Hungarian culture is celebrated in Bradford from now until the end of January, with a film festival, a Gypsy folk band and a string quartet.

Magyar Magic forms part of the Hungarian Government's year-long cultural programme which started in November, celebrating its admission into the European Union.

Bradford is the first place outside London to stage the festival, which is presenting a variety of Hungarian arts events in cities around Britain.

Cinema, theatre, sculpture, paintings, photography, ballet, and classical, orchestral, folk, jazz and modern music all feature, showcasing the country's contemporary and historic culture.

Organiser Katalin Bogyay is director of the Hungarian Cultural Centre in London which introduces established and new talent to British audiences.

Well-known in Hungary as a television presenter, she started her career at Hungarian MTV.

Through her later work as a producer in London in the 1990s, she became involved in cross-cultural bridge-building.

She said the aim was to introduce Hungarian culture to British cities so artists and institutions from both countries could work together.

"The whole idea is about collaboration," she said.

"The festival is the beginning of a new kind of cultural dialogue between Britain and Hungary.

"We are very happy to be working with such places as the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television. We are also staging a concert at Bradford Synagogue - in Hungary it is normal to have such events in places like this.

"Hungary's cultural heritage has played a great part in ensuring a small nation's survival through centuries of political turmoil.

"The festival includes both new and established artists, showing the diversity of Hungarian culture."

Much of the culture represented in the festival reflects the country's political pressures.

Many Hungarian films were banned under the Communist regime during the Cold War. Writers were not allowed to address political or social themes.

"When art wasn't free, writers addressed these issues in an indirect way, in the language of art," said Ms Bogyay.

A season of Hungarian films at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, called Magyar Magic - Hungary in Focus, is the latest in the museum's Eurovisions series, bringing new and classic European cinema into this country.

The season, which includes films screened in Britain for the first time, was being launched today with a tribute to distinguished Hungarian director Karoly Makk.

He will talk about his work and several of his films will be shown over the festival, including A Long Weekend in Buda and Pest and The Gambler.

As well as the film season, the festival includes concerts by Kalman Balogh and the Gypsy Cimbalom Band, from a famous dynasty of Hungarian Gypsy musicians, at the Alhambra Studio on Friday at 7.30pm, and the Auer Quartet, a prize-winning string quartet, at Bradford Synagogue on Sunday, January 25, at 3pm. For tickets to these events, ring (01274) 432000.

The Magyar Magic festival runs at the NMPFT until Saturday, January 31. For details, ring 0870 7010200.