From April 4, the documentary by András Földes and Anna Kis is available to stream on Verziótéka, the streaming platform of Verzió Film Festival. The film portrays the struggle of journalists at newsportal Index.hu to defend their community and press freedom.
Titled 80 Angry Journalists, the film captures a pivotal chapter in Hungary's fight for democracy through the story of the Index newsroom's internal uprising. It offers a close-up view of what happens when leadership perceived as aligned with the government appears within independent communities and organizations.
The collective resignation of Index journalists in 2020 became one of the country's biggest media scandals, drawing significant international attention. As Věra Jourová-then Vice-President of the European Commission-notes in the film, the actions of the departing journalists contributed to the development of a European-level media regulation, the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), designed to protect press freedom, which came into force in 2025.
“I felt that I had found myself at the center of a story that was significant not only for journalism but also for contemporary Hungarian history, and that it needed to be documented,” said András Földes about his motivation to begin filming. “For years, the Hungarian media had been under pressure-the government had taken over or dismantled outlets such as Népszabadság, Origo, the public media, and Heti Válasz. Yet we only knew these stories from a distance. It seemed crucial, for future understanding of our time, to document how a community functions under pressure, and what challenges those face who try to preserve the fundamental values of freedom.”
Produced over five years as a German-Danish-Czech-Norwegian co-production without Hungarian public funding, the film had its international premiere in March 2026 at the prestigious CPH:DOX. It was subsequently screened at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, as well as at the Movies That Matter and One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival. Upcoming screenings are scheduled in Barcelona, Munich, Belgrade, and Sofia.
In recent years, the Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival has collaborated closely with the filmmakers. András Földes served as a festival ambassador in 2022 and has since been a regular participant in professional discussions. Anna Kis has been an editing mentor at the Verzió DocLab documentary development workshop since 2023.
The film is available for rental on Verziótéka, the festival's year-round online streaming platform.
80 ANGRY JOURNALISTS on VERZIÓTÉKA
Rental fee: 980 HUF