists)
• Community of Young New Generation Producers
• Hungarian Filmmakers Association
• FFE – Hungarian Film Distributors Association
• MEME – Hungarian Broadcasters Association
• Art Cinema Association

The first phase of consultations will continue until May 8, 2026. Further participation in the process will be based on professional representative status. The organizers call on all members of the Hungarian film industry to engage now, activate their own communities, mobilize their memberships, and take part in the work of the coming weeks. The initiative aims to ensure that the broadest possible cross-section of the profession contributes to the joint package of proposals, thereby lending genuine legitimacy to the resulting policy recommendations.

The shared objective is to develop a concise, precise, and professionally substantiated package of proposals, as well as to establish and subsequently strengthen the institutionalized participation of professional organizations in shaping and administering film support policy.

According to current plans, the proposal package will be presented at the Eurocine event by a team delegated by Filmreform and the participating professional associations, where consultations with the newly established ministry responsible for the sector will also begin.

Organizers of the initiative: Béla Bagota, Ádám Felszeghy, Dr. Tamás Joó , Dr. László Kolozsi (founder), Dr. Marcell Szy és Bence Szemerey