A prestige European co-production leveraging the momentum of 'Rose' to launch a debut director from Michael Haneke’s prestigious Vienna academy.
Insiders whisper that casting Sandra Hüller’s 'Rose' pedigree alongside Palme d'Or-winning producer Erik Hemmendorff is a calculated move to secure festival gold before the film is even finished.
Production began October 2026 in Austria and Hungary. The film stars Zsolt Nagy, Emőke Pál, and Ágoston Sáfrány. It is a four-country co-production involving Sweden’s Plattform Produktion, whose producer won Palme d'Ors for 'Triangle of Sadness' and 'The Square'.
If you thought 'Rose' was dark, wait until you see what the same producers are cooking up in Budapest and Vienna. This isn't just drama; it's a trauma bomb with Oscar ambitions.
Let’s cut to the chase: the team behind Austria’s current Oscar submission, 'Rose,' isn’t resting on its laurels. They are immediately pivoting to another psychological heavy hitter, 'The Shame of the Borbély Family.' This isn't some small-time indie flailing in the dark; it’s a high-stakes gamble by producers Andi G. Hess and Johannes Schubert of Schubert, the outfit that put Sandra Hüller on the map with a Silver Bear win at this year’s Berlinale for 'Rose.' They are clearly banking on the fact that European audiences and critics are hungry for more unflinching family dysfunction, and they’ve hired Kálmán Nagy to deliver it.
Nagy is no random hire. This Hungarian filmmaker, who is currently based in Austria, is a graduate of Michael Haneke’s directing class at the Film Academy Vienna. If you know your cinema history, you know that Haneke’s students don’t do 'feel-good.' They do cold, clinical dissections of human behavior.
'The Shame of the Borbély Family' marks Nagy’s directorial debut, and the plot sounds like it was designed to make your skin crawl. It centers on a family facing public judgment after a fatal act of violence involving their teenage son. As guilt and shame tear them apart, a deeper moral dilemma emerges.
It’s classic European arthouse torture porn, but with the budget to look expensive. The production scale is what really has the gossip mill churning. This is a four-country European co-production that brings together heavyweights from Hungary, Sweden, Poland, and Austria.
The Swedish contingent includes Erik Hemmendorff of Plattform Produktion, the producer responsible for two Palme d'Or winners: 'Triangle of Sadness' and 'The Square.' When a producer with that kind of festival pedigree joins a debut director’s project, it’s not charity; it’s a signal. The film is supported by a laundry list of state funds, including Eurimages, the Austrian Film Institute, and the Hungarian Film Incentive, proving that governments are willing to bankroll this kind of misery.
Filming has already begun in Austria and Hungary, with Filmladen Filmverleih set to handle theatrical distribution in Austria. The cast includes Zsolt Nagy, Emőke Pál, and Ágoston Sáfrány, names that might not ring a bell in Hollywood yet but are poised to become festival circuit darlings. The project was previously selected for the Les Arcs Talent Village and presented at the CineLink Co-Production Market, meaning it’s been vetted by the industry’s gatekeepers.
With the 'Rose' halo effect still fresh, Schubert is moving fast to capture lightning in a bottle again. The question isn’t whether this film will be depressing; it’s whether it will be depressing in a way that gets it nominated for the big prizes.
