Budapest’s Margaret Island hosts free film festival

16 contemporary movies will be screened at Mozisziget (7-22 August)

From 7 to 22 August, the grass field of Margaret Island’s Athletics Centre will turn into an open-air cinema, to the delight of residents and guests of the Hungarian capital Budapest. 16 sizzling hot days will culminate in 16 cool movie nights during Mozisziget, a free outdoor screening series organized by the Hungarian network of European cultural institutes, EUNIC Hungary.

Award-winning films

Given the summer vacation mood, do not expect horror flicks or heavy drama. Instead, there is a breezy mix of family films, romantic comedies and road movies, including award-winning titles from European, Israeli and Far Eastern filmmakers.

Among the festival highlights are Ferzan Ozpetek’s La dea Fortuna, Tigo Guedes’s Tristeza e alegria na vida das girafas, and Michael Steiner’s Wolkenbruch. The films will be screened in the original language, with Hungarian subtitles.

You can find the full programme at Mozisziget’s Facebook page. All screenings will be free but there will be anti-pandemic measures in place.

If it rains, projections will be cancelled. Fans should not despair, however, as the missed screenings will be given a second run at the end of August at the Kino Café Cinema (Szent István krt. 16, 1137 Budapest).

The green heart of Budapest

Margaret Island (Margitsziget) is lovingly called by locals the green heart of Budapest. Located in the middle of the Danube between Margaret Bridge and Árpád Bridge, the island, except for a couple of hotels and sports facilities, is a recreational paradise for walkers, cyclists, joggers and plain idlers.

You can hire a bike, tandem, or water wheel on Margaret Island, but do not bet on using your own car. The island is accessible by bus (No.26 bus from Nyugati station) or tram (No.4 and 6).

Among its attractions are a small zoo, musical fountain, Japanese Garden, Water Tower and the ruins of a medieval Dominican convent. The latter is historically linked to Margaret, daughter of King Béla IV, who died as a Dominican nun, giving her name to the island.