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AFI European Union Film Showcase Special Presentation: ORPHAN [ÁRVA] in 35mm 🎞️2026 Oscar® Selection, Hungary
László Nemes, an Oscar® winner for 2015’s SON OF SAUL, returns with another trenchant exploration of Hungary’s 20th century history, this time set in 1957, just one year after the USSR brutally suppressed the Hungarian Uprising. Andor (Bojtorján Barabas) desperately longs for the return of his father, a Hungarian Jew named Hirsch, missing since World War II. But his mother (Andrea Waskovics) suggests that Berend (Grégory Gadebois), a gentile who hid her on his farm during the Holocaust, may really be his father. Rejecting this as an unthinkable betrayal, Andor prays for the return of his real father, even praying to him, while acting out rebelliously in ways small and large. Nemes once again works with talented cinematographer Mátyás Erdély (AFI Class of 2005) to create a visual marvel with every shot artfully composed. Budapest’s architecture and Soviet-era period trappings are shown off in a hazily sepia-toned light that gives this story of absent fathers and imposed ones the ominous glow of a powerful myth. –Todd Hitchcock
Official Selection, 2025 AFI FEST, Venice and Toronto film festivals.
Hungary/UK/France/Germany . In Hungarian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
The AFI European Union Film Showcase runs from December 3–21. For the full schedule visit: afi.com/silver/eushowcase.
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AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3916, United States
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