András Földes, Anna Kis
80 Angry Journalists
Viktor Orbán’s government seizes Hungary’s top independent media outlet, Index.hu. Journalists fight back by resigning and forming a new entity but face familiar toxicity. Can healthy communities survive in a corrupt system? Possible answers are revealed through the lives of three ex-Index.hu employees as they navigate challenges.
SYNOPSIS
War correspondent ANDRÁS witnesses an unprecedented event when 80 journalists from Hungary's most prominent independent newspaper, Index.hu, walk out of the newsroom in protest against the autocratic government's takeover, while LÁSZLÓ, the former lawyer of Index.hu is called out as a traitor. Led by the determined editor-in-chief VERA, the journalists create a new online newspaper, Telex.hu, facing the challenge of building it from scratch while navigating a hostile environment. The documentary follows their struggle against oppressive forces, with unexpected twists and an ambiguous happy ending.
DIRECTORS
András Földes
Anna Kiss
PRODUCER
Loránd Balázs Imre
PRODUCTION COMPANY
filmDOUGH
COUNTRIES
Hungary
Germany
András Földes
ANDRÁS FÖLDES is a Hungarian journalist and documentary filmmaker with 23 years of experience. He worked for Index.hu as a foreign correspondent, specialising in humanitarian issues, migration, and the war in Ukraine. Földes has won multiple awards for his video reports, including the Minority Rights Group’s Development Journalism Award (2019-2021) and the Pulitzer Memorial Prize (2018). He co-founded Telex.hu, an independent media outlet, following government pressure on Index.hu. Földes is now working for Hvg.hu, an independent daily newspaper.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
80 ANGRY JOURNALISTS is an exploration of the human stories at the heart of complex political issues. Through original footage, interviews, and archival material, I aim to create a powerful and emotionally resonant film about the struggle between autocratic forces and human groups committed to freedom. One of the key elements of the film is the use of original footage shot while investigating the fate of the Index media outlet and the launch of the new independent media outlet called Telex. This footage provides a unique and personal perspective on the events, allowing the viewer to see the story from the inside. The interviews with the film's characters transform them from representatives of ideologies into complex, multifaceted human beings. At the centre of these stories is the film's protagonist, a war correspondent whose journey is both gripping and thought-provoking.
Anna Kiss
Anna Kis was born in Budapest, 1969. Having graduated in English and German Linguistics and Literature at ELTE University in 1992, she pursued a career of teaching, freelance translation, interpretation and journalism. In 1997 she completed a PhD course in Renaissance and Baroque English Literature, where her topic was: Shakespeare on Film. In 2002 she gave her career a turn and started her studies at the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest, as a director and editor. She has directed several shorts and observational documentaries. Besides, she has been active as an editor and story editor: she has edited shorts, documentaries and has been a regular editor of concert shows for TV
Lorand Balazs Imre
LORAND BALAZS IMRE (1979) is a communications expert-turned-filmmaker with an MA in journalism (2008). He co-founded SpeakEasy Project (www.speakeasyproject.com), a boutique film production company based in Budapest, Hungary. As a creator of LEAVE/STAY (2013-), an Erasmus EuroMedia Award-winning documentary series, he co-produced and directed most episodes. Since 2016, he has lived and worked in Berlin as a freelance filmmaker producing documentaries and commercial motion picture products. He helped create award-winning feature documentaries such as ULTRA (2017), GHETTO BALBOA (2018), and VETERANFILM (2019). Working under his Berlin-based production brand filmDOUGH (filmdough.berlin), he has recently produced and co-produced short and feature documentaries such as IMAGINE (2020), SEE ME: KÜBRA (2023) and I'M PEOPLE, I AM NOBODY (2022) which opened at DOCNYC. He has recently finished his studies as a cameraperson and co-founded the Berlin Documentary Film Club.
Production company profile
FILMDOUGH is a very young production brand owned by filmmaker Loránd Balázs Imre, committed to telling stories nobody expected but everybody hoped for. filmDOUGH recently co-produced the feature documentary I'M PEOPLE, I AM NOBODY (2022), directed by Svetislav Dragomirović, and SEE ME: KÜBRA (2023), a short documentary for Voice of America.
Where are we at?
PRODUCTION BUDGET
100.000 EUR
NEEDED FOR COMPLETION
55.000 EUR
TERRITORIES AVAILABLE
Mostly the whole world, to be discussed
EXPECTED RELEASE
Fall 2024
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