In November 11–19, the 22nd edition of the Verzió Film Festival will bring the latest human rights documentaries to cities across Hungary. This year’s slogan, We Exist Together, urges collective thinking about the ways we can live together amid the fractures, conflicts, and challenges of our reality. The opening film, Sundance Special Jury Award winner Coexistence, My Ass!, is a portrait of an Israeli–Palestinian stand-up comedian.
The 22nd edition of the Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival will take place in November 11–19. Inviting viewers to explore sensitive topics, the selection presents the stories of people living in war-torn territories in the Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, or Iraq. Besides the horrible consequences of war, the program also highlights problems within societies living in presumed peace, with films focusing on the challenges of climate change, the disenfranchisement of factory workers, gender inequality, alcoholism, or child protection. The documentaries do not simply address these issues, but also propose coping strategies and push us toward more nuanced interpretations. Historical parallels can deepen our understanding of the emergence of nationalism and the mechanisms of political propaganda, in which the films incorporating archival footage provide reference points.
The female gaze keeps growing stronger; this year, more than half of the directors are women.
This year’s opening film, shot over five years, is Coexistence, My Ass!, starring Israeli activist-comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi. Raised in a bilingual Israeli–Palestinian village—the only intentionally integrated community in the country—Noam grows disillusioned with traditional peace activism. She pivots to stand-up, creates her comedy show Coexistence, My Ass!, and quickly attracts attention across the Middle East. With biting satire, Noam pushes her audiences to face difficult truths that aren't always funny, but do remind us that another reality is possible. The film earned a Special Jury Award at Sundance 2025.
Covering all continents, the award-winning entries of the international competition go beyond documenting events, and showcase people who have taken their destinies into their own hands. With the full program coming in mid-October, here are a few highlights.
In Cuba & Alaska, two field medics, inspired by their friendship, regard the absurdity of war with grit, humor, and hope.
The titular character of Rashid the Boy from Sinjar is a true survivor, returning from ISIS prisons to his family. What future can, however, a Yazidi child expect in an Iraq struggling with rebuilding?
Winning two awards at this year’s Berlinale, Khartoum chronicles the Sudanese civil war through the interwoven stories of five civilians.
Vibeke Løkkeberg is an icon of Norwegian filmmaking; in The Long Road to the Director's Chair, she reveals a treasure trove of footage shot 50 years ago, and tells authentic stories about women trying to succeed in a male-dominated industry.
The festival program would be incomplete without Hungarian documentaries; Sára Haragonics’s Don't worry Sari! traces the processing of a family trauma, the death of her mother.
The screenings will be accompanied, as usual, by numerous industry programs, panel talks, exhibitions, and concerts, in venues like Trafó House, Toldi Cinema, Művész Cinema, the Blinken OSA Archivum, CEU Budapest, Institut français en Hongrie. Ticket sales start in late October.
22nd Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival
November 11–19, 2025, Budapest
November 11–19, 2025, Pécs, Szeged, Kecskemét, Veszprém, Miskolc, Szombathely, Debrecen
November 20–30, 2025, online
The Verzió Film Festival is organized by the Verzió Film Foundation and the Blinken OSA Archivum, supported by Creative Europe MEDIA. The founders strived to create the first creative forum in Hungary for international documentaries revolving around human rights issues.