Regime Change in Hungary, 1988–1990: Fekete Doboz Films at Cirko
Fekete Doboz was the first independent video collective in communist Hungary, serving both as a chronicler and an active shaper of the regime change. It was founded in 1987 by Judit Ember, Márta Elbert, István Jávor, András Lányi, and Gábor Vági. Their documentaries were distributed on VHS as a samizdat video journal. Their aim was to document opposition figures excluded from the state-socialist media, as well as demonstrations and political events.
With nearly four