Hungary

Zsuzsa Debre graduated in 2021 at the University of Theatre and Film Arts as a Documentary Director, in the class of Tamás Almási. She has worked as a reporter for radio, television and newspapers. In 2018 she founded the Ethnic Talents casting agency, which works to promote the visibility of minorities and other groups less represented in media and film, in film and advertising. She currently serves as a communications officer for the Egalipe Network and is the editor of Forbes Events. She has an interactive documentary project in research phase and an educational documentary about the Botanic Garden in Budapest in production phase.

Anna Nemes is a painter. Her first feature documentary, Beauty of the Beast, premiered in June 2022, at Sheffield DocFest. Her second film, Gentle, was in competition at Sundance Film Festival in 2022.

Réka Dubinyák is a scriptwriter from Budapest. After completing a degree in legal studies, she turned her attention to the film industry. She has written scripts for documentary series (Öregharcos, Együtt az Életért Egyesület: Én, te, ők), public service commercials (NANE- Women For Women Together Against Violence Association: Warning sign of domestic violence, 12 weeks) and TV films/series. She has written and directed her first feature-length documentary, and an online series, “Nofilter”. In the past few years she has focused on scriptwriting. She is currently working on several projects and is developing a short film.

Cecilia Belén Sandoval is an Image and Sound Designer from Argentina, who graduated from the University of Buenos Aires. She is currently studying at DocNomads Master’s programme. She works as a director, DoP and camera operator for documentary and experimental film.

Judit Sára Elek started her documentary film directing MA at University of Theatre and Film Arts, Budapest but she graduated at the Academy Of Performing Arts, Slovakia, 2022. She will graduate in filmmaking master’s at Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary. Her first short documentary, Station (2019) won several prizes in Hungary. She works as assistant director in short fiction films, and in documentaries.

Fanni Hatházi is a director and producer. She graduated with an MA in documentary directing from the University of Film and Theatre Arts. In the last ten years she has worked as a field producer and reporter for various TV news and entertainment programs. She’s also researching how the emergence of Netflix and other streaming services has changed the documentary market, as she strongly believes that understanding these new models of distribution is crucial in reaching future audiences.

Born in Belarus, Ruslan Fedotow began his career as a cinematographer. He graduated from the Academy of Arts and moved to Moscow, and finished a degree at the Moscow School of New Cinema in 2015. He worked as a cinematographer for many documentary films that were screened at festivals like the LA Film Festival, Vision du Réel, and Hotdocs. Since then he has experimented with documentary filmmaking. His documentary Where Are We Headed? premiered at IDFA in 2021, and won awards for best first feature and best cinematography. Ruslan is currently a student at DocNomads. Away is his first-year work film.

Alexa Bakony graduated as a director from the University of Theatre and Film Arts, Budapest. Her first feature-length documentary, Colors of Tobi, has been supported by the Sundance Institute and the Hungarian National Film Institute. It has been critically acclaimed and selected to many international festivals, such as DOC NYC, BFI, and Thessaloniki.

László Halász is a photographer and documentary filmmaker based in Hungary. Since 2012, as a member of the Zöld Pók Foundation, he has been involved in several video projects for NGOs. His focus is on groups and individuals on the margins of society. He worked as a cinematographer in László Bihari's film No Country For Poor Men (Nem szegényeknek való vidék), and Sári Haragonics's film, Szia Sári!. He has also made music videos for the music group Várkonyi Csibészek. This Cannot Be Atoned For is his first directorial work.

Kata Oláh is a producer and director. Since shifting her focus to directing a few years earlier, her films have received several national and international awards. Her first feature-length documentary film, The Bar Mitzvah Boys, was nominated to compete in the PRIX EUROPA 2018. In 2019, the Hungarian Film Academy awarded her the Best Editor prize for her TV documentary, Couture Behind the Iron Curtain. Her short documentary, Mignon, received the Best Short Documentary award at the Budapest International Documentary Festival. Her independent production Zuniverzum, a short fiction shot during the pandemic, has been purchased for HBO Go. My Digital Nomad is her latest documentary.

László Szabó, now 23, has wanted to become a filmmaker ever since he was six. He obtained a BA degree at Cinematography and Media Studies in Eger. After having graduated, his dream came true and was admitted as a documentary director student to the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest. His other aspiration is to make films of underprivileged groups of people who cannot make their voices heard (e.g. a mother of three striving to make a living of a 100-euro monthly income). He wishes to portray frugal everyday heroes in his films, through which he hopes to reach out to them.