The 17th Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival opens from the Trafó Main Hall, and we are inviting you to join us virtually through our website and Facebook live, at 7pm on 10 November!

This is an unusual year for film festivals in all respects, and Verzió is no exception. Anyone who has attended their opening night festivities in the past has become accustomed to the joyful atmosphere of a full house. We bump into friends and acquaintances, wait excitedly for the opening film, and listen to speeches that convey our reflections on the year and the important problems that are reflected in the films. 

In 2004, Árpád Göncz opened Hungary's first human rights film festival at the Toldi Cinema, and the entire OSA staff helped guide visitors at the event. They have strived to maintain this familiar atmosphere while growing into one of the most visited film festivals in the country. It is a wonderful feeling to be part of an annual experience with films that open something in us, that make us think, that start a dialogue with the person sitting next to us, and that give us an experience that accompanies us beyond the cinema hall.

The list of the Festival’s opening guests has been impressive, with well-known people who stand up openly and boldly for human rights, testifying year after year to the prominent role of documentaries, which not only capture the past, but are also a means of shaping our future. Our guests have included Gyula Gazdag (film director), Miklós Jancsó (film director), Ferenc Kőszeg (founding chairman of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee), Béla Tarr (film director), György Soros (philanthropist), László Majtényi (lawyer), Ildikó Enyedi (film director), Lajos Parti Nagy (writer), János Térey (poet), Gergely Péterfy (writer), Árpád Schilling (theater director), Kornél Mundruczó (director), Antónia Mészáros (managing director of UNICEF Hungary), and Andrea Tompa (writer and theater critic).

And the most significant public figures in 2020?  

The students of the University of Theatre and Film Arts Budapest — each and every one of them. 

We are thrilled to announce that the 17th Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival will be opened by the FreeSZFE student community, and that the event will be broadcast live from Trafó.

Even in this year of physical isolation, we have the tools to connect in thought and heart, to experience our humanity, and the joys and challenges of others through the screen.

Let’s dive into this year’s 50 documentaries. We have 12 days to get closer to each other’s realities.

Timetable of the Opening Night

7:00 pm Opening speech by Dr. Oksana Sarkisova, Festival Director
7:10 pm Opening from Trafó: FreeSZFE students’ performance
7:30 pm Opening film: 76 Days, a Chinese documentary shot in a Wuhan hospital during the first months of the coronavirus outbreak (not recommended for viewers under 18)

How can you join?

The Opening Night will be broadcast live on the Verzio’s website and Facebook page.
You can watch the festival films, including the opening film on festival.verzio.org.
Go to the site and register with a free user account.
To watch 76 Days for free, go to the film’s page, click on the “Kölcsönzés”/Rental option, and enter the promo code: 76NAPVERZIO
Once the first 200 viewers have “rented” the film, another 400 tickets will be made available at the price of 900 HUF.
More information about tickets and passes can be found here.