#OccupyKossuth

2018 | Single-channel video | 3 minutes

In December 2018, students gathered in front of Hungary’s Parliament to conclude a week-long protest, organized under the hashtag #OccupyKossuth. This final day marked nearly two years of resistance by students and staff of the Central European University (CEU) against restrictive policies targeting academic freedom imposed by the Fidesz government that would ultimately force the university to relocate from Hungary.

The footage documents a single day of protest. What unfolds in Kossuth Square are deliberate acts of symbolic resistance: a football game, dances, and a funeral procession, staged in a space that is known for its tourist attraction, watched over by state honor guards standing sentinel.

Director & Editor: Mayya Kelova
Editing Advisor: Sohail Afiat
Translator: Zsuzsanna Kovacs

Festivals:

• A.C.T. Civic Engagement Exhibition, Tbilisi, Georgia