06/02/2007

“The most advanced Film Studios east and west of Vienna” is how the directors of the new Korda Studios like to call their project, which, they say, is on schedule for a May 1 inauguration, in time for a Cannes Festival announcement.

Built on a massive site at Etyek, 27 km outside the capital, Budapest, Korda is a private investment by property mogul Sándor Demján and bears the name of Hungarian-born Alexander Korda, one of world cinema’s most influential figures.

Although a 20% tax rebate for all productions filmed on Hungarian soil has made the country an ideal destination for foreign filmmakers, there has not been the infrastructure to facilitate them. According to Korda officials, their €83m project fills that void and goes even further.

“We boast the world’s largest indoor water-tank stage and a total of six state-of-the-art soundproof stages”, explains studio director László Krisán, adding that Korda, which will employ up to 400 base staff members, will care for every aspect of a production: “We will offer an array of packages and menus – just like in a restaurant”.

However, even before opening they already have a competitor, the privately owned (as well) Stern Studios at Pomáz, outside Budapest, which opened in December 2006 and had its first feature film customers – Eichman, a UK-German co-production about Adolf Eichman, the Nazi who masterminded the extermination of Jews.

Yet Róbert Szabados, founder and managing director of Stern, believes that the two studios should not be competing with each other but rather with real competitors in the region, namely Prague and Bucharest: “Synergy can help everybody. Many production needs may be met only by all studios teaming up. It is essential that we keep talking to each other”.