Events

Join the live events through our website or Facebook page. During the live discussions ask our guests in the chat box or record your questions to the filmmakers and share them through the Vialog app, that you can find on the individual films’ pages and the front page as well.

Tuesday, 10 November

7:00PM
Opening
This year we will open the 17th Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival from Trafó, 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... more
9:30PM
Q&A
Moderator: Oksana Sarkisova, festival director, Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival The discussion is in English.  more
Participant(s):
Hao Wu

Wednesday, 11 November

4:00PM
Q&A
Reporter: Flóra Hevesi, environmental communications expert The discussion is in English.  more
Participant(s):
Nathan Grossman
5:00PM
Q&A
Reporter: Lili Mesterházy, film critic
Interpreter: Ágnes Deák The discussion is in Spanish and interpreted to Hungarian.  more
Participant(s):
Ekain Irigoien
6:00PM
DunaDock
Masterclass with director Judit Oláh and producers Sára László (Campfilm) and Hanka Kastelicová from HBO Europe Documentaries. The creators analyze the birth story of one of the most anticipated Hungarian documentaries of the year, from... more
Participant(s):
Judit Oláh
Sára László
Hanka Kastelicova
8:00PM
Roundtable
During August, a significant part of my job, as well as most of my free time, consisted of watching Nexta videos on Telegram, and posts elsewhere about the police brutality, the daring struggle, and the unfolding drama that was taking... more

Thursday, 12 November

5:00PM
DocPro
Peter Kerekes is a film director, producer and teacher. His film, Cooking History (2009), is a documentary about cooking in the army, and how it affects the victories and defeats of the soldiers. It won multiple awards, including the... more
Participant(s):
Peter Kerekes
8:00PM
DunaDock
The masterclass is based on the film Bridges of Time (dir: Kristine Briede, Audrius Stonys), a poetic essay film that goes in search of what it means to be a documentary filmmaker. “We studied human beings with the resources... more
Participant(s):
Tue Steen Müller

Friday, 13 November

11:00AM
Student Verzió
Discussion with Kata Stáhly psychologist, the leader of the NEMECSEK program, and Aida Varga psychologist, the leader of the Yelon Program (Hintalovon Children's Rights Foundation / Hintalovon Gyermekjogi Alapítvány).  The discussion... more
3:30PM
DunaDock
How to make documentaries in the pandemic situation? A workshop about university teachers’ and students’ point of view with the participation of teachers and students from the DocNomads program (University of Film and Theatre... more
Participant(s):
Dorottya Zurbó
Diana Groó
Klára Trencsényi
5:00PM
Q&A
Participants:
Eszter Hajdú, director
György Majtényi, historian
Gábor Presser, musician Moderator: György Báron, film critic, teacher at SZFE, curator of the Hungarian Competition The discussion is in Hungarian.  more
6:00PM
DocPro
The world is in constant flux, as is the way we consume films. The marketplace is actively transforming, and as technology offers up new modes of content delivery, will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. That’s why professionals... more
Participant(s):
Tibor Riczu
Stephanie Fuchs
Alexandra Derewienko
Zsófia Zurbó
Péter Bognár
8:00PM
Roundtable
When talking about refugees, we know that each story is unique. But what do the youngest refugees go through? What do they see and sense through the sorrow and struggles of their parents? How does escape-induced serial trauma affect their... more

Saturday, 14 November

2:00PM
Q&A
Ever is one of the most moving documentaries about love, memories and suffering. Uncle Anti’s devotion, Aunt Anni’s dignity is what makes the challenges and pain of Alzheimer’s disease really touching, authentic. But should such intimate... more
4:00PM
Q&A
Reporter: Tamás Teszler, film professional The discussion is in Hungarian.  more
5:00PM
DocPro
Nenad Puhovski graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy and Academy of Dramatic Arts (ADU), and has worked as a teacher in the film and TV directing Department there since 1980. Presently, he is a professor of documentary directing at ADU... more
Participant(s):
Nenad Puhovksi
10:00PM
Music
Exlusive set from the International Love Affair djs. Recorded in Edith, just for Verzió.

Sunday, 15 November

2:00PM
Q&A
Reporter: Tamás Teszler, film professional The discussion is in Hungarian.  more
Participant(s):
Balázs Wizner
Ilona Gaal
4:00PM
Q&A
Reporter: Tamás Teszler, film professional The discussion is in Hungarian.  more
Participant(s):
István Gábor Takács
6:00PM
Roundtable
Reflecting on events happening both in Hungary and the United States, we ask, how do mechanisms of oppression relate to each other? What kind of feelings surround this issue and what are the narratives that arise in connection to these... more
8:00PM
Roundtable
Climate movements and climate policy: enemies or partners? Can the demands of climate movements be translated into political decisions, and if so, how? Can climate policy be radical, or is it better to leave it to the movements? The... more

