Hungarian filmmakers protest Csaba Kael in Barcelona

At the Choreoscope dance film festival in Barcelona, several Hungarian filmmakers living in Spain confronted Csaba Kael, the former government commissioner for film affairs. The protesters, including Ádám Lendvai, Eszter Nagy, Sára Czira, and Natália Nemes, distributed leaflets in Spanish alleging that while Kael’s film, ‘Magyar menyegző’ (Hungarian Wedding), received over one billion forints in state funding, independent Hungarian filmmakers have been left without support.

During a scheduled Q&A session following the screening, the protesters attempted to question Kael regarding the film’s financing and the current political climate in Hungary. Specifically, Lendvai asked Kael if he intended to return to Hungary following the recent arrests of former ministers Balázs Hankó and Miklós Seszták, suggesting that the Hungarian police might arrest him upon his return.

The festival moderator intervened to prevent these questions, stating that the speakers had not seen the film and that the discussion should remain focused on the work itself. The protesters later attempted to approach Kael on the street after the event, but he did not respond.