Judgment in Hungary
Short film Completed 2014
Director
Eszter Hajdu
Doc Society helped with
Production
Impact
Went to Good Pitch
Runtime: 104 minutes
Judgment in Hungary is a court-room drama about the trial of the four-member team of serial killers, who during the course of one year killed several Roma people, among them 5 -year-old child, they were charged of serial killing with racial motivation. The film is taking place in a small and claustrophobic court room in Budapest, Hungary. The trial began March 2011 of four suspected perpetrators charged by the Hungarian state, and ended 6th of August, 2013. They were charged of serial killings with racial motivation.
LONG SYNOPSIS
Hungary was the site of serial murders by a criminal gang. Over the course of one year, the murderers killed Roma children and adults. Their aim was to victimize the Roma. The judicial hearings on this unprecedented and bloody series of murders started March, 2011 in Budapest, and ended at the 6th of August, 2013. Four men were accused by the state of committing the murderings with racist motivation. (63 gunshots, 11 Molotov-cocktails, 6 Roma killed, children among the victims, serious injuries) The film traces the fate of three Roma families who trust the judicial system to give them closure. They believe that the murderers - who killed their child, their grandchild, their spouse, their sibling - will be punished. They trust that the Hungarian state will protect them. Will these families achieve what they seek? What will be the outcome of the marathon, year-long trial? Can the Roma trust in the Hungarian justice system? We show the hearings of the 2 and a half years long trial, basically staying in the Court-room, and show some intimate moments of our main characters in their private surrounding.
Outreach Work Supported
Screenings and debates in Hungary around release of the film.
Crew
Eszter Hajdu
Director
Eszter Hajdu is a filmdirector, born in Hungary. (www.hajdueszter.com) Her film „The FideszJew” was the most provocative and most viewed documentary film recently in Hungary. Her films are mainly about social-political taboos. Her new film is about the trial for serial killing against Roma people in Hungary. Eszter Hajdu's crew was the only crew documenting every day of this historical and extraordinary trial. The verdict of the trial was on the 6th of August 2013, premier of the film was on the 24th of November in IDFA, Amsterdam. The film was nominated for first appearance award. Judgment in Hungary is an independent film from Hungary.
About the Production
Miradouro Media LDA is a Lisbon/Portugal based company. It was established by Eszter Hajdu and Sandor Mester. The main profile of the organisation is producing film and classical music events and tours, distributing cultural projects.
Company/Key members of team
Sándor Mester, documentary film and classical music producer was born in Budapest , and graduated as a classical guitarist. He produced several high-quality classical music projects focusing on Roma people, Roma children and people in small villages with bad social backgrounds. He has been doing special educational programs in Hungary for Roma students as well as training young classical musicians and organized lots of tours in Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. He has been working together with Eszter Hajdu as a producer from 2007. He is responsible for financing, administration and production management. Editing consultant: Menno Boerema- Ducth acclaimed editor Matthijs Wouter-consultant, Sandi Dubowski-consultant
