BIDF documentaries to be screened in Debrecen

BIDF is the only international competition festival in Hungary for the world’s most prestigious documentaries, without thematic or other restrictions. The slogan of this year’s festival is “BRAVE FILMS.” BIDF will feature brave women, children, resisters, dreamers and pathfinders, and it will showcase the world’s latest internationally successful feature-length creative documentaries.

In Debrecen, the films will be screened at Cinema City. Among the films will be Vietnamese, Hong Kong, Croatian, British, Danish-French-Swedish-Norwegian and Icelandic-Finnish productions including:

Children of the Mist: Director Diem Ha Le tells a story about a 12-year-old girl who lives in the mountains of northern Vietnam. Di belongs to the Hmong, where girls get married at a very young age, so it is no surprise that the women and girls talk unashamedly about sex and marriage. Di’s 34-year-old mother is now a grandmother, completely illiterate and barely speaks Vietnamese. Di goes to school, where she learns a different set of values but disappears on Lunar New Year’s Day, the night of the “traditional” kidnapping. 

Flee: Amin spent part of his childhood in Afghanistan in the 1980s; he listened to Western music, and his sisters and his mother didn’t even have to wear headscarves. When the Soviets withdraw, he and his brothers have to flee the civil war. The family finds refuge in Moscow, from where they try to reach Sweden, but the smugglers demand a high price for their freedom. Amin decides to go it alone but he flies to Denmark instead of Sweden where he has to lie to get refugee status. 

Inside the Red Brick Wall: In 2019, a huge wave of protests swept Hong Kong over proposed amendments to the Extradition Act. Students at the University of Technology are fighting for freedom and democracy. The police’s method of negotiation is aggressive and unpredictable. As insecurity grows, fear and exhaustion prevail among the young people. 

The Storkman: Mr. Vokič has been living with Malena, a stork with broken wings, for 26 years. They travel the countryside together by car; spend long, dark winter afternoons in their warm room; and make a nest together on the roof of the garage. Every year in the spring, her faithful mate, Klepetan, returns to her from Africa, but for how long can this relationship last?

Cow: The cow Luma has only just given birth, with the amniotic sac still dangling between her legs, but she has to go back into the milking machine again. Meanwhile, out of Luma’s sight, the farmer feeds her young calf from a bottle. Our whole world is reflected in her. 

Raise the Bar: In 2015, an unconventional Icelandic coach, Brynjar Karl Sigurðsson, decides to start a basketball team and teaches his youngest children to play basketball in his own controversial way. 

This year, for the first time, the films will be shown in 10 other cities across the country as well.

See the full list of films to be screened and the program here.