We believe that through sharing our stories, anyone can discover and understand the wider world. Creative documentaries are a fantastic outlet for stories about humanity. They also provide a high-quality cinema experience that brings the world closer to us. Support us and keep Hungary’s only human rights film festival alive and vibrant.
Our loyal audience
- The online, post-festival survey results show that ca. 30% of our visitors are between 26-35, 20% between 36-45, 20% over 55 years old, and 15% younger than 25, and 15% between 46-55.
- We have hosted more than 100,000 viewers in the last 15 years.
- Last year we had a record number of viewers; more than 10,000 people attended our programs. We offered a variety of programs: screenings, talks, workshops, concerts and master classes. We aim to reach 12,000 audience members in 2019, and to continue to actively engage international and Hungarian members of the documentary film-making industry.
- We had a record number of submissions to our Festival last year; more than 700 films were submitted from all over the world. This demonstrates both the great potential for growth and the amount of international attention the festival has received.
Why support us?
- Excellent marketing and PR possibilities: high number of viewers, special media attention both abroad and within Hungary.
- The only festival of its kind in Hungary.
- Introduce your organization to our special, intellectually and culturally open audience.
- A socially and culturally sensitive commitment generates sympathy and commitment from your target audience.
- Help raise awareness of the human rights issues and help dissolve prejudice against minorities.
- Support media education and civic thinking.
- Bolster the national documentary film making industry.
- Make new contacts within the filmmaking community.
You can choose from our flexible offers, or we can design one especially for your needs. We have created several cooperation and sponsorship packages suiting a variety of business profiles.
Depending on your donation, and following a personalized agreement, you can become Verzio’s main sponsor, name a section of the Verzio program, present a special mention/award, show your support of the film industry, or subsidize our educational programs:
- Be the main sponsor of the Verzio Film Festival. Your organization’s name and contribution will be highlighted throughout the festival with focused media appearances and content. By supporting Verzio you will gain PR value and help a good cause at the same time. Being the main supporter of the Verzio Film Festival, your organization will promote the importance of human rights, creative documentaries, media literacy, and critical thinking.
- Contribute to a topic that suits your mission and image by supporting a thematic block. The pre-jury selects roughly 50 films from best recent international and national documentaries, all on the theme of human rights. By donating to a thematic block you support the screening rights of a selection of 4-5 films, and allow their directors to visit the festival and participate in further programs. Your contribution also supports additional events related to the thematic block: round table discussions, interviews, exhibitions or the invitation of special guests.
- Present a special prize at the Festival that corresponds to your mission and beliefs. For example, your organization can present the award for: Best Director, Best Female Director, Best First Film, Environmental Film Award. The award ceremony is designed in cooperation with your organization, and naturally you will play a special role in it.
- Become a patron of the documentary film industry by supporting the masterclasses which are taught by international filmmakers and professionals. Our aim is to form an international platform where human rights activists and documentary film makers can meet and exchange ideas, through which they have the outstanding opportunity to become part of the international film making industry. Talented, young individuals can learn more about project management, script writing, and the entire film making process from conception to screening. Students will learn about the creative and financial side of documentary making as well.
Stand up for the next generation!
Our series of FREE screenings is especially designed for high school students. This past year we have screened documentaries for over 1000 students. Our team is a successful partner in visual media education and in raising human rights awareness. Screenings are followed by a discussion where we invite teachers, critics, well-travelled journalists, and human rights activists to take part and encourage students to talk about their feelings and opinions about the films. These programs are quite popular; many students participating in the program have had no other opportunity to see such thought-provoking films for free. Since its inception, the program has provided more than 8000 students with free screenings. Please help us to continue this outstanding program.
WHAT DO YOU GET FOR YOUR SUPPORT?
Be in the spotlight
Here are some examples of how you can appear as a sponsor in our communications, marketing and PR campaigns prior to and during the festival:
- exclusive screening of the best documentary before, during or after the festival
- special appearance on our website
- press releases about our cooperation
- PR activity in social media
- ads in our film catalogue and program leaflets
- your company’s posters, molino or other visual advertisement at festival locations
- your logos on our posters at cultural institutions, universities, clubs, cafes, cinemas, and outdoor advertising spaces
- show your ads/logo in our video spots before the films
- play your short ads or spots in cinema lobbies
- special mention of your company/ organization at the opening ceremony and at other discussions
Exclusive screenings
We are happy to organize exclusive screenings for your colleagues, employees or partners. If you wish, our expert moderators can be present after the screenings to engage your audience in meaningful discussions about the film and topics presented. We can gladly recommend the film best suited to your interests. Tips for films: Blinken OSA Film library
During the festival we can also organize meetings with our festival guests, such as directors and producers.
Personal guided tours at Blinken OSA Archive
Verzio is organized by the nonprofit, Verzio Film Foundation, and the Vera & Donald Blinken Open Society Archives. Therefore, we are proud to offer a expert guided tours of the Archives. These tours are an excellent opportunity to get to know our recent past in an unusual, but educational way.
What does the Archive contain?
Collection of Communism, the Cold War and its Afterlife
An essential resource on the post-war political, social, and economic history of what was the Communist part of Europe. Fonds include the extensive collection of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Research Institute documenting RFE/RL’s extensive monitoring, research and analysis activities from the early 1950s through the regime changes and beyond. They also hold the personal papers of a range of political, cultural, and counter-cultural figures from the Cold War era to the present. Several series of Soviet, Polish and Hungarian underground literature which, when taken together, constitute a major international collection of samizdat materials. Further highlights include the special collections on the 1956 Hungarian Uprising, public opinion surveys carried out in Hungary during the Kádár era, and documentation of former state security agencies’ surveillance practices.
Human Rights
These materials document a broad range of grave human rights abuses and human rights activism. Their geographic scope mainly covers, but not exclusively, the former Communist countries, and focuses on acts of censorship and infringement of basic freedoms; atrocities, war crimes and acts of genocide; and patterns of forced displacement in the aftermath of armed conflicts and humanitarian catastrophes. Fonds were created by non-governmental and supra-governmental organizations, as well as individuals active in documenting human rights violations and war crimes. Most important among these are the UN Expert Commission on Investigating War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia, the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), Index on Censorship, as well as the Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). It holds a significant collection of documents from the former Yugoslavia concerning the civil wars of the 1990s and their aftermath, as well as a unique range of wartime propaganda and anti-war activism.
Website: www.osaarchivum.org
Timeline: osaisceu.osaarchivum.org/en