Hungary's Budapest Filmstudio, headed by Laszlo Kantor, is launching a series of film festivals in neighbouring countries with the aim of increasing exposure of Hungarian films.

The festivals, which will be targeted at general audiences as well as local industry and critics, will showcase the 10-12 movies that proved most popular at the Hungarian Film Festival each year.

A prototype festival recently wrapped in the Romanian town of Sepsiszentgyorgy (October 12-16). The event was sponsored by the Hungarian and Romanian Cultural Cabinets, the Hungarian Cabinet of Foreign Affairs, private TV channel TV2, the city council of Sepsiszentgyorgy and other private and state corporations.

The Hungarian films were judged by a group of Romanian film critics. Tamas Sas' Bad Guys was named best Hungarian feature by both the critics and the audience. A Hungarian jury judging the Romanian titles gave their main prize to Lucian Pintile's Terminus Paradis.

Hungarian production Supper, directed by Zsigmond Gabor Papp won the best documentary prize and Romanian short The Choir Of Firemen and Hungary's The Golden Bird shared the prize for best short film.