Eszter Hajdú: Hungary 2018
I got a mail from the producer of this film, Sandor Mester: “Hungary 2018 is not at the IDFA Forum because it is already in the Feature Length Competition this year and it was not there last year because it was not possible going to public pitching because it could risk, potentially stop this kind of production. We made this new film with a very hard and painful work, it is very complicated to do a project like this in Hungary and finally it was produced by our Portuguese company. Some of the members of our Hungarian crew did not want that their names appear in the credits because they are afraid of the revenge of the government. “Hungary 2018” is about right-wing populism, far-right extremism from the perspective of the last elections in Hungary in 2018 showing how Hungary is in 2018 and how the extreme-right propaganda works on the government level. We have to stand-up against far-right politics and right-wing populism because it generates fear and hate based on lies, semi lies, lies and manipulation.”
The film was screened at IDFA and the main character of the film, former prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány, who fought against Orbán and the Fidesz party at the election for president in April 2018, was invited for the talk after the film. I knew Hajdu and Mester from their previous brave work, “Judgement in Hungary” reviewed here http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/2966/
and on my list of best documentaries in 2014.
“Hungary 2018” does not bring anything new, the political situation in the country is pretty well covered in the media I follow. And yet here we get on film a documentation of how disgusting the propaganda is from the Fidesz leaders and those, who campaign for Orbán. It is simply amazing, how xenophobia flourishes and how fear is playing a role, when speeches are held: Hungary will be overflooded with muslims, who will rape women in miniskirts – and Soros, the Jewish billionaire, is enemy number One, who supports Gyurcsány and his gang of traitors and is running the EU. Gyurcsány is followed in his campaign, you can only have sympathy for him, as far too few Hungarians had when the election results were clear. Huge victory for Orbán and his non-European attitude.
The film is partly financed by the EU, which is of course used against it: See, the EU is paying for propaganda against Hungary.
Are you going to screen it, I asked a festival director from a country close to Hungary. Of course he said, we are having the same political tendencies in our country… and in Denmark it looks like a new party will enter the parliament at the next election in 2019. It has the same policy as Fidesz.
www.idfa.nl
