The NFI is a public institution governed by Hungarian law and its activities are regulated accord-ing to the Motion Picture Act (II) of 2004.
The NFI operates through its departments, covering the diverse fields of the industry, including the funding schemes, Mafilm Studios, Filmlab, Film Archive, Training departments.
The NFI provides financial and professional support for script development, pre-production and production of full-length feature films, documentaries and animated movies for theatrical release, as well as for television productions (TV films, serial formats, shorts, documentaries, animations). Distributors can apply for non-refundable marketing support for Hungarian releases of films supported by the Institute. Graduation and diploma films are also supported, by providing financial and in kind support to universities specialized in film studies.
The Incubator Program was launched in 2015 and offers low-budget production funding as well as continuous professional help for directors who wish to make their debut feature films. The NFI functions through a continuous application system. The Feature Film Board and the Television Production Board, consisting of Hungarian film professionals, make decisions for support. Besides providing financial support, the NFI also offers creative cooperation, professional exper-tise and international industry contacts for new Hungarian productions.
In 2017 the Training Department introduced the Fast Forward Program, an innovative series of practice-oriented workshops and open lectures offered for free to help junior industry professionals and film students keep up with demand. The trainings are led by high-profile professionals who provide up- to-date and realistic insight into the industry as well as an informal networking opportunity. Since 2016 the NFI announces an annual call for applications to support film industry training courses. In 2020 the Training Department launched its initiative to help the youth in career orientation in the film industry with workshops, camps and lectures for students.
The International Department, including NFI World Sales, handles festival and sales activity for Hungarian films. The representation of Eurimages operates under the umbrella of the NFI. In order to strengthen the ties of the Hungarian film industry with neighbouring countries, and with the aim of contributing to the European film culture, NFI strongly encourages co-productions. The National Film Institute’s budget for grants for 2020 is EUR 50 million.
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