DIRECTOR: Lajos Koltai
STARRING: Miklos Vecsei, Katica Nagy, Laszlo Galffi
RUNNING TIME: 2 hrs 7 minutes
LANGUAGE: Hungarian
Set in 19th century Vienna, Ignác Semmelweis, a short-tempered but passionate doctor, delivers babies and carries out autopsies on a daily basis while looking for the cause of puerperal fever, the mysterious epidemic that decimates patients in the hospital.
***
Semmelweis is the third feature film for director Lajos Koltai. Koltai was nominated for an Oscar for the cinematography of 2001’s Malena. Koltai also represents his country for the second time, following 2005’s entry Fateless. The film, sold by NFI World Sales, has become the highest grossing Hungarian movie in theaters in five years, attracting more than 350,000 viewers and grossing more than $2 million since its November 2023 release.
The Oscar selection committee included Csaba Káel, government commissioner for the development of the Hungarian motion picture industry and chairman of the National Film Institute, editor Gabriella Koncz, dramaturge-director György Lukácsy, Emil Novák, cinematographer-director and chairman of the Hungarian Film Academy, Ákos Pesti, producer, Zsuzsanna Sipos, Oscar-winning set decorator (Dune), and Csilla Szabó, dramaturge. Koltai said, “Semmelweis’ life is an example for all of us: a man who always, in all circumstances, followed his own path with a courage that defied death, which could not be diverted by hatred or violence. I wanted to show the viewers that it can be done: Perseverance, determination, dedication and passion bear fruit.”
The film was produced by Tamás Lajos, Szupermodern Filmstúdió and Joe Vida, and was supported by Hungary’s National Film Institute.
Semmelweis is a historical drama.
To check out all previous submissions for Hungary, click HERE.
STARRING: Miklos Vecsei, Katica Nagy, Laszlo Galffi
RUNNING TIME: 2 hrs 7 minutes
LANGUAGE: Hungarian
Set in 19th century Vienna, Ignác Semmelweis, a short-tempered but passionate doctor, delivers babies and carries out autopsies on a daily basis while looking for the cause of puerperal fever, the mysterious epidemic that decimates patients in the hospital.
***
Semmelweis is the third feature film for director Lajos Koltai. Koltai was nominated for an Oscar for the cinematography of 2001’s Malena. Koltai also represents his country for the second time, following 2005’s entry Fateless. The film, sold by NFI World Sales, has become the highest grossing Hungarian movie in theaters in five years, attracting more than 350,000 viewers and grossing more than $2 million since its November 2023 release.
The Oscar selection committee included Csaba Káel, government commissioner for the development of the Hungarian motion picture industry and chairman of the National Film Institute, editor Gabriella Koncz, dramaturge-director György Lukácsy, Emil Novák, cinematographer-director and chairman of the Hungarian Film Academy, Ákos Pesti, producer, Zsuzsanna Sipos, Oscar-winning set decorator (Dune), and Csilla Szabó, dramaturge. Koltai said, “Semmelweis’ life is an example for all of us: a man who always, in all circumstances, followed his own path with a courage that defied death, which could not be diverted by hatred or violence. I wanted to show the viewers that it can be done: Perseverance, determination, dedication and passion bear fruit.”
The film was produced by Tamás Lajos, Szupermodern Filmstúdió and Joe Vida, and was supported by Hungary’s National Film Institute.
Semmelweis is a historical drama.
To check out all previous submissions for Hungary, click HERE.
FILM REVIEW TO COME
