Pic Credit: Liszt Institute London

On July 11, 2025, a commemorative showcase entitled “Hungarian Animation 111: A Cinematic Journey through Time” was held at the Liszt Institute London. The event, which followed Hungary’s distinguished participation as the Guest Country of Honour at the prestigious 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, offered UK viewers a curated collection of short films and an insightful panel discussion shedding light on the burgeoning role of Hungary in the international animation scene.

The Spotlight on Hungarian Animation

The London event fueled the momentum sparked by Hungary’s noteworthy participation at Annecy 2025, where the country exhibited over 80 works through screenings, exhibits, installations, and professional panels. Through retrospectives celebrating Hungary’s storied animation history — from pioneering experimental movies to postwar masterpieces from the renowned Pannónia Film Studio — and the engaging exhibition “Hunimation Hits the Street”, iconic Hungarian characters were brought to life, captivating audiences in immersive public spaces.

Modern trailblazing productions such as ‘Dog Ear’ by Péter Vácz and ‘Ruben Brand, Collector’ by Milorad Krstic, and the impressive animated feature for children ‘The Quest’ (Csongor és Tünde) from the Hungarian Cinemon Studio, Budapest were introduced to the Annecy audience. These films symbolize the captivating blend of traditional 2D artistry and avant-garde visual narrative that uniquely characterizes Hungarian animation at the global level.

The Resurgence Story: How Hungarian Animation is Rising High

Hungary’s international triumph in 2025 came after more than a decade of strategic growth. Post the decline of the animation industry following the end of communism, a fresh breed of independent creators, fostered by respected institutions such as MOME (Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design) and METU (Budapest Metropolitan University), initiated a discreet revival in the 2010s and 2020s. In recent times, the National Film Institute Hungary has implemented an Animation Strategy, combining public funding with educational initiatives and festival support.

In the past few years, Hungarian animation has witnessed extraordinary recognition: significant festival accolades, international film distribution, and growing involvement in cross-border co-productions. The rapidly developing Hungarian animation sector has always needed an English-language platform to showcase its significant industry updates, events, and a thorough professional database.

The platform Hunimation.com, the first English-language website dedicated to Hungarian animation was launched. Developed by the team responsible for Friss Hús (Friss Hús Budapest Short Film Festival) and supported by the National Film Institute, the website has been set up with the aim to acquaint the worldwide audience with the Hungarian animation community, further strengthening the international presence of Hungarian animation.

The website’s visual design was entrusted to Mirjana Balogh, who had won a Crystal Bear at this year’s Berlinale with her graduation project as a student of MOME Anim (Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design).

This strategic synergy has led to the rise of several globally acclaimed works including Flóra Anna Buda’s Palme d’Or-winning short ’27’, Áron Gauder’s ‘Four Souls of Coyote’, and various multi-platform cinematic partnerships.

‘Hungarian Animation 111’: London’s Tryst with Hungarian Animation

Pic Credit: Liszt Institute London

The London event presented by the Liszt Institute showcased a variety of short films, handpicked by the Friss Hús Budapest Short Film Festival including ‘Dog Ear’ by Péter Vácz, ‘Children of the Bird’ by Júlia Tudisco, ‘Plum & Baga’ by Dominika Demeter and an episode from the animated shorts series ‘Fledglings’ by Ervin B. Nagy.

The focal dialogue of the evening, “Frame by Frame: The Growing Influence of Hungarian Animation,” featured notable figures from the UK and Hungarian animation communities such as Anna Ida Orosz, an animation historian at the Hungarian National Film Institute – Film Archive and Annecy 2025 curator, Jez Stewart, an animation curator at the BFI, Lydia Reid, animator of ‘Children of the Bird’, moderated by Ben Mitchell, the editor-in-chief at Skwigly Animation Magazine.

The panel discussion led by Anna Ida Orosz widened the narrative beyond Hungary’s rise in the international scene, emphasizing the significant role played by female directors in the national and global animation sector. She underscored how decades of strong state support for Pannonia Film Studio, even before 1989, instilled a robust tradition of artistic animation, carving a space where experimental, auteur-centric voices — many of them women — could prosper. Echoing these sentiments, Jez Stewart, curator and historian at the BFI, added his admiration and envy at the unique funding system in Hungary that continues to facilitate the creation of artistic shorts and ambitious co-productions. In contrast, he noted that in the UK, especially post-Brexit, comparable support structures are increasingly hard to find.

Both Stewart and Orosz highlighted historical connections between the two nations, noting that the narrative of British animation would be incomplete without crediting significant contributions by Halas & Batchelor, the Hungarian–British duo whose pioneering work laid the building blocks of contemporary British animation while forging stronger creative connections that still hold to this day. Discussing her experience of working with Julia Tudisco on ‘Children of the Bird’, Lydia Reid underscored the essential role played by the Hungarian university MOME in encouraging students to submit their works to festivals — a crucial step, she believes, in building confidence and discovering one’s voice as a budding filmmaker.

Pic Credit: Liszt Institute London

Attendees were also privy to a screening of ‘Pelikan Blue’, a visually impressive animated documentary by László Csáki blending themes of anarchy and freedom against the backdrop of post-communist 1990s Hungary. It has gained critical acclaim at several major international animation and documentary festivals, including Pulcinella (June 2024), Animix (August 2024), DOK Leipzig (November 2024), and Stuttgart (May 2025).