Skip to main content
Democracy Noir film image; people in suits clustered together

Democracy Noir

Insights

This event has passed

Canadian Premiere

Since 2010, Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party has been in power in Hungary, dismantling democracy and implanting far-right ideologies into the country’s political and social structures. From blatant cronyism and media censorship to restricting the rights of women, immigrants, and LGBTQ communities, Orbán’s government is chipping away at Hungary’s social fabric, ushering in an atmosphere of hate and religious nationalism. Democracy Noir highlights three women working tirelessly to fight for their country’s soul in the face of personal, public, and institutional pressures: Timea, a politician; Babette, a journalist; and Nico, a nurse.

Director Connie Field (The Whistleblower of My Lai) chronicles each woman’s life and work and tracks years of activism and protests as they bravely push back against Orbaìn’s corruption, media manipulation, and hate-mongering rhetoric. More than just a chilling exposé of far-right nationalism in the heart of Europe, Democracy Noir lights a beacon of hope, inspiring solidarity in its portraits of joyful, relentless resistance.

 

Sept 30 & Oct 1: Q&A with director Connie Field

 

Media Partner

Director
Featuring

Nikoletta Antal, Babett Oroszi, Timea Szabo, Maria Antalne Deak

Credits
Country of Origin

USA/Denmark

Year

2024

Language

In Hungarian and English with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
18+
90 min
Documentary Human Rights & Social Justice Q&As at VIFF Women Directors
Clarity Films, Real Lava

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Geralyn Dreyfous, Adam Lewis, Melony Lewis, Romain Bessi, Philippe Levasseur

Producer

Sigrid Dyekjær, Connie Field

Cinematography

Connie Field, Gergo Somogyvari

Editor

Gregory Scharpen, Jakob Juul Toldam

Original Music

Jonas Struck

Connie Field; Democracy Noir director

Connie Field

Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning director Connie Field has made several high-profile documentaries that have been shown all over the world and broadcast in over 30 countries. She is the recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim grant, as well as numerous awards from the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities (and Arts), and the MacArthur Foundation. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences and the Television Academy.

Filmography: The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (1980); Have You Heard From Johannesburg? (2006); Al Helm: Martin Luther King in Palestine (2014); The Whistleblower of My Lai (2018)

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Chronovisor

Dir. Kevin Walker, Jack Auen
100 min

A device so sensitive it can pick up emanations from history, the Chronovisor caused a ripple in scientific circles in the latter half of the 20th century, although most dismissed it as a hoax. But why would anyone want to suppress a hoax?

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Filipiñana

Dir. Rafael Manuel
100 min

A luxury golf course in the Philippines is the microcosm for Rafel Manuel's vastly assured feature debut, a striking composed comedy which mixes languid surrealism with pointed political satire.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

American Doctor

Dir. Poh Si Teng
93 min

One of the most powerful documentaries of the year, this puts us smack in the open wound that is Gaza, filtered through the eyes of three American surgeons (of Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds) compelled to do their utmost to alleviate harm.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

How to Divorce During the War

Dir. Andrius Blazevicius
108 min

Screenwriter Vytus is left reeling when on successive days his wife demands a divorce and Russia invades Ukraine. Blazevicius' masterful feature emerges as an engrossing satire about virtue signaling, nationalism, good intentions, and survival modes.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Kindergarten

Dir. Jean-François Caissy
84 min

In this charming Quebecois documentary, we are invited to look closely at the interactions of children between the ages of 1 and 5, a period in which they are just beginning to learn about social interactions. And yet how much they resemble ourselves!

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

A Sad and Beautiful World

Dir. Cyril Aris
110 min

This Lebanese love story chronicles the romance between a level-headed businesswoman and a romantic restauranteur across several decades in wartorn Beirut. It's funny, charming, melancholy and you'll feel it all.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre