The producer of Spring Wind – The Awakening, the doc championing the rise of Hungarian leader Péter Magyar, has been named his chief of staff.
Claudia Sümeghy, who runs production house JUNO11 Pictures with her husband Tamás Yvan Topolánszky, will take on “one of the most complex and demanding responsibilities of the next four years,” Magyar wrote in a post on X announcing her role.
Magyar’s Tisza swept to power last month, soundly defeating Donald Trump ally Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz at the polls on a centrist ticket. Along with relentless on-the-ground campaigning, Spring Wind – The Awakening was credited with driving his supporters to the ballot box, and was watched 3.3 million times online the weekend before the Hungarian election.
Sümeghy and Topolánszky produced the film and are distributing it internationally, meaning she already very connected with Magyar’s plans and processes.
“As one of the creators of the documentary film Tavaszi szél – az ébredés [Spring Wind – The Awakening], she has followed my work and the TISZA community over the past year and a half. She is therefore familiar with our work, decision-making processes, and values.
Magyar wrote that Sümeghy’s focus as Chief of Staff would be on creating “a leadership environment guided by clear intentions, strategic direction, and a people-centred approach, one in which decisions contribute to building a functioning, forward-looking, and humane Hungary.”