Blade Runner 2049, The Martian, Dune, Poor Things, Alien: Romulus: all appear on the National Film Office’s list of client productions. Behind them sits an incentive that has operated for more than 20 years, and a national film body that brings the whole industry together.
That body is the National Film Institute – Hungary (NFI). Besides managing the incentive, it presents Hungary to international producers as a destination where, in popular Budapest alone, productions can find everything from dramatic history and flamboyant architecture to healing thermal waters and opera houses. In addition, the NFI runs its own studio complex, NFI Studios in Fót, just outside Budapest. According to the NFI, its expansion, relaunched in early 2025, added four new 2,500-square-meter soundstages, bringing total studio capacity to 12,670 square meters.
The incentive itself is simple. Films for cinema and television produced in Hungary are eligible for a 30% rebate on all direct production costs spent in the country. Non-Hungarian costs can also be added, up to 25% of the Hungarian spend, which extends the rebate to 37.5% of eligible Hungarian spend. Approved by the European Commission, the scheme is secured until the end of 2030.
The money, however, flows in an unusual way. Hungarian companies that support films receive tax relief in return, while the State guarantees the support through a collection account managed by the NFI. Productions then receive a cash refund after spending. For 2026, the account makes HUF 70 billion available, about €191 million.
Meanwhile, the National Film Office runs the system day to day. It registers production companies, certifies costs and issues the tax certificates. Foreign producers work through an assigned Hungarian production company, and every film must pass a cultural test based on European standards. Royalties and producers’ fees are each capped at 4% of the Hungarian budget, reality shows, soap operas and commercials are excluded, and principal photography must begin within six months of registration.
Today, after more than 20 years, the NFI still calls the incentive the driving force of the Hungarian film industry.
Read more: Cinema & Video International Issue #209
