Hungarian Conservative

A total of 23 applications were received, of which 19 were considered valid and worthy of support by the evaluation committee.

Throughout the years, Hungary has produced a cornucopia of iconic, memorable cartoons, for both film and television, such as Marcell Jankovics’s TV series Magyar Népmesék (Hungarian Folk Tales, 1980–2012), or Béla Ternovszky’s animated feature comedy Macskafogó (Cat City, 1986).

The annual analysis of media consumption showed that in 2023, the attention of news readers was primarily captured by events such as the papal visit, the earthquake in Turkey, the uprising of the Wagner Group, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and the death of Hungarian mountaineer Szilárd Suhajda.

‘That is a sophisticated system of spreading propaganda. Had anything like that ever happened in Hungary, we would be sure to hear from international media watchdog groups and politicians from Brussels as well.’

Despite the surge in online streaming services, the study emphasizes, it is premature to underestimate the significance of films screened in theatres. In 2023, film distributors in Hungary reported a successful year with ticket revenues reaching nearly 22 billion forints and a total audience exceeding ten million. In Hungary, the study reveals that on an average Saturday evening between 8 and 10pm, over four million people tune in to television, with nearly three million supporting various musical talent shows.

The press release indicates that the television audience has aged more rapidly over the past two and a half decades than the general Hungarian population. In 2022, those sitting in front of the screen were, on average, ten years older than the overall population, whereas 25 years ago, this difference was merely four years.

Jankovics, best known for creating the classic animated TV series Hungarian Folk Tales (Magyar Népmesék, 1980–2012), was born 81 years ago today. This piece celebrates the long and illustrious career of the great Hungarian cartoonist and film director.

The Canadian TV network Global TV has recently premiered their new drama series Robyn Hood (their choice of spelling) where the titular character is played by black female actress Jessye Romeo. This is just the latest example of historically white characters being played by actors of colour in Western entertainment.

During the filming, the twenty stars and the 200-member crew managed all hospitality-related tasks independently over twenty-one days, from sourcing ingredients to preparing dishes and serving. This allowed Chinese fans travelling to Hungary encounter their favourites while shopping for food.

István Pálffy, who returned to television as an on-screen talent after 13 years, was interviewing 2022 opposition candidate Péter Márki-Zay when he inexplicably made the claim that ‘we should demonstrate certain patience towards an illness like that of paedophiles’. He was fired after just one day.

Foky was a pioneer in stop-motion animation. His best-known works are the award-winning short Babfilm (Pea Film, 1975), Mirr-Murr kandúr kalandjai (The Adventures of Mirr-Murr the Tomcat, 1972–1972), and, of course, the TV Bear.

Days after he was let go, the 53-year-old cable news star, one of the few in the Western media to cover Hungarian issues in a fair way, finally broke his silence and posted a video to his Twitter feed. He did not directly address his firing, but he did have some solemn things to say about the current state of American media and politics.