Friss Hús Budapest: Hungary’s First Oscar-Qualifying Short Film Festival
zita kisgergely
The Friss Hús (Fresh Meat) Budapest International Film Festival has just concluded its program for 2025. As the first Oscar-qualifying film festival in Hungary, this means its winners in Best Hungarian Live-Action Short Film and Best Hungarian Animated Short Film categories will now be eligible for Oscar consideration.
This prestigious honour that was granted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences upon this little but mighty film festival puts it in the same league as the likes of Cannes, Venice, and Berlin, as well as respected short film showcases like Vienna Shorts and Tokyo Short Shorts. To put this in perspective, from the tens of thousands of film festivals worldwide, only around 100-150 hold this title—making this inclusion of Friss Hús kind of a big deal for the Hungarian film industry.
Humble Beginnings
Founded in 2013 by filmmaker Dániel Deák, Friss Hús started as a two-day screening event at Budapest’s Toldi Cinema. In its early days, the festival was a response to demand from local short filmmakers eager to showcase their work. Since that time, it has grown into Hungary’s largest short film festival, attracting over 10,000 visitors annually and expanding to include international competitions, thematic sections, workshops, exhibitions, and panel discussions.
This year’s 13th edition ran from May 29 to June 4, 2025, at the Puskin Cinema.
Hungary Steps into the Oscar’s Spotlight
Receiving Oscar-qualifying status was a surprise even to the organizers. Deák explains:
“We applied without expectations, and to our amazement, the Academy said yes.”
This means that two Hungarian films will now automatically enter consideration for an Academy Award every year. This is a heady opportunity in a region with very few such qualifying festivals.
At this year’s event, the top awards went to:
Best Hungarian Live-Action Short: Dögsúly by Bese Komáromy
Best Hungarian Animated Short: Üvegház by Katalin Sárdi
These two films are now one step closer to the Oscars.
Other Rising Stars
Further winners from this year’s competition include Zsófia Tóth, who won Best Actress for Világvége, and Benjámin Lengyel, who took Best Actor for Két felnőtt. The Magyar Telekom Award for Most Promising Director Under 30 went to Kristóf Zsolt Tóth for Túlpart and Denisa.
Hungary: An Established Player in International Film
With its rising global profile, the levelling-up of Friss Hús’ international status is yet another indicator of Hungary’s position as a vibrant filming hub, and not just for locations, studios, crew and talent, but for storytelling nous.
Sources and further information
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