Hungarian Film Day — April 30 — marks the date when the first Hungarian film, "The Dance" by director Béla Zsitkovszky, premiered in 1901.

On this occasion, on April 28, 2026, the Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Center in Sofia presented the musical romantic comedy "How Could I Live Without You?" at Odeon Cinema.

Created in 2024, the feature film by director Dénes Orosz delighted the Sofia audience. Everything about it — from the screenplay by Krisztina Goda, through the remarkable cinematography of Tamás Babos, to the excellent performances of the actors Franciska Törőcsik, Márk Ember, Marcell Kirády, Péter Marics, Bence Brasch, Luca Márkus, Harmat Kovács, Sára Varga-Járó, Balázs Medveczky, Anna Marko-Valentyik, Balázs Szántó, Veronika Barta, Anna Györgyi, Zoltán Seress, and Dávid Fecske — was outstanding.

But above all, it was the love and the music that captivated the audience. The film features songs by the legendary Hungarian rock and pop singer-songwriter Ferenc Demjén — unforgettable hits created more than 30 years ago that are still sung today. "The Moon Is Made of Cheese," "You Broke My Heart," "The Train of Love," "Heart of Ice," and others are performed in "How Could I Live Without You?" by the young actors and musicians.

This sunny musical comedy, whose story unfolds both in the present day and thirty years ago, tells the story of Lili — a talented but lonely modern young woman who has lost the man she loves and tries to convince herself and others that she is fine on her own. One day, together with her sister and brother, she finds an old bundle of letters in her parents’ home. As she begins to read them, her mother’s past comes alive before her in an unexpected story…

…an unforgettable summer in the early 1990s. Three close friends are vacationing at Lake Balaton, and only Eszter (Franciska Törőcsik) — Lili’s mother — has a fiancé to whom she intends to remain faithful. But her plans are disrupted when she falls in love. A young rock musician (Márk Ember) performs in the evenings with his band on the beach in Szigliget… What will come of it? Chaos? Love? Jealousy? A few kisses? A few slaps? More kisses? The summer at Lake Balaton changes the lives of the young people who meet there — and even those of their children.

"How Could I Live Without You?" is truly a wonderful work of Hungarian cinema.

Photo: Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Center Sofia