Hungarian Film Institute

Béla Balázs established the Institute for Film Sciences in 1948 on the School for Film and Dramatic Arts, but his death in 1949 stopped the activities. It was re-organized in 1957, at that time still jointly as Institute for Theatre and Film Sciences. The two departments have been separated in 1959 and the Hungarian Institute for Film Sciences operated since this time independently. Since 1991 the Hungarian Film Institute is a national public collection.

The entire yield of Hungarian film production is safe-guarded and restored in its archives (news reels, documentaries, short and feature films), some 26 000 items, and it is also here that foreign films presented in Hungary and bought for the archives are taken care of.. These copies are mostly lended to education of film aesthetics and to film clubs.

In the library of the institute, which is the only one reference library of this kind in the country, there are 20 000 books, 4000 volumes of periodicals, 3500 film scripts and 30 recent foreign reviews at the disposal of the researchers and interested public.

In its archives of posters 60 000 posters, in the photo archieves more than 200 000 photogpraphs are kept.

Its cinema, the Örökmozgó (Perpetuum mobile) is the popular scene for exhibitions, meetings, public discussions beside the daily changing film program.

Its periodical, Filmkultúra (Film Culture) has been operating for 32. years.

Director: Vera Gyürey

Hungarian Film Institute, H-1021 Budapest, Budakeszi ut 51/b, Hungary
phone: +361-176-1322, fax: +361-200-8739