NFI Studios

One of the most significant recent developments in the Hungarian film industry, the expansion of the Fót film studio for the National Film Institute was executed by the Market Építő Zrt.-Fejér-B.Á.L. Zrt. consortium. The project sought to provide cutting-edge, internationally competitive infrastructure for film production in Hungary.

The development comprised four new sound stages – effectively two large studios divisible into separate units  –  and supporting facilities, adding nearly 10,000 m² of usable floor area to the Fót studio complex. It now offers a total of 12,582 m² of studio space. Alongside the new buildings, the project included the modernisation of existing facilities and the full refurbishment and upgrading of roadways, utilities and electrical networks.

Construction posed a particular challenge, as studio operations had to continue uninterrupted throughout the works. Construction activities were coordinated with ongoing shoots, requiring exceptionally precise scheduling; during filming, construction was frequently paused several times a day for short periods.

The sound stages were built with special steel structural systems and equipped with a unique 14.5-metre-high mobile acoustic partition wall – the only one of its kind in Hungary – allowing flexible separation of the studios. The execution of the acoustic gates and mobile wall system represented a technically and technologically complex specialist task.

The expansion also included the new head building, housing offices, workshops, make-up rooms and dressing rooms, as well as the creation of dedicated catering and gatehouse buildings. As part of the technical infrastructure, a catwalk and mother-grid system was installed to enable the safe suspension of lighting, sound and scenic equipment required for film production.

As a result of the development, the NFI Studios in Fót now functions as a modern, high-capacity, technologically advanced centre not only for domestic but also for international film production.