On September 21st, Hungarian-American filmmaker Nicholas Gyeney received the Paramount Premium Award, presented by the Hungarian Hollywood Council, at the inaugural Tony Curtis International Film Festival held in Mátészalka, Hungary, for his feature horror film The Activated Man.
The film’s star-studded cast includes genre icons Tony Todd (Candyman), Sean Young (Blade Runner), and four-time Jason Voorhees, Kane Hodder, alongside Andrew Keegan (10 Things I Hate About You), Vladimir Kulich (Vikings), Sab Shimono (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III), Ivana Rojas (Hulu’s This Fool), and longtime Gyeney collaborator Scott Brown as the villainous ‘Fedora Man.’
On September 20th, the film was screened as an official selection of the inaugural year of the festival held in Mátészalka, Hungary, Curtis’ ancestral home. Gyeney was in attendance, along with some family members from the area.
Drawing on the universal theme of grief with a twist that Gyeney’s work has become noted for, The Activated Man stars Jamie Costa as an everyman who loses his beloved dog. His grief spurs disturbing visions that cause him to wonder if he’s dealing with the usual highs and lows of a painful loss, or if darker forces are preying on his mind.
As Ors Gabriel (Costa) struggles with the grief from losing his best friend and beloved dog to cancer, the trauma brings on strange visions only Ors can see. While he questions whether his mind has fractured or if it’s actually real, a mysterious rise in murder-suicides takes hold of the city, and Ors becomes haunted by images of a shadowy figure known as ‘The Fedora Man’. Through torments and terror, Ors must face his fears and confront ‘The Fedora Man’ as he uncovers dark secrets from his past, while finally embracing who he really is, and what he is meant to do.
After Hungary, The Activated Man will screen at Glendale International Film Festival on September 27th, Cinema Scares Film Festival in Shelbyvile, Indiana on September 28th, and HorrOrigins Film Festival in Tucson, Arizona on September 29th.
Following that will be screenings at Hollywood Horrorfest, Atlanta Horror Film Festival, Sleepy Hollow International Film Festival, Twin Cities Film Fest, Birmingham Horror Film Festival, and the Menton Fantastic Film Festival in Southern France.
The film, which first debuted at Dances With Films NYC on December 3, 2023, has garnered more than 25 festival awards, including many for best picture, best director, and best ensemble cast, and is set to debut theatrically and on digital in Q4 of this year. (More details to follow shortly.)
The film is executive produced by Gyeney’s film company Mirror Images LTD. and produced by Gyeney and Kelsey Aho.
The filmmaker also recently unveiled the new innovative poster artwork for the award-winning supernatural thriller The Activated Man, in advance of its next set of film festivals on its already highly successful run. Artist Chris Foster ( http://behance.net/chrisfoster) created the posters based on a design by Gyeney. (poster art attached)
