HUF 34.8 million awarded for radio plays

13 radio plays received a total of HUF 34.8 million funding at this year’s Miklós Cserés tender of the Media Council. Nóra Mailáth’s Meghívottak (Invitees) will be adapted to radio format by director Gergő Kaszás. The five-episode series portrays the chances of redemption in the 21^st century. Kata E. Román’s also five-episode radio play series entitled Havazás Amiensben (Snowfall in Amiens) is based on a poem by Ákos Győrffy on the life of Saint Martin. Géza Ottlik’s natural science thriller is presented by Béla Fesztbaum in A Valencia-rejtély (The Valencia Myth). It was Miklós Cserép, the eponym of the tender, who originally wanted to direct the first version of the script  in the late 1940s but it never happened. Béla Fesztbaum will also direct a radio play based on Követ, Zalából (The Legate from Zala) by Balázs Szálinger, a piece focusing on Ferenc Deák. The winners of the tender also include Gábor Zsigmond Papp, who will direct the adaptations of three autobiographical novels by Sándor Lénárd entitled Völgy a világ végén (Valley at the End of the Word), Római történetek (Stories from Rome) and Egy nap a láthatatlan házban (One Day in the Invisible House). Tibor Csizmadia will adapt the works of Zoltán Kőrösi: Szívlekvár (Heart Jam), which will portray the interrelated stories of five generations through love, war and family building, while Szerelmes évek (Years of Love) will talk about the chance for happiness. Péter Fazekas will record his own script of Őfelsége magánnyomozója (The Private Detective of His Royal Highness), a collection of adventures of a private detective equipped with smart devices. Ádám Breier’s two-episode radio play brings to life the story of two men who in 1951 smuggled a manifesto to the West to draw attention to repression by the Hungarian communist dictatorship. After the documentary film, the novel A forradalom lánya (The Daughter of Revolution) by Péter Hargitai will be adapted to radio by Tünde Tálas to portray the 1956 Hungarian revolution through the struggles of a 14-year-old girl. Directed by Szabolcs Hajdu, the radio play series Theodora will introduce us to the evening parties held in the Marosvásárhely residence of Kinga Illyés, the iconic Transylvanian actress.

Bálint Egri will target children with the radio adaptation of Liliom és Rózsa (Lilly and Rose) by Balázs Zágoni. The 14-episode series will portray war and peace between two princess sisters. Directed by Zsuzsanna Sárospataki and written by Béla Rigó, the children’s radio drama series Boldog mese (Merry Tale) will tell the story of a prince in search of his sisters.

Radio-related decisions

The Media Council imposed a fine of HUF 225,000 on the service provider of Lánchíd Rádió Pécs, for the reason that during a programme week of March, the radio was broadcasting less news, local, and lifestyle programmes and aired more replays than agreed upon in its contract and required by law, and for two days it failed to broadcast any ethnic minority programme. When applying the legal consequence, the Media Council always determines the applied form and measure in accordance with the principle of progressiveness and proportionality, whilst considering all circumstances of the case.

The Media Council announced that the single bidder LB Rádió Kft. won the tender for the Derecske 94.7 MHz frequency. The local commercial radio will broadcast contemporary music hits, news programmes with its own hosts and local cultural and traffic information.

After submitting the missing documents, Kredit Holding Kft. was also registered as a bidder for the tender of the Hajdúszoboszló 100.6 MHz local commercial frequency. The Council requested a declaration from Hold Reklám Kft. in the Esztergom 98.1 MHz tender. In the procedure concerning the Tatabánya 96.7 MHz frequency, the Council rejected the bid submitted by Regionális Rádió Kft. on the grounds of formal invalidity, and ordered LB Rádió Kft. and Blue Hill Media Kft. to submit missing documents.