Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival
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Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival (abbreviated as Verzió) is a documentary film festival held in Hungary every November since 2004. It is co-organized by the nonprofit Verzió Film Foundation and the Vera & Donald Blinken Open Society Archives at the Central European University.[1] The name of the festival refers to the Hungarian film called “Verzió” directed by Miklós Erdély,[2] which was made in 1981 and retells the story of the Tiszaeszlár affair.
History[edit]
Verzió festival was founded in 2004 by Andrea Pócsik, Oksana Sarkisova and Zsuzsa Zádori in cooperation with the Blinken Open Society Archives.[3] Inspired by the One World, a human rights documentary film festival founded in Prague,[4][5] the founders decided to create a similar space for international documentary films with a focus on human rights in Hungary. The first edition of the festival was opened by Árpád Göncz,[6] under the auspices of the Hungarian director Miklós Jancsó, and the President of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee Ferenc Kőszeg. [7][8]
In 2005, the Verzió Film Foundation was established to ensure financial stability while keeping the independence in the programming. In addition to other various sources, contributions come from international and national grants.
Some of the films presented at the festival are already well known, while others are freshly released or premiered at the festival.[9] For 15 years, Verzió was held exclusively offline, at Budapest cinemas such as Toldi, Művész, or Kino. However, in 2020[10], due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival moved to online spaces, and in 2021 Verzió adopted a hybrid format.[11]
In 2023, Verzió celebrated its 20th anniversary. On this occasion, the festival expanded to Vienna[12], and organized a 3-day program in cooperation with Belvedere 21, Open Society University Network (OSUN), and Central European University. In the same year, the Doc Around Europe network[13] was launched. The partnership connects 5 documentary film festivals, namely FIPADOC, Dokfest München, DocsBarcelona MakeDox and Verzió. Their projects’ focus on promotion of documentary film, but more importantly on support of the young filmmakers.
Film program[edit]
Verzió screens 50 to 70 short and feature-length documentary films annually in a range of topics related to social and human rights issues. In 2017, it screened more than 100 films.[14][15] Topics include children's rights and education, gender equality, LGBTQ+ issues, refugees and migration, climate change and global environmental issues, history and memory, human rights activism, freedom of speech and democracy.[16]
Activities[edit]
Film screenings are followed by Q&As, round table discussions, concerts and several side events such as workshops for young talents, masterclasses and networking events for the representatives of the documentary film industry. Cross-sectoral cooperation with multiple university departments include alternative film poster exhibitions, and film criticism and film analysis courses.
Verzió organizes screenings and discussions throughout the year in cooperation with cultural organizations and partner festivals (e.g. Bánkitó Festival, Sziget Festival, Budapest Pride[17] and OFF-Biennále[18]).
A selection of films is offered free of charge to film clubs and schools. Verzió designs special educational toolkits to help the use of documentary films in high school education.[19] Since 2021 a growing number of films are made available online as well, at the streaming platform of the festival.
Awards[edit]
The festival includes three competition sections:[20]
- International Competition: a selection of the most powerful documentary films covering urgent human rights issues. The winner of the section is awarded with the Best Human Rights Film Award by an international team of Student Jury.
- Student and Debut Film Competition: short and feature-length documentaries from young talents. The winner of the section is selected by the members of the International Jury and is awarded with the best Student/Debut Film Award.
- Hungarian Competition: a competition since 2020, this section awards the Best Hungarian Film selected by the members of an International Jury.
The Audience Award goes to the highest rated documentary film of the festival based on votes by the visitors.
The festival also features non-competition thematic sections, which cover a wide range of topics related to social and human rights issues.
Award winners[edit]
Audience Award
| Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 2021 | Divas | Máté Kőrösi | Hungary |
| 2020 | Terminal Stage | Ilona Gaal, Balázs Wizner | Hungary |
| 2019 | The Euphoria of Being | Réka Szabó | Hungary |
| 2019 | Colectív | Alexander Nanau | Romania, Luxembourg |
| 2018 | A Woman Captured | Bernadett Tuza-Ritter | Hungary |
| 2018 | The Time of Forests | Francois-Xavier Drouet | France |
| 2017 | The Trial | Askold Kurov | Estonia, Poland, Czech Republic |
| 2016 | Sonita | Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami | Germany, Switzerland, Iran |
| 2015 | No Land’s Song | Ayat Najafi | France, Germany, Iran |
| 2014 | Judgement in Hungary | Eszter Hajdú | Hungary |
| 2013 | In the Shadow of the Sun | Harry Freeland | UK |
| 2012 | 5 Broken Cameras | Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi | Netherlands, France, Israel, Palestine |
| 2011 | Wonderful Gladiators | Zsófi Kabarcz | Hungary |
| 2011 | Autumn Gold | Jan Tenhaven | Austria, Germany |
| 2010 | Secret Years | Mária Takács | Hungary |
| 2010 | Presumed Guilty | Roberto Hernandez, Geoffrey Smith | Mexico |
| 2009 | Burma VJ-Reporting from a Closed Country | Anders Østergaard | Norway, Sweden, Denmark, England |
| 2008 | The Fidesz Jew, the Mother with No Sense of Nation and Mediation | Eszter Hajdú | Hungary |
| 2008 | Anna, 7 Years on the Frontline | Masha Novikova | Netherlands |
| 2007 | What Lies Ahead | Diana Groó | Hungary |
| 2007 | Bridge over the Wadi | Barak Heymann, Tomer Heymann | Israel |
| 2006 | Moszny | Róbert Lakatos | Hungary |
| 2006 | The Shutka Book Of Records | Aleksandar Manić | Serbia, Czech Republic, Finland |
| 2005 | Death in Gaza | James Miller | UK |
Best Human Rights Film
| Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 2021 | Arica[21] | Lars Edman, William Johansson Kalén | Sweden, Chile |
| 2020 | Welcome to Chechnya | David France | USA |
| 2019 | Advocate | Philippe Bellaiche, Rachel Leah Jones | Israel, Canada, Switzerland |
| 2018 | Srbenka | Nebojša Slijepčević | Croatia |
| 2017 | Jackson | Maisie Crow | USA |
| 2016 | Transit Havana | Daniel Abma | Germany, the Netherlands, Cuba |
| 2015 | Toto and His Sisters | Alexander Nanau | Romania |
| 2014 | Cain’s Children | Marcell Gerő | Hungary, France |
| 2013 | In the Shadow of the Sun | Harry Freeland | UK |
| 2012 | 5 Broken Cameras | Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi | Netherlands, France, Israel, Palestine |
Best Human Rights Film - Special Mention
| Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 2021 | Brotherhood[21] | Francesco Montagner | Czech Republic, Italy |
| 2020 | The Earth Is Blue as an Orange | Iryna Tsylik | Ukraine, Lithuania |
| 2019 | Crime + Punishment | Stephen Maing | USA |
| 2018 | No Obvious Signs | Alina Gorlova | Ukraine |
| 2017 | Mr Gay Syria | Ayse Topra | France, Germany, Turkey |
| 2017 | The Wait | Emil Langballe | Denmark |
| 2014 | Evaporating Borders | Iva Radivojevic | USA, Cyprus |
| 2014 | Valley of Sighs | Mihai Andrei Leaha, Andrei Crişan, Iulia Hossu | Romania |
Best Student/Debut Film
| Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 2021 | Don't Hesitate to Come for a Visit, Mom[21][22] | Anna Artemyeva | Russia |
| 2020 | Sonny | Paweł Chorzępa | Poland |
| 2019 | Downstream | Máté Bartha | Hungary |
| 2018 | The Island | Adam Weingrod | Israel |
| 2017 | Urban Cowboys | Pawel Ziemilski | Poland |
| 2016 | Right Side of Cello | Aleksandra Rek | Poland |
| 2015 | Coming Face to Face | Sára Haragonics | Hungary |
Best Student/Debut Film - Special Mention
| Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 2020 | Stunned, I Remain Alert | Lucas H. Rossi dos Santos, Henrique Amud | Brazil |
| 2019 | Zoryana Horobraya | Elita Klavina | Latvia |
| 2018 | Their Voices | Eri Mizutani | Poland |
| 2018 | Film for Carlos | Renato Borrayo Serrano | Russia, Guatemala |
| 2015 | Kiev/Moscow. Part 2 | Elena Khoreva | Russia, Ukraine, Estonia |
Best Hungarian Film
| Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 2021 | Colors of Tobi[21] | Alexa Bakony | Hungary |
| 2020 | Give Me Shelter | Mihály Schwechtje | Hungary |
The Teen Jury’s Award
| Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 2019 | Matangi / Maya / M. I. A. | Steve Loveridge | Sri Lanka, UK, USA |
| 2018 | Granny Project | Bálint Révész | UK, Hungary |
Duna Television Award
| Year | Film | Director | Country |
| 2010 | Last Train Home | Lixin Fan | Canada, China |
| 2006 | The Children Of Leningradsky | Hanna Polak, Andrzej Celiński | Poland |
References[edit]
- ↑ "Verzio International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival". DOKweb. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
- ↑ "Filmkultúra: Szemle: Tobzódás a jogfosztottságban". filmkultura.hu. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- ↑ "Filmkultúra: Arcok: Az emlékezet újjáteremtésének helye". www.filmkultura.hu. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- ↑ ""Nem elég fegyverbe szólítani, előbb gondolkodni kell" – Interjú a Verzió Filmfesztivál igazgatójával". Recorder. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
- ↑ ""Icipicit igazítottak a világon"* | Beszélő". beszelo.c3.hu (in magyar). Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- ↑ "The Opening Night of the 17th Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival | OSA Archivum". www.osaarchivum.org. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- ↑ "Verzió (Emberi jogi dokumentumfilm-fesztivál - december 2-5. Toldi mozi)". Magyarnarancs.hu (in magyar). 2004-12-02. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- ↑ "version - human rights documentary film festival". www.verzio.org. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
- ↑ Orosz, Anna (8 November 2016). "Documentary as a tool of change / VERZIO - International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival". Cafébabel. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- ↑ "17th Verzió - Final Report". www.verzio.org. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
- ↑ Cunningham, Nick (2021-11-17). "18th Verzió Film Festival, and the winners are…". Business Doc Europe. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
- ↑ "Verzió Vienna screenings and events". verzio.org. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
- ↑ "Doc Around Europe – European Documentary Film Festival Network". Retrieved 2024-05-28.
- ↑ "Több, mint száz dokumentumfilm az idei Verzión". Nemzeti Filmintézet – Filmarchívum. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
- ↑ "Verzio International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival | Human Rights Film Network". www.humanrightsfilmnetwork.org. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- ↑ "Verzio International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival". DOKweb.
- ↑ "Kapd el a ritmust! a sportvilág queer felforgatása a Budapest Pride-on | Budapest Pride". budapestpride.hu (in magyar). Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- ↑ "OFF-Biennale ›". OFF-Biennale. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- ↑ "Verzió in High Schools and Film Clubs". www.verzio.org. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- ↑ "Submission". www.verzio.org. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 "FNE at Verzió Film Festival 2021: Arica Take Top Prize at Hungarian Doc Fest - FilmNewEurope.com". www.filmneweurope.com. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
- ↑ "DocNomads films awarded in Verzio, Winterthur and Uppsala". www.docnomads.eu. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
External links[edit]
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