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Hungarian Edition
It was in this setting that Budapest Reporter met actor and filmmaker Christian James Madsen, son of the late Michael Madsen, at the 8th French Riviera Film Festival. He had arrived in Cannes only hours earlier — directly from Budapest, where he had just wrapped work on a new American historical drama.
At the French Riviera Film Festival, Madsen was honored with the One to Watch Award following a retrospective screening of his 2021 short film Free Bird, which he both directed and starred in. The recognition was presented during an exclusive VIP reception at the Bel-Air Fine Art Gallery on Rue d’Antibes, one of Cannes’ most elegant streets, where the festival also honored filmmaker and artist Eva Lanska with the Creative Excellence Award.
For Budapest Reporter, however, the most compelling part of the conversation began when Madsen shared where he had come from before landing on the Riviera: Hungary.
The actor had just completed his scenes in Ashes on Iron, a new American film directed by Danny A. Abeckaser. The story is based on the true experiences of a Hungarian-rooted family whose history reaches across World War II, the Holocaust and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. In the film, Madsen plays an SS officer in scenes set during World War II.
Speaking about the role, he described the shoot as both intense and meaningful.
“It was an incredible experience to be inserted into a moving ship, so to speak. I entered in playing an SS officer with 20 extras ready and willing to take me to their world. It was a hard road but I had spoken with the writer of the film the day before and I felt it was a duty to honor the story by playing as real as possible during World War II.”
Like many international actors who come to Hungary for work, Madsen did not leave Budapest untouched by the city. Between filming days, he tried to experience the capital not only as a shooting location, but as a place with its own rhythm, food and atmosphere.
“I really loved mornings in Budapest and I immediately want to become a local wherever I travel. I like to experience the real sides of a country, trying their various foods like langos, and swimming at the big bath house there. One of the best parts of this industry is that you get to travel.”
Recalling his time in the city during production, he added:
“I felt the strength of this political shift and in my morning explorations. I heard a positive outlook from a long time coming voice to the people who really believe in the change that was happening in Budapest.”
From Budapest, Madsen flew to the south of France, where the French Riviera Film Festival gave him a different kind of stage. The award he received was connected not to a studio production, but to one of his own deeply personal filmmaking efforts: Free Bird.
The short film follows a young man through multiple timelines up until the moment he is shot, while also portraying a brief but intense love story that unfolds over only a few hours. For Madsen, the project was made with a raw, independent spirit.
“Free Bird was a through and through passion project. I wrote the short in two nights based on a conversation I had had with my DP. We shot it all gorilla style – even getting kicked out of a county jail parking lot!”
He continued:
“It was made and finished with a pure love of just wanting to see this story unfold and what we could do with a cowboy hat, a briefcase and my old truck.”
That same independent energy made the French Riviera Film Festival recognition especially meaningful for him. Organized by Nicole Muj, the festival has built its identity around celebrating short-form and independent cinema during the global attention of Cannes.
“I was immensely honored and didn’t know if I could be ‘one to watch’, but I hope I can be ‘one to show’ in the years to come, that this passion I have for filmmaking is so important to me. I look forward to being back with projects at Cannes.”
During his short stay in Cannes, Madsen also attended the red carpet and gala screening of Paper Tiger, the American competition film directed by James Gray, at the Lumière Theatre of the Palais des Festivals.
After Cannes, the actor continued on to Italy, where he began working on another personal project — one connected to the memory of his late father, legendary actor Michael Madsen.
“In Italy, I currently filming a project, about my dad’s house, which I had previously traveled to and discovered. Being half Italian, the experience became about a place to heal, but also a place to take part in my heritage and use the soil I had, to grow new things.”
For Christian, this moment seems to sit at the intersection of several journeys: a Budapest-shot historical film rooted in Hungarian memory, a Cannes-side award for an independent passion project, and a deeply personal exploration of family legacy.
And for Budapest, his story is another reminder of how international productions continue to bring Hollywood talent into the city — not only to shoot scenes, but to leave with impressions, memories and stories that travel far beyond Hungary.
