After Trafó and Tűzraktér, Gödör must also go

On January 17, 2012 the management of the popular club in the heart of Budapest, Gödör, was informed about the rejection of their previously submitted plans and proposals, and they were also told to leave the territory of the Cultural Center and Park of Erzsébet Square on 1st of February 2012. From February on, the Cultural Center will be managed together with the neighboring Design Terminál as a common economic asset, and the Terminál will be responsible for the daily programs of both places. After Trafó and Tűzraktér, another successful art center must leave its previous place due to political decisions.

The Cultural Center and Park of Erzsébet Square has been hosting Gödör Club since 2002. The construction of Erzsébet Square started according to the plans submitted by the club-owner architecture firm, UNI-CO in 2000, but even until now, only the first phase of construction has been finished, the second phase is planned to be finished by 2013. The management of Gödör Club kept on submitting complex tenders for investments and operations, and they stated to the Trustee of the Hungarian Ministry of Administration and Justice that if they were forced to leave, they would need at least three months for the relocation. If so, they asked to be allowed to operate at least until 31st March, and to organize a farewell festival together with the new operators.

Last December the Hungarian government put out a new campaign video about youth and Hungary with the title Minden ideköt (We belong here). I had rarely seen so many dislikes on Youtube before! The video was made in accordance with the latest trends but in the end it didn’t work out as wanted. It is no coincidence.

The Hungarian Ministry of National Rescources and the Ministry of Justice and Administration ordered this video as a trailer for their project 'For the Future of the New Generation', having just started in January of 2012. It is okay that they wanted to show the government’s Christian values to the youth in a more simple way, but it doesn’t show the real problems of this generation. The purpose of the video is to keep the youth in Hungary. But the young Hungarians are not staying here or moving abroad for partying or finding a partner. They can have these almost everywhere. They simply want to make a good living, which is sometimes very hard in Hungary for a young entrant. And the short movie doesn’t speak about how the shown young couple makes money or has success in their studies in a way that makes them stay in Hungary.

The eighth International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival called Verzió came to the end. As usual, it has attracted a lot of national as well as foreign visitors. The event was hosted in Budapest by Toldi cinema, the Cirko-Gejzír, the Odeon-Lyod and the OSA Archives. Those who were able to adjust within the labyrinth of the program guide overcrowded with titles and the screening timetable in four different halls could participate in the public vote after watching the movies. Accordingly, the audience award went to the documentary film Autumn Gold directed by Jan Tenhaven, a story about five elderly but still competitive athletes. The special award for films received the most votes was given to Wonderful Gladiators by Zsofia Kabarcz, the film about the unique Hungarian Balthazar theatre company employing mentally injured people as actors. .

There was a wide variety of films on offer; we could see creative and innovative documentaries from all over the world. We could get to know the 26-year-old Jesus telling us about his past trauma about being molested by a catholic priest at his age of 11 and what psychological consequences he had to face after that (Agnus Dei: Lamb of God). We could also follow up the mormon youth who were raised within the strict rules and then escaped from their homes (Sons of Perdition) and we could also experience really shocking, real-life scenes like the trial of Adolf Eichmann who was one of the top leaders of the German Nazi Party (The Specialist).

Interview with Hobo on the last shooting day of Bald Dog Rock II

Thirty years after making the cult film 'Kopaszkutya' (Bald Dog Rock, 1981), director György Szomjas doesn’t want to make a second part of the story, but a retrospection of the past decades in the language of film, which will be a mixture of documentary, musical and fiction.

'30 years, the blues and us'

'Bald Dog Rock' has been seen by one million people in the Hungarian cinemas while the two farewell concerts of the Hobo Blues Band (HBB) had 22 thousand visitors last spring. This predicts massive public interest in the movie 'Bald Dog Rock II'.

'It would have been interesting to make only a fiction, but the style we are standing for is neither trendy nor mainstream so nobody finds it attractive and we have no resources. The main characters are looking back at the movie while they talk about the last thirty years: what they’ve been doing in this time. This is what the director is interested in, but we don’t know the final form, because we are only through 5 shooting days. I am optimistic about it, it will be full of honest and deep things, I think', says Hobo.

The students made some provocative posters: this one calls for “Demonstration!” obviously against the state secretary for education (pictured) who wants to bury higher education (Source: HÖOK)