Since the foundation of the László Kovács-Vilmos Zsigmond Cinematography Awards, the organizers have been recognizing members of the Hungarian cinematography community whose careers have been exemplary in the world of Hungarian filmmaking.
In 2023 the László Kovács-Vilmos Zsigmond Lifetime Achievement Award will be awarded to Gábor Balog, Béla Balázs Prize-winning cinematographer, who has made outstanding cinematographic achievements in films such as Szökés (1996), Jadviga párnája (2000) and Történetek az elveszett birodalomból (2004).
The Lifetime Achievement Award will also be given to merited artist Sándor Buglya, a recepient of the Béla Balázs and Mihály Csokonai Vitéz prizes, the director-cinematographer of documentaries such as The Passion of the Sváb passió (1990), Bánya utca (2005) and Zsákfalu, amíg a temető eléri a postát (2007). Besides filmmaking, he was also the director of the Dunatáj Foundation, one of the most successful workshops in Hungarian film production in the 1990’s.
István Lugossy, the Béla Balázs Prize-winning cinematographer-director will also receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. The cinematographer was responsible for such films as Amerikai hanzix (1975) and Októberi vasárnap (1979), but during his career he also directed and photographed documentaries such as Széna tér 56. (1993) and Szabad a gazda (2005).
This year’s Béla Bojkovszky Award goes to Zsolt Büti, gaffer, who has worked in not just Hungarian but also well-known productions such as The Last Kingdom, The Alienist, Spy and Hercules.
This year’s competition is open for entries until 6 April in twelve categories: feature films, TV films, documentaries, nature films, educational films, portraits, short films, student films (student exam films), music videos, promotional videos, commercials, 3D visual designers and 3D designers.
This year’s contestants in the Student Film category will also have the chance to win Hungary’s most valuable student film prize, the Sparks Camera & Lighting Ltd.’s special Award wich was founded in 2005 by Vilmos Zsigmond and Béla Romwalter ‘Richy’.
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László Kovács – Vilmos Zsigmond Hungarian Cinematography Competition
Béla “Richy” Romwalter and Judit Romwalter, founders of the László Kovács-Vilmos Zsigmond Cinematographer Competition, together with Emil Novák, Director of the HSC Film Crew School, renamed the Golden Eye Cinematographer Festival (founded by Emil Novák in 2004) after two outstanding filmmakers of the Hungarian film.
The main sponsors of the event are the Hungarian National Film Institute, the Hungarian Academy of Arts, ARRI Rental Budapest and Sparks Ltd., while the technical sponsors are Schwindl Ltd., Two Men’s Show Lighting and Pesti Vigadó.
