TV Free Europe: The Movie – Berlin Premiere


26 January, 2024, 8pm |
Club der polnischen Versager – Ackerstrasse 169, Berlin, Germany |

¤ Film screening and Q&A with the film team
¤ Live cinema “The Belt” by Gergő Pápai
¤ Party

>> Event part of Vorspiel – transmediale/CTM <<

TV FREE EUROPE. THE MOVIE – film by Gergely Pápai and Pneuma Szöv.
(Budapest +Nova Gorica/Leipzig/Szombathely/Taarnby/Oberwart 2023, 63 min, Hungarian,English+German with English subtitles)
Mari Szürke and Marie Grau met at the Pan-European Picnic in 1989. They traveled together to the present day to understand how to live with the freedom that the fall of communism brought us. This film tells the story of a strange journey in which the characters try to understand what it means to be free. Where did the story or history lead that we, who were born around the fall of the actually existing socialist regimes, are not the creators of, but only the winners or victims of? The TV Free Europe film is also the story of the failure of this impossible undertaking.
The characters in the film stumble around in the shadow of COVID-19, the hollowed out fall of the socialist regimes, the Orbán regime, self-realization, and the expectations associated with success. They are looking for the narrow path that leads between a meaningful life, the compromises made or not made for success, the traps of cynicism, and being losers.
This film tries to get to know its characters, capture our time, and some of the fundamental questions of our generation.

Followed by a special presentation TV Free Europe – The Movie co-director Gergő Pápai’s film project The Belt

THE BELT
cinematic journey with live-act
“What I know as the city is only a very, very small part of what Budapest actually occupies. Concrete channels for streams, logistics systems like railways, warehouse bases, high-voltage wires, outdated heating plants, abandoned factories and the heaps of by-products of former industrial production make up most of the city’s territory. The Belt is a slow film in which we leave behind the well-known sights of the city to see the new stadiums, the the old marshalling yards and the gigantic real estate developments. The film provides an opportunity for a slow, drifting journey where we can meditate on the relationship between ourselves, the city, and the natural environment. This movie is a silent film and I play live music, similar to the pianist who would accompany silent films in the past.” (G. Pápai)