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PRODUCTION / FUNDING Hungary

HBO Europe teams up with Proton Cinema on The Informant

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- The 1980s-set political series written by Bálint Szentgyörgyi follows a student who works as an informant for the Hungarian State Security Department

HBO Europe teams up with Proton Cinema on The Informant
Gergely Váradi as Geri in The Informant (© HBO Europe/Orbital Strangers)

HBO Europe has announced that it has greenlit and started shooting The Informant [+see also:
interview: Bálint Szentgyörgyi
series profile
]
, an 8x40-minute political series set in Budapest in the 1980s. Written by Bálint Szentgyörgyi, who also directs alongside Áron Mátyássy (Weekend) and Bence Miklauzic (Car Park [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), it follows 20-year-old Geri (Gergely Váradi, from Guerilla [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
), who arrives in Budapest to begin his studies at the University of Economics, brimming with excitement and anticipation. On his first day at the dorm, he joins a group of young democratic opposition activists who organise protests against the communist system. The group is led by Zsolt Száva (Márton Patkós, from Sunset [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Nemes
film profile
]
), a charismatic young student who soon becomes Geri’s best friend. The life of the country boy is changed overnight as he throws himself into a world of beautiful girls, wild parties and heated political debates.

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However, Geri harbours a grave secret. He is an informant for the State Security Department and he doesn’t have a choice: if he wants to keep his seriously ill younger brother alive, he needs the medication provided by the state. While Száva is trying to identify the mole in the group, Geri wrestles with a daily challenge: how can he deceive the State Security Department and retain his new friends? Time is running out, and before the final showdown, he must decide which side to choose.

The show also stars Júlia Szász (Neither with You [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), Abigél Szőke (Those Who Remained [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
) and Szabolcs Thuróczy (Kills on Wheels [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
), while the DoP is Péter Szatmári (Liza the Fox-Fairy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Karoly Ujj Mészáros
film profile
]
) and the production designer is Imola Láng (On Body and Soul [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ildiko Enyedi
interview: Ildiko Enyedi
interview: Réka Tenki
film profile
]
). It is being produced by HBO Europe's Anna Závorszky and Proton Cinema's Viktória Petrányi, best known for her work with Kornél Mundruczó. The executive producers for HBO Europe are Camilla Curtis, Johnathan Young and Antony Root.

“As soon as we read Bálint Szentgyörgyi’s pilot script, we were hooked on The Informant,” says Young. “The opportunity to revisit a well-known period in Hungary’s history with fresh eyes and vivid, young characters was too good to miss. We hope our show will surprise the audience as well as entertain. This is not the grim eighties, as is sometimes portrayed. Our characters are determined to make the most of their lives, and are embracing every opportunity with warmth and looking forward to the future with optimism.”

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