Budapest Film

1997. Young car mechanic Iván lives in a godforsaken village in eastern Hungary. He looks after his mentally disabled sister Eszter and earns extra money smuggling diesel oil from Ukraine. The siblings' coexistence is disrupted by a tragic event, Eszter is raped. A police investigation gets under way; in the meantime, Iván starts up a relationship with young Ilus, who has just finished school and is planning on going to the university. Iván plainly wants to leave his old life behind him, but will he be able to fulfill this ambition? - Written by Warsaw Film Festival

Lt. Kojak arrives in Budapest as a guest speaker for the 'International Crime Writers Conference'. Soon after he starts enjoying the pleasures that the city has to offer, he assists his old friends at the police department with a case. The case involves solving the murder of a noted scientist, unaware that a Mafia hit man and his female companion are targeting him.

What would it feel like to be a bird and fly over the trees and housetops? A boy named Willy finds out when the Sparrow Guardian turns him into a Sparrow for shooting a BB gun at the little birds. Suddenly, Willy's own cat thinks of him as lunch but, luckily, some new sparrow friends rush to Willy's rescue. They deliver him to a grandfatherly old bird named Cipur who takes Willy under his wing, teaches him how to fly, and so much more. In return, Willy fulfills Cipur's lifelong dream for knowledge by teaching him ow to read. Willy's new friendship helps him understand that all creatures have feelings and deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. Before Willy is turned back into a boy, he leads the sparrows in a brave but perilous plan to retake their home in the barn from Blacky the cat. Finally, the Sparrow Guardian offers Willy a very special opportunity.

In the week of the book an interview is made with the writer Péter Simon, whose first book of short stories appeared in the prime of his life.