Transdanubian Diaries | Polish actors in Hungarian cinema

Today, Polish-Hungarian cultural relations are sporadic and inconsistent — however, both countries cooperated intensively with each other until 1990. In the communist era, reference was made very often to the concept of millennial friendship. The 1956 protests inspired each other, although they ended much more tragically in Hungary. The memory of the rebellion against the communist regime has been crowned for a decade by the twin monuments of the “Boy from Pest” — one erected in Budapest, the other in Szczecin. Both countries have been watching each other closely in the cinema field as well. In the spirit of socialist friendship, but above all a sense of cultural affinity, the 1970s and 1980s brought increased contacts of cinematography from the Vistula and the Danube.

When cultural exchange intensified, Hungarian new wave films regularly hosted Polish studio cinemas and discussion film clubs, teaching audiences a nuanced modernist narrative. On the other hand, in Polish cinema, especially in Andrzej Wajda's films, Hungarians discovered their own experiences of confrontation with history. However, they also discovered popular works and were fascinated by Polish stars — Joanna Szczutkowska wrote in one of her texts (behind Csaba Kiss) about fashion for Poland in the 1970s, noting the numerous pilgrimages of Hungarian “hitchhikers” to Polish cinemas. In 1970, the Agreement on Cultural and Scientific Cooperation entered into force, which declared intensive cooperation in the field of cinema — supporting co-productions, exchanges of specialists or distribution of “nephews” films.

It is not surprising that in the 1970s Polish actors appeared very often in Hungarian productions, and this phenomenon gained momentum in the following decade (Adam Horoszak considered that this was an expression of support from the Hungarian side during the martial law). Pola Raksa — probably on the wave of popularity in Hungary of both the TV series “Four armourers and the dog” and the film “Ashes” — starred in “Śnieżyca”, Grażyna Szałowska and Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieślak tore hearts tired of communist tyranny in “Another Look”, Jan Nowicki starred in many intimate portraits directed by Márta Mészáros (which we show thanks to the collaboration with the New Horizons Festival), and Dorota Segda appeared in the acclaimed Cannes debut of Ildikó Enyedi, one of the most important contemporary European directors. The Poles also collaborated with Miklós Jancsó or István Szabó, having participated in the wonderful, though difficult, history of cinema in Hungary.

In September, FINA recalls the selected roles of Polish actors and actresses, and at the same time brings a little closer to the now forgotten Hungarian films, which used to ignite discussions among cinephiles in the PRL. Can the histories of Poland and Hungary continue to reflect their fate? Is there a chance to add more pages of Danube diaries?