20 years ago, in 1993 Titanic International Film Festival was held in one cinema and it screened 16 films. Today it takes place in five venues - Uránia, Örökmozgó, Toldi cinemas, A38 ship and for the first time in Puskin cinema – as a result of the year-round work of a team of 30 people 61 features and 13 short films are presented. The audience can watch the best contemporary pieces of the international sea of films often in the presence of the filmmakers.

The opening film this year is Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master that shows the unique relationship of a frustrated ex-marine (Joaquin Phoenix) and a charismatic religious leader (Philip Seymour Hoffman). One of the flagships of this year’s Titanic will be the selection of contemporary Irish films, titled Emerald Island, corresponding with the Irish EU presidency in 2013.

The section contains six features and a chain of 10 outstanding short films and animations as well. It includes a horror-comedy staring a sea-monster, a horror from the world of blocks-of-flats, a social drama, a film on the life of the legendary Belfast punk-rock rebel, Terri Holey and a documentary. Staropramen beer snacks offers five Czech pieces, a multi-award-winning film noir, a first film about sexual awakening, a road movie, an absurd black comedy and a war drama about the Nazi massacre of Lidice.

The popular Nordic Lights brings six movies, Living In America shows five independent films, The Dark Side presents nine pieces, Music for All gives a selection of the latest festival-favourite documentaries and films related to music. This year’s event brings a new section, The Bright Side that contains six hillarious comedies. The festival proudly presents three international premiers as well: Dutch Ricky Rijneke’s first feature, Silent Ones staring Hungarian Orsi Tóth and Roland Rába, How to Follow Strangers directed by Chioke Nassor and Last Kind Words from Kevin Barker will debut in Budapest on Titanic.

Titanic operates as a Competition Festival since 2005. There will be 10 films this year competing for the Breaking Waves Award. French Alyah staring Pio Marmaï, the film of Ukranian Eva Neymann, House with a Turret, Cate Shortland’s movie, Australia’s Oscar-nominee in 2013, Lore, Dutch Ricky Rijneke’s first feature, Silent Ones, the first film of Hungarian Mátyás Prikler living in Slovakia, Fine, Thanks, the second movie of Hungarian Mira Fornay, also from Slovakia, My Dog, Killer, American Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color, 8 Ball of Finnish Aku Louhimies, the war-movie, In the Fog of Sergei Loznitsa, and Irish Lenny Abrahamson’s What Richard Did are all selected. An internation jury will decide, the head of which is world-famous Czech director, Jiři Menzel.

Morgan Bushe Irish producer (Nothing personal) and Hungarian director, Szabolcs Hajdu (White Palm,, Bibliothéque Pascal) are also members.

Tickets are available at all venues between 28th March and 4th April for a discount price of 900 HUF and during the festival for 1100 HUF.

The full program can be found here: titanicfilmfest.hu