Monday, 16 November

11:00AM
Student Verzió
Discussion with Ágnes Domonkos, special needs teacher (Fővárosi Pedagógiai Szakszolgálat) and Eszter Balla, actress, mother of a girl with Down syndrome.  The discussion is in Hungarian.  more
3:00PM
Roundtable
Without freedom of the press, constitutional democracy is not conceptually possible: without social publicity, there is no responsible governance. President Duterte makes no secret of his desire to restrict freedom of the press and is... more
4:30PM
Roundtable
An Indonesian nanny for a Dutch family.  A gay Roma traveller in a small town in Sweden. What dilemmas do they face? Where do they belong? What does family mean to them? How does our gender, sexual orientation and ethnicity influence... more
Participant(s):
Ida Persson Lännerberg
Sandra Beerends
6:00PM
DocPro
Making a film is a huge endeavor, and definitely not for the faint of heart. A major part of the work is the process of generating funds. Funding institutions are the oldest and most widespread tool of public support for film and... more
Participant(s):
Christopher Petar Marcich
Vitezslav Chovanec
Ferenc Varsányi
Ravn Wikhaug
Maria Gradowska-Tomow
Anna Weitz
8:00PM
Roundtable
The support of LGBTQ communities differs from society to society, from negligence to acceptance. But there are no places in Europe similar to Chechnya, which is under Russian rule. Small communities are resisting, and fighting for the... more

Tuesday, 17 November

11:00AM
Student Verzió
Discussion with Flóra Hevesi (Greenpeace) and Levente Pribéli activist (Fridays for Future).  The discussion is in Hungarian.  more
4:00PM
Roundtable
This panel will focus on the use of various types of archival footage in documentary film, and address questions of (re)appropriation, emotional impact, and revision of contested or silenced histories. The participants will discuss their... more
Participant(s):
Susanne Kovács
Adrian Cioflâncă
Radu Jude
Sandra Beerends
Giedre Žickyte
6:00PM
DocPro
Consider the global status of a woman in 2020. Documentaries are a special window into the experiences of women in all fields of activity.  Documentary film, compared with feature filmmaking, has historically provided a more welcoming... more
Participant(s):
Tamara Tatishvili
Paula Vaccaro
Susanne Kovács
Eszter Cseke
Kata Oláh
8:00PM
Roundtable
It started as a simple recording of events, but soon became a force powerful enough to shape our world. When does a director cross the line between being a participant and being a filmmaker when actively involved in a movement they are... more

Wednesday, 18 November

11:00AM
Student Verzió
Discussion with Zsófi Fenyvesi, skate board designer, art director (Phylia Studio) and Mirwais Janan, lawyer from Afhganistan (Törésvonal Intézet). The discussion is in Hungarian.  more
4:00PM
DocPro
Throughout 2020, cultural events across the globe had to come up with creative ad hoc solutions that were developed and customized in view of changing epidemiological restrictions. Film festivals have been profoundly affected by the... more
Participant(s):
Csilla Kató
Ádám Paszternák
Tadeusz Strączek
Florencia Santucho
6:00PM
Roundtable
We talk to three young filmmakers from the Student and Debut Film Competition about how the unfinished past is present in their films. Barbara Berezňákova, Yuriy Pivovarov and Henrique Amud’s films were made using different techniques and... more
Participant(s):
Henrique Amud
Yuriy Pivovarov
Barbora Berezňáková
8:00PM
Roundtable
Is it possible for a recently graduated university student to help refugees stranded at the border? What can well-off American youth say to families who have been struggling from continent to continent for months? Who is teaching whom in... more
Participant(s):
András Surányi

Thursday, 19 November

11:00AM
Student Verzió
Discussion with dr. Szilvia Gyurkó, children's rights expert (Hintalovon Gyermekjogi Alapítvány). The discussion is in Hungarian.  more
4:00PM
Q&A
Reporter: György Báron, film critic, teacher, SZFE, curator of the Hungarian Competition The discussion is in Hungarian.  more
Participant(s):
György Dobray
6:00PM
Q&A
Reporter: Fanni Kovács, student, ELTE Media and Communications The discussion is in English.  more
Participant(s):
Michaela Kirst
8:00PM
Roundtable
The courts, like offices of state bureaucracy, constantly record the gray, everyday life of the state. The documents of a showcase lawsuit, and in particular, its submissions, are exciting resources for an audience interested in the... more

Friday, 20 November

11:00AM
Student Verzió
Discussion with Ágnes Domonkos, special needs teacher (Fővárosi Pedagógiai Szakszolgálat). The discussion is in Hungarian.  more
4:00PM
Q&A
Reporter: Lili Mesterházy, film critic
Participant(s):
Jane Magnusson
6:00PM
Roundtable
The discussion involves three filmmakers who share a common focal point of generational responses to intimate family situations. Ronja Hemm, the director of For Your Own Sake, will recall how she found her subject in Nepal and how she was... more
Participant(s):
Paweł Chorzępa
Ronja Hemm
Akshaya Sawant
8:00PM
Award Ceremony
Join us live on November 20, 8 pm to follow the announcement of the winners of the 17th VERZIÓ International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival! The Award Ceremony will be broadcast live on our website and on our Facebook page.... more
9:00PM
Music
"The set I created for Verzió is a multicultural collage of music from the most distant parts of the world, true to the atmosphere of the nights after the award ceremony." more

Saturday, 21 November

4:00PM
DocPro
Honeyland (2019), directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov, is one of the greatest documentary successes from the Balkan region, having won awards at the Sundance Film Festival and receiving two Academy Award nominations. Atanas... more
Participant(s):
Atanas Georgiev
6:00PM
Q&A
Participants:
Judit Oláh, director
Gábor Miklósi, protagonist
Mátyás Gyuricza, cameraman Moderator: György Báron, film critic, lecturer at SZFE, curator of the Hungarian Competition The discussion is in Hungarian.  more
8:00PM
Roundtable
Andrea Pócsik, curator of the International Competition, in conversation with the members of the three juries.  The discussion is in English. more