Alienation

2015 was the year of alarm and panic. A significant part of the European public saw the masses fleeing from conflict zones and other irregular migrants as a faceless, chaotic and menacing crowd. In 2016, the key problems of the European Union were how to reduce and control the influx of migrants, and what to do with people in need of protection who were already in Europe. European societies wanted moral and at the same time practical answers. How can we give enough and yet not too much?

At the same time, the panic did not abate. Bloody terror attacks and brutal murders shocked Europe’s welfare societies. Extremist political forces grabbed the opportunity and tried to win the confused public to their side. A long-notheard fascist rhetoric has become mainstream. As in so many critical situations before, politics and people now have to confront the issues of identity. What does European mean? What do the Judeo-Christian values mean on the practical level? Is Western civilization inherently humane? Where are the borders of enlightenment? When do foreign migrants become true citizens? Which world is in bigger crisis, the West or the Islam? The great achievements of Europe and the Western world that legitimized democracy and capitalism are in real danger today. Freedom rights, welfare, religious neutrality or the right to and the possibility of free movement are often seen as a threat to our security or a dispensable luxury. Walls are built between countries, cultures and people. The films in this section address these European, and even global, problems.

After the screenings, staff of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee will hold discussions with experts on refugees and social sciences.

In cooperation with the Hungarian Helsinki Committee