Budapest Pride is one of the country's most comprehensive human rights initiatives, advocating for the rights of LGBTQ+ people year after year, while providing a space for visibility, dialogue and community building. Today, LGBTQ rights in Hungary face a particularly difficult environment. Budapest Pride, which is not only a parade but also a month-long series of community events, is now operating under the greatest political pressure.
Every year, Verzió and Budapest Pride collaborate to showcase LGBTQ+ documentaries, and last year for the first time, the best recent queer films were screened in a competition entitled We are here.
Verzió is now organising a two-month campaign before and during the Pride month: the proceeds from the online rental of newly available LGBTQ-themed documentaries on the festival's streaming site will be donated to the Rainbow Mission Foundation, which organises Budapest Pride as well. This campaign is not just an attempt to raise funds, but a clear statement: we stand for the rights of LGBTQ+ people and the freedom to live one's own identity, and we trust that documentaries can break through the walls of exclusion.
The seven films in the programme portray the struggles, joys and inner world of LGBTQ people in a sensitive and relatable way, creating a community between the audience and the characters.
Fairy Garden, winner of the Best Hungarian Documentary Award and the Audience Award at the 20th Verzió Film Festival. An intimate film about the importance of human relationships and unconditional acceptance through a strange coming-of-age story.
Colors of Tobi, winner of the Best Hungarian Documentary Award at the 18th Verzió Film Festival. Eva, mother of transgender teenager, Tobi, supports him in everything he does, but at the same time she has to deal with the emotions that arise from his transition. Her son Tobias is not only searching for his gender identity, but also for his place in his own life. The film is unique in that it was made over five years and takes place in a small village in Eastern Hungary.
Fragments of a Life Loved was presented in the We are here queer competition program of the 21st Verzió. The film tells the life of the French filmmaker through interviews with people who once loved her. Intimate reminiscences and personal stories weave together to reveal the universal journey of love stories.
Transit Havana tells the story of three transgender protagonists in Cuba, where the state provides therapy, hormone treatment, surgery and a new identity for people who want to transition. Will Cuba become a haven for the transgender community?
Madame tells the story of a bohemian 90-year-old Swiss grandmother and her filmmaker grandson, who explores the formation and transmission of gender identity in our patriarchal society. Unfolding from private videos, this family history is a dialogue between an extravagant matriarch and her gay grandson, breaking taboos on gender and sexual identity.
Nelly & Nadine is the unlikely love story of two women who fall in love in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Despite parting ways in the final months of the war, they later meet again and spend the rest of their lives together.
Her Mothers, a Hungarian film tells the story of Virág, a former Green politician and her musician partner, Nóra, as they become a family. The film opens in early 2016, when the couple decided to adopt a child and focus on starting a family. After a long wait, they finally have their daughter. While Virág instinctively feels the need to be a mother, Nora finds it difficult to find her place in the family. In addition to the difficulties of becoming parents, they have to cope with the radicalising political situation in Hungary, which increasingly affects their lives and future plans.
Like Rainbow Mission Foundation, Verzió is committed to the protection of human rights, social justice and open dialogue. The documentaries evoke empathy, bring people closer together and break down walls - just when they seem to be rebuilding.
We encourage everyone to watch the films available online not only to be part of valuable stories, but to actively contribute to building a freer, more accepting Hungary.
Rent the films in the We are here! selection between 1st May & 30 June, 2025.
Watch seven* films one-by-one, in a pass, or in a supporters’ pass.
*Her Mothers is only available until 31 May, 2025.
Once you start playback, you have 48 hours to watch or re-watch a film.
If you have any questions, write us at info@verzio.org.