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Hungarian Edition
Hungarian Academy Award–winning director István Szabó (Mephisto) teamed up again with veteran producer Robert Lantos on Embers, based on the famous novel by Sándor Márai which Christopher Hampton adapted to the screen.
Principal photography started last month in and around Budapest and the film brings together an international cast led by Ralph Fiennes, Viggo Mortensen, and Charlotte Rampling, alongside Katherine Langford, Louis Hofmann, and Gijs Blom.
Embers is considered a masterpiece of European literature, a psychological drama about an elderly general, Henrik (played by Fiennes), who hosts a tense dinner with his former best friend, Konrad (played by Mortensen), 41 years after a mysterious betrayal.
At its core, Embers is an intense emotional duel between characters bound by past choices, memory, and unresolved tensions. The story delves into themes of love, revenge, loyalty, regret and the long shadow of human decisions, unfolding through a deeply personal and character-driven narrative.
Sándor Márai’s Embers in Hungarian titled A gyertyák csonkig égnek which means ‘the candles burn until the end’ was first published in 1942 and in 2001 in English. Christopher Hampton first adapted the novel into a stage play that starred Jeremy Irons and Patrick Malahide in 2006 in London’s WestEnd.
The film not only brings Szabó back together with producer Robert Lantos, with whom he previously collaborated on Sunshine and Being Julia, but three-time Academy nominees Fiennes, who starred in Sunshine and Viggo Mortensen, who worked with Lantos on Eastern Promises as well.
“I had long hoped to be reunited with István Szabó on another film. Robert Lantos has brought us together with Christopher Hampton’s wonderful adaptation of Embers. One of the great joys of this project was to be able to work with Viggo Mortensen, he is a great actor who I have admired for many years. It was something extraordinary to be on the set with him, István and a superb Hungarian crew,”
said Fiennes in a press release distributed by Serendipity Point Films.
“To have worked alongside Ralph Fiennes for István Szabó on Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of Sándor Márai’s beautiful novel has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I couldn’t have asked for a more inspiring challenge,”
added Mortensen.
Credit – Nelly Kiss
Embers also reunites Lantos with fellow producer Tibor Krsko, who together achieved seeing through the production of the 10 episode historical drama, Rise of the Raven which filmed for an entire year in 2022 and 2023 and aired last year.
Rise of the Raven key cinematographer, Dániel Garas and costume designer, Bea Merkovits have joined to work on Embers as well along with a list of impressive HODs such as Academy Award winning composer Mychael Danna (Life of Pi), veteran production designer Attila F. Kovacs (Sunshine), editor David Wharnsby (Away from her) and Academy Award nominee casting director Nina Gold (Hamnet).
Also supporting the production is Ari Lantos (Remember) who also serves as a producer, with Laura Lanktree (Crimes of the Future) as co-producer. The project is also supported by executive producers Jan Mojto, Atom Egoyan, Tim Haslam, and Andrea Calderwood.
Embers is a co-production between Serendipity Point Films, HGO Films, and Potboiler Productions, with the support of MTVA, Beta Film, RAI Cinema, Bell Media, and CBC Films.
