Andrea Osvárt to Host Revamped Veszprém-Balaton Film Picnic – The Movies Are Ours Here!

Andrea Osvárt, known both as an actor and a producer, will be the host of the revamped Filmpicnic. Returning to Veszprém’s 2020 initiative, the event will take place August 27–29, 2026, a revamped film event organized by Veszprém-Balaton 2023 Jsc., welcoming audiences and filmmakers in Veszprém and Balatonfüred. The festival’s motto is “The Movies Are Ours Here!” In keeping with this spirit, the event will also serve as a forum for discussing current and important professional topics. There will be discussions on power dynamics in the film and theater worlds, offensive communication, abuse, and the conditions necessary for a safe work environment.  The discussion touches on what critics expect from the new NFI, as well as where previously rejected film projects might fit in.

With some sixty feature and documentary films, as well as a rich selection of short films and animated films, the festival awaits the audience in Veszprém and Balatonfüred from August 27–29, 2026.

It has now been announced that Andrea Osvárt, known both as an actor and a producer, will be the host of the revamped film festival. After earning her degree in Italian studies from an internationally renowned university, she left her modeling career behind and moved to Rome to become an actor. Since then, she has played several leading roles around the world and has appeared alongside stars such as Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, and Clive Owen. Hungarian audiences may also remember her as the lead in What Ever Happened to Timi or from the short film Chuchotage, a short film about interpreters, and in international productions, he most recently appeared in the six-episode German-language series The Therapy, streaming on Amazon Prime.

In 2011, Andrea won the prestigious international Golden Nymph Award for Best Actress (Miniseries) at the Monte Carlo Television Festival. That same year, she co-produced the Italian film Maternity Blues, which received a special mention at the Venice International Film Festival. For her performance in the film, Andrea won a European Golden Globe Award as well as the Biraghi Prize from the Italian Film Journalists’ Association (SNGCI) Biraghi Award, the latter recognizing her as one of the most promising young talents of the year.

Filmpicnic’s motto is “The Movies Are Ours Here!” In keeping with this spirit, the festival also serves as a forum for important professional topics. In a discussion titled “Where Is the Line?”, Dr. Andrea Sebestyén, an expert in complaint handling and investigations, Bálint Kovács, a journalist, and Marion Kurucz, intimacy coordinator, will exchange ideas on the importance of respecting human dignity and psychological safety in practice, particularly during creative processes. Where do professional and personal boundaries lie, and what happens when they are violated? Let’s take a look behind the scenes!

At the roundtable discussion titled “Those Who Care About Movies,” Judit Vajda (Filmvilág), Judit Anna Molnár (film.hu), film editor Gellért Kovács, Nándor Jakab Benke (Filmtett), and Lilla Győngyősi (filmtekercs.hu) will explore what it means to write about film in our changing times, what the role of film criticism might be, how the future of print and online film publications might unfold, and what readers expect from the new system. 

The panel "What Was the Reason in the End?", will feature directors György Pálfi and Hajni Kis, producers Juli Berkes and László Kántor, and writer-director Can Togay in a discussion exploring the subject of rejected screenplays. The panel will examine where film projects that were previously turned down—sometimes for political reasons—might fit within a new funding system and whether they could now have an opportunity to move forward.

August 27, 2026–29, 2026, at the Film Picnic, viewers will be able to watch the best Hungarian films, and the program will also feature several meet-and-greets, concerts, and kids' programs will also enrich the lineup.