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Following a recent Los Angeles screening for “Semmelweis,” Hungary’s 2025 Oscars entry for Best International Feature, director Lajos Koltai was greeted by a standing ovation before sitting down for a Q & A hosted by Gold Derby. The Oscar-nominated cinematographer (“Malena”) discussed why he decided to direct his third feature film, which has gone on to become one of Hungary’s biggest hits of the year.

“It was a lucky thing,” he said of the film’s success. “People went to see it and we had record numbers in Hungary. Young people went to see it. Teenagers! They talk to each other and say, ‘I have to see it again tomorrow. I want to learn about it. I want to understand. So they come back the next day and bring their friends. People deeply love it, which is a really good thing.”

“Semmelweis” stars Miklós H. Vecsei as Dr. Semmelweis Ignác...

The scream that pierces through the opening of “Semmelweis” sets the tone for the 19th century-set drama from Lajos Koltai, about the groundbreaking Hungarian obstetrician Ignaz Semmelweis, immediately showing its concern for a very pregnant young woman desperately roaming the streets for a proper place to give birth. Loath to check in to local clinics that have acquired a reputation for patients mysteriously dying in postpartum care, her shaken faith in the health care system sets a distinctly modern emphasis for the sturdy, old-fashioned Vienna period piece, selected as Hungary’s official Oscar selection after it became a local box office hit.

Even without taking a look at a picture of the real balding and bespectacled Dr. Semmelweis, it’s immediately clear Koltai wants to deliver something that’s more popcorn than medicinal when he gives a movie star entrance to the dashing Miklós H. Vecsei, playing the film’s title role.

“Semmelweis,” which Nfi World Sales will be selling at the European Film Market in Berlin, has become the highest grossing Hungarian movie in local theaters in five years.

The film is directed by Lajos Koltai who was Oscar nominated as the cinematographer of Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Malena.” “Semmelweis” marks Koltai’s first return to directing since “Evening” in 2007.

“Semmelweis” is a period biopic about a Hungarian doctor who became known as the “saviour of mothers” for introducing antiseptic procedures at a Vienna maternity clinic.

The film has attracted more than 280,000 moviegoers since its premiere on Nov. 30, and was among the top three movies for nine weeks. It has grossed more than $1.7 million.

Set in 19th century Vienna, the film tells the story of Ignac Semmelweis, the short-tempered but passionate doctor, who delivers babies and also carries out autopsies on a daily basis while looking for the cause of puerperal fever,...

Hungarian director András Fésős is in post-production with his sophomore feature “Rise Up and Walk,” starring Romania’s Bogdan Dumitrache, who won best actor prizes at Locarno with “Best Intentions” and San Sebastian with “Pororoca,” Film New Europe reports.

The film tells the story of a father and son’s difficult reunion, and involves several spectacular firefighter rescues.

Sándor Félix becomes the guardian angel of those who want to end their lives. However, not everyone in town is enthusiastic about his selfless work. After the death of his mother, Félix’s son Kristóf became estranged from his father. He makes videos of depressed people, who have given up hope.

“Beyond the fact that it looks into the depths of the human soul and dissects such a difficult subject as suicide, the film tells a life-affirming story about our times which is intended for a wide audience. From the beginning, I...