Full House at U.S. Premiere of “Hungarian Wedding” in New York

0 See ak December 11, 2025

The U.S. premiere of Hungarian Wedding (Magyar Menyegző) was held in front of a full house in New York on Tuesday. Director Csaba Káel and producer and cinematographer Lajos Tamás represented the film’s creators at the screening held in the cinema of the Museum of the Moving Image.

After the red carpet screening, Csaba Káel told MTI that initial American feedback indicated that for a large part of the U.S. audience, watching the film meant discovering Hungarian culture.

They understand that there is a fantastic tradition here, the last vestiges of which we may have captured,”

said the director, who is also the CEO of the National Film Institute (NFI).

He added that the inspiration for the film came from a visit he made to Transylvania as a student in 1980, when he attended a traditional wedding.

In his speech before the film premiere, Káel, citing the common roots of American and Hungarian film history, pointed out that the film studio in Cluj-Napoca was where Mihály Kertész (Michael Curtis) and Sándor Korda (Alexander Korda), two of the founders of Hollywood film production, made their first films.

At the U.S. event, Balázs Hankó, Minister of Culture and Innovation, in a video message, drew attention to the fact that in 2026, on the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, they want to show how Hungarians have contributed to the history of the North American country.

Fact

Hungarian Wedding, based on a screenplay by Miksa Békési, tells the story of two young men from Budapest—András and Péter—who travel to Transylvania in the late 1970s, to attend a family wedding. Set in Kalotaszeg (near Cluj-Napoca), the film evokes the vibrant music and dance of living folk traditions. The film pays tribute to renowned choreographer Ferenc “Tata” Novák, and with vivid attention to costumes, customs and dance, it brings the era to life, featuring choreography set to Kalotaszeg folk music curated by István “Szalonna” Pál.

The red carpet premiere was attended by American actor and director Gino Pesi, Pennsylvania’s film commissioner, who called for stronger cooperation between the American and Hungarian film industries, and Ambassador Szabolcs Takács. The screening was organized by the Liszt Institute New York with the support of the National Cultural Fund.

Following its festival premiere at PÖFF Tallinn and its world debut at the Hungarian Opera of Cluj-Napoca, Hungarian Wedding arrived in New York for a special red carpet event before its Hungarian cinema release on January 22, 2026.