Washington screening of The Notebook by Janos Szasz great success

Forrás: MTI | 2013. november 19. kedd 09:20 |

The Notebook by Hungarian director Janos Szasz received an ovation after a full-house screening at the American Film Institute in Washington, DC on Sunday local time.

"I've seen that the film had a strong emotional attraction for the audience," Szasz told MTI adding that The Notebook's North-American premiere had been held in Toronto at a screening he also attended.

        "It could be felt that the film had a deep impact on the people," he said.  "You don't have to be Hungarian to understand this film... In Sao Paolo for instance I was approached by an Indian woman who said this film should be played in the favelas (shanty towns of Brazil) to poor and neglected children because it is about their lives," Szasz said.

        Hungarian actress Piroska Molnar, playing the film's female lead, received a staning ovation at the Washinton screening. She had been previously awarded by the Chicago film festival's international jury.

        Szasz's film fetched the Karlovy Vary international film festival's main prize in July and it has been screened at several international festivals since, including in Haifa and Adelaide.

    The film Szasz made in 2013 tells the story of twin boys sent to live with a cruel grandmother at the end of WWII.. It is Hungary's entry to the 86th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

Foreign tram drivers to hit Budapest tracks

Forrás: MTI | 2013. november 20. szerda 19:14 |

The city of Budapest will host the 2nd European Tram Championship with competitors from 14 other cities, through the coming weekend, the Public Transport Company BKV told MTI on Wednesday.

The best tram drivers from Berlin, Dresden, Rotterdam, Vienna, Barcelona, Florence, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Manchester and Paris will compete on a designated section in Sport Street, in front of enthusiasts, the company said.

Smaller cities like Debrecen, Szeged and Oradea (or Nagyvarad - Romania) have also fielded their drivers.

Last year's contest in Dresden was won by two Hungarians, Zsuzsanna Ledniczki and Tamás Veperdi, who were best at smooth navigation of the tram carriage, without spilling the glass of water placed on their dashboard.

Szekszard Merlot, Etyek Chardonnay win Wine of Budapest prizes

2013. november 20. szerda 21:03 |

A 2011 vintage Merlot from the Szeleshat cellar of Szekszard, in southern Hungary, and a 2012 vintage Chardonnay from the Nyakas cellar in Etyek, near Budapest, have won the Wine of Budapest prizes, granted for the first time by the capital.

Deputy Mayor in charge of health and social affairs Tamas Szente said at the awards ceremony on Wednesday that Budapest wants to participate in the promotion of Hungarian wines, and the prizes for best red and white are planned to be granted each year.

Head of the National Wine Expert Committee Andras Horkay told MTI earlier that more than 70 submissions had been made divided roughly between reds and whites. City council representatives shortlisted the wines with the help of experts and the final prizes were granted after a repeat tasting of the shortlisted wines, he added.

A total of 16 gold medals, 35 silver medals and 16 bronze medals were also granted.

EU support pays observatory in SW Hungary

Forrás: MTI | 2013. november 21. csütörtök 20:52 |
An observatory will be built from 670 million forints European Union support in the Zselic area of southwestern Hungary which is free of light pollution, the head of the Somogy County general assembly said on Thursday after the cornerstone laying ceremony.

Attila Gelencser, of the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrats, said that the Zselic Nature Reserve was first in Europe, together with the Galloway Forest Park in Scotland, that won in 2009 the Dark Sky Park status from the International Dark-Sky Association.

The Zselic observatory complex will be built on an area of 600 square metres and is planned to be completed by November 2014. 

The architects Robert Erdelyi and his wife Judit Erdelyi-Gaspar paid special attention to using environmentally friendly solutions, such as using water from a local well, rainwater for sanitation and geothermic energy for heating.

Abundant with forests, wild animals and natural water, Zselic is one of the most well-preserved microregions in Hungary. It is also well known among foreign hunters.

Egervar castle reopens as renaissance visitor centre

2013. november 17. vasárnap 11:26 |

A renaissance visitor centre has been established in the castle of Egervar (Zala county, W Hungary), which has been renovated for almost 640 million forints (EUR 2.2m).

Local mayor Jozsef Szijarto said at the opening ceremony on Saturday that the historic monument embodies not only the past, but the future as well for the community of Egervar as the renovation of the state-owned Nadasdy-Szechenyi castle could give a boost to tourism.

European Union and national funding covered 531 million forints of the project costs; the ministry of the interior provided 63 million forints and the municipality contributed 44 million forints.

A downloadable smart guide helps tourists in exploring the museum, available in English, German and Slovenian as well. The exhibition is fitted with replica reneissance and baroque pieces of furniture. 

Hungary to up border police by 600 before year's end

Forrás: MTI | 2013. november 17. vasárnap 21:03 |

The number of border police will increase by 600 before the end of this year, interior ministry state secretary Karoly Kontrat said on Sunday at the new police headquarters currently under construction in Balatonalmadi in western Hungary.

The new border police will be introduced in service mainly at Hungary's border with Serbia where the number of illegal crossings has increased significantly, from 2,700 in 2012 to more than 15,000 in the first nine months of 2013, Kontrat told the press. 

Kontrat said this is expected to further increase Hungarians' sense of security. 

He noted that in 2010, the government promised to increase the number of police and over the past three years and a half, some 3,500 new police have been introduced in service. 

The new police headquarters in Balatonalmadi will be built at total cost of 595 million forints and is scheduled to be opened next spring, he said.

Brain-dead woman gives birth, organs save four in Hungary hospital

Forrás: MTI | 2013. november 13. szerda 17:24 |

A woman treated in hospital for three months as a brain-dead patient gave birth to a healthy baby through cesarian section in the maternity clinic of Debrecen University, Professor Bela Fulesdi, head of the university's medical centre, told an international press conference on Wednesday.

After the unprecedented birth, five organs of the woman were given to four patients waiting for a life-saving transplant, the professor said. State Secretary for health Miklos Szocska, who attended the press conference, said that "one life has helped save five" and thanked both doctors and nurses of the hospital, and the deceased woman's family for "choosing life" through their consent to the operations.