Mester Film was a Hungarian
film production
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...
company established in
Budapest in July 1938. It was founded by Miklós Mester, a politician and public official, with the backing of the German Fritz Kreisle as part of a plan by
Nazi Germany to gain greater influence over the
Hungarian film industry. A major goal was to remove the strong presence of
Hungarian Jew
The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived ...
s in the country's film industry, a major source of contention for Germany, who pushed for greater
antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
discrimination. Mester Film promoted the careers of non-Jewish filmmakers and actors.
The German financing allowed Mester to produce four initial films, two of which ''
Bence Uz'' and ''
Dankó Pista
''Dankó Pista'' is a 1940 Hungarian drama film directed by László Kalmár and starring Pál Jávor, Erzsi Simor and Margit Lukács. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival. The film enjoyed particular success on its release in Norway.Frey p.2 ...
'' were major hits at the box office. This allowed Mester to emerge as one of Hungary's most successful production companies of the early 1940s.
[Frey p.222] Its films were shot at the
Hunnia Studios in Budapest.
References
Bibliography
* Frey, David. ''Jews, Nazis and the Cinema of Hungary: The Tragedy of Success, 1929-1944''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017.
* Winkel, Roel Vande & Welch, David (ed.) ''Cinema and the Swastika: The International Expansion of Third Reich Cinema''. Palgrave MacMillan, 2011.
Hungarian film studios
Film production companies of Hungary
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