Orphan (2025 film)

Orphan (Hungarian: Árva) is an upcoming historical drama film directed by László Nemes and co-written by Nemes with Clara Royer. It follows the aftermath of the Hungarian uprising against the Communist regime in Budapest.

Orphan
Hungarian	Árva
Directed by	László Nemes
Written by	László Nemes Clara Royer
Produced by	Ildiko Kemeny Ferenc Szále Mike Goodridge Alexander Rodnyansky Gregory Jankilevitsch
Starring	Bojtorján Barabas Grégory Gadebois Andrea Waskovics
Cinematography	Mátyás Erdély
Edited by	Péter Politzer
Music by	Evgueni Galperine Sacha Galperine
Production companies	Pioneer Pictures Good Chaos AR Content Mid March Media Arte France Cinéma Pallas Film
Distributed by	Mubi (Germany and United Kingdom) Le Pacte (France)
Release date	28 August 2025 (2025-08-28) (Venice)
Running time	132 minutes
Countries	Hungary France Germany United Kingdom
Language	Hungarian

The film will have its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on 28 August 2025, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion.^[1]

Premise

The film is set in 1957, after the uprising against the Communist regime in Budapest, where a young boy discovers the truth of his mother's survival in the preceding World War.^[2]

Cast

• Bojtorján Barabas
• Grégory Gadebois
• Andrea Waskovics

Production

The film is directed by László Nemes. As with his previous films, Sunset (2018) and Son of Saul (2015), Nemes co-wrote the script with Clara Royer. It is produced by Ildiko Kemeny and Ferenc Szale for Pioneer Pictures, alongside Mike Goodridge for the UK’s Good Chaos, Alexander Rodnyansky of AR Content, and Gregory Jankilevitsch of Mid March Media. The cast is led by Bojtorján Barabas, Grégory Gadebois and Andrea Waskovics.^[3]

Principal photography took place in Budapest over ten weeks, concluding in September 2024.^[4]

In May 2024, Mubi acquired distribution rights in a host of countries including the UK and Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Latin America and Turkey.^[5]