Following the 16th Verzió Film Festival in Budapest, the festival will be held in 5 other towns in Hungary, November 21–24. This year, for the first time, Debrecen and Szombathely will also host a selection of human rights documentaries, including the awarded films, after screenings in Pécs, Szeged and Kecskemét.

When I started preparing for my opening speech, a woman shared a photo of her face on social media. She wrote about how her partner abused her. She survived and reached the hospital, which filed a complaint against him, but her face will forever carry the marks of his deeds. The shocking images were meant to show that the woman had to save herself, pulling herself from her own hair—the hair her partner had also pulled—and managing to get away at the last moment. She uncovered her wounds to save herself.  She and others who bear similar wounds and face a similar fate.

Fish, a short film directed by Abouzar Soltani premieres at 18:15, November 14, in Toldi in the frame of the Growing Up section at 16th Verzió.

The 16th Verzió, which opens on 12 November, once again welcomes several renowned documentarists, such as Emmy Award winner Alexander Nanau, FIPRESCI Award winner Saeed Al Batal, and the director of Novaya, Askold Kurov, who will hold a masterclass during the festival.