Hungarian Film Festival

Women Behind the Camera

Date: 16 May - 18 May

Time: 18:00

Venue: Liszt Institute Brussels
10 Treurenberg, 1000 Brussels

Bold visions, intimate stories, and unforgettable characters…

Experience the strength and creativity of women-led Hungarian cinema at the Hungarian Film Festival: Women behind the Camera in Brussels. Organized with the support of the National Film Institute of Hungary, this unique cultural event takes place from 16-18 May 2025, with a rich program of films spanning drama, comedy, family saga and psychological depth.

From the poetic intimacy of Spiral / Spirál by Cecília Felméri and the ethereal reflections of Eden / Éden by Ágnes Kocsis, to the emotional resonance of Aurora Borealis by Márta Mészáros and the satirical journey in Mom and Other Loonies in the Family / Anyám és más futóbolondok a családból by Ibolya Fekete, the festival presents a vivid cross-section of stories told with originality. These stories traverse generations and genres: from coming-of-age dramas like We Started Together / Együtt kezdtük by Yvonne Kerékgyártó, to thought-provoking allegories such as Afterlife / Utóélet by Virág Zomborácz and the gripping tension of Without Air / Elfogy a levegő by Katalin Moldvai.

The curated selection spans personal stories and collective memories, exploring themes of identity, family, love and survival. Every film invites viewers to connect with characters who are as complex and resilient as the filmmakers behind them.

Join us for three days of inspiration and discovery as we celebrate the power of storytelling in cinema.

PROGRAMME

16 May - 8PM

Without Air / Elfogy a levegő - HU, Katalin Moldvai, 2023, drama, 104'

In Hungarian with English subtitles.

In a small Hungarian town, Ana Bauch (Ágnes Krasznahorkai) is a dedicated and liberal-minded literature teacher within the public system. Beloved by her students for her unorthodox and creative approach, she assigns Agnieszka Holland’s 1995 Total Eclipse, depicting the relationship between 19th-century French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine, so they can better understand Rimbaud’s poetry. When a conservative father interrupts his son Victor (Soma Sándor) during the screening and hears of the assignment, he reports Ana to the school’s principal (Tünde Skovrán). Ana is accused of misconduct and spreading homosexual propaganda, and when the local media get wind of the brewing scandal, she faces even more scrutiny. In a system within which many have given up, Ana must decide to fight or to flee - perhaps to a restaurant job abroad.

17 May - 3PM

Spiral / Spirál - HU, RO, Cecília Felméri, 2020, drama, thriller, 94'

In Hungarian with English subtitles.

Spiral is about letting go. A strange triangle story by a mysterious lake, between one man and two women. Sometimes we can’t let go and this might result in consequences that end in tragedy. There’s only one thing we can do: face ourselves.

17 May - 6PM

Afterlife / Utóélet - HU, Virág Zomborácz, 2014, drama, 95'

In Hungarian with English subtitles.

After Mózes starts seeing the ghost of his authoritative, recently-deceased father, the diffident and insecure young man is forced to take matters into his own hands: he has to deal with the relationship with his father once and for all. An energetic debut from Virág Zomborácz in a refreshing blend of genres, combining humorous episodes verging on the bizarre with elements of high drama.

17 May - 8PM

Mom and Other Loonies in the Family / Anyám és más futóbolondok a családból - HU, DE, BG, Ibolya Fekete, family, comedy, history, 113'

In Hungarian with English subtitles.

A zany tale of a family in the 20th century. Four generations of "fools" with Mom in the focus, who has lived 94 years and moved 27 times in her life. Moving was her only means of dealing with trouble, danger or conflicts. At the demented age of 94, Mom tells the story to her daughter – a playful, heart-warming and occasionally heartbreaking span of a hundred years.

18 May - 3PM

Eden / Éden - HU, BE, RO, Ágnes Kocsis, 2020, drama, 153'

In Hungarian with English subtitles.

A film about humankind having nowhere to escape from itself. Éva is allergic to all kinds of chemical substances, air pollution, radio waves and electronic fields. She needs to live in total isolation and can have no contact with her environment. The slightest mistake may cause her death. Her only relations are with her brother and the doctors continuously experimenting on her. One day a psychiatrist comes to investigate if her illness is real or exists only in Éva’s mind. Will love be enough to save her?

18 May - 6PM

We Started Together / Együtt kezdtük - HU, Yvonne Kerékgyártó, 2022, drama, romance, 101'

In Hungarian with English subtitles.

’We Started Together’ dramatizes the conflicts of the early 2000's youth through the stories of a group of highschool classmates. At their high school prom they promise each other to keep in touch, but life leads them to separate ways. Ten years later two of them are getting married and the gang meets up again at their wedding. Each guest carries their own secrets. Marci and Franciska are still looking for a goal in their life, Nóri and Benett got stuck in a bad relationship, Ádi became an addict and still bullies Geri, Juli is keeping her pregnancy a secret from the father of the baby: Renátó. At first, the wedding starts as a masquerade, where all participants are trying to put on a perfect show, but when one of the friends suffers a near fatal accident, they realize, they all need to stop the act and reveal their real selves.

18 May - 8PM

Aurora Borealis / Aurora Borealis - Északi fény - HU, Márta Mészáros, 2017, drama, romance, war, 104'

In Hungarian with English subtitles.

Aurora Borealis is a family story with two twisting timelines. Mária, the elderly mother of Olga – a successful lawyer living in Vienna, falls unexpectedly ill and is now in a coma. As Mária hovers between life and death, Olga incidentally unearths a secret that has been deliberately hidden. Her investigation takes her all the way back to a war-torn Europe of the 1950s. The film discusses the dramatic situations that grow out of identity crises, the open wounds caused by war in a shattered Europe, and the liberating power of lies unveiled.