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Exiled Director Pálfi Returns as Orbán Regime Falls

5/7/2026

23 5 Full Breakdown

Summary

Pálfi Returns Home

György Pálfi returned to Budapest after Viktor Orbán’s far-right government was voted out.
Pálfi said Orbán’s 16-year rule blocked film funding in Budapest, forcing his exile.
His film “Hen” follows a chicken escaping Greece while he plans a trilogy featuring a monkey in India and a Hungarian outlaw story.
He noted the new prime minister controls 70% of parliament, giving power, and hopes reforms will restore rights.

Summary

Pálfi Films Chickens

The film was shot from a chicken’s eye level with low camera, using no CGI on the hens and digital effects to erase the trainer and fox leash.
Eight black hens—Eszti and Feri—were trained for two months to run, peck or stay still.
Because script spanned 50 days but shoot allowed 35, the cast prioritized chickens over actors, with director György Pálfi calling Feri when a hen could not perform.

History

Historical Context

After the 1956 uprising led to tighter state control and the 1948 nationalization of Hungarian cinema, the industry experienced a brief liberalization under János Kádár in the 1960s. In 2011 Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s film law again slashed public funding, prompting director György Pálfi to leave Budapest. Hungarian output had once peaked at 36 films in 1937.

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Pálfi Returns Home

György Pálfi returned to Budapest after Viktor Orbán’s far-right government was voted out.
Pálfi said Orbán’s 16-year rule blocked film funding in Budapest, forcing his exile.
His film “Hen” follows a chicken escaping Greece while he plans a trilogy featuring a monkey in India and a Hungarian outlaw story.
He noted the new prime minister controls 70% of parliament, giving power, and hopes reforms will restore rights.

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