Hungarian filmmaking saw a revival in 2024 with the film “I Accidentally Wrote a Book”

Film production is a costly endeavor in Hungary. In 2024, 15 feature films were made, of which only five received state support. The remaining ten were independent films made on low budgets.

Currently, the most-watched Hungarian film is Gábor Herendi’s comedy “I Went for a Run” (Futni mentem), which attracted 561,000 viewers to cinemas between November 2024 and January 2025, making it one of the five most-watched Hungarian films since 1990. The film did not receive state support and was made with market support and a lot of the creators’ own resources.

Previously, the National Film Institute mainly supported big-budget historical films, but these underperformed in viewership rankings. In 2024, some supported films were made that quickly became popular, proving that contemporary and audience-pleasing works can be created even with lower state support.

This may also include the film “I Accidentally Wrote a Book”, which premiered only on January 16, 2025, but has already been seen by 22,000 viewers, and based on its reception, it could achieve further significant success.

The film is an adaptation of Dutch author Annet Huizing’s youth novel “How I Accidentally Wrote a Book”.

The basic story is about a young teenager who tries to cope with the loss of her mother by writing in a diary. However, the diary comes to life during the story, attracting many endearing characters into the life of the 12-year-old protagonist. A miracle happens: a little girl becomes an adult and can live in a complete family again.

The casting of the child actors was perfect. The effortless acting of the protagonist, her brother, and the child actor playing the schoolmate convinces the viewer that these are real children facing real problems, and by solving them, they get closer to adulthood.

The film’s sets and the style of the furnishings are elaborate, fairytale-like, and rich when needed, yet functional, framing the story well.

The adult actors’ performance is light, and we can often forget during the progression of the story that the film’s underlying tone is melancholic and thought-provoking.

“I Accidentally Wrote a Book” is a family film that is at once sweet, funny, light, and uplifting, while dealing with important themes and emotions such as grief, moving on, growing up, love, and perseverance; all this is presented through the eyes of a young teenager in the most authentic way possible.

The film won the Grand Prix at the Tallinn Film Festival.

Director, screenwriter: Nóra Lakos Producer: Claudia Sümeghy Actors: Villő Demeter, Kati Zsurzs, Vivien Rujder, Rozi Lovas, Réka Tenki, László Mátray, Zoltán Mucsi, Bonca Hárs, Zita Qian, Hunor Demeter