Balázs Richárd Zachar
I graduated from the Faculty of Law in ELTE University Budapest in 1999, and received my MA in History and Communications the same year. From 2002, I worked for the Hungarian Ministry of Culture, coordinating the preparation of the Motion Picture Act. As a legal counsel, my area of expertise has been copyright and media law. From 2011, I was Head of Legal Affairs and EU Relations at the Hungarian Film Fund, gaining hands-on experience in public funding and the legal aspects of film production. From 2018, I worked with Proton Cinema, producing several short and feature films. In 2021, my first feature film as producer, Wild Roots, directed by Hajni Kis, premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The second feature, Árni (directed by Dorka Vermes), premiered in the Biennale College programme at the Venice IFF in 2023.
I graduated from the EAVE Producers’ Workshop and completed the European Film Business and Law MBA programme at the Erich Pommer Institute, University of Potsdam and the Film University Babelsberg. As well as developing and producing films in my newly founded company, I have specialised in film clearance since 2019 and I work as a clearance supervisor and legal advisor for international productions. I am a regular lecturer at the Film Rights Clearance workshop of Erich Pommer Institute in Berlin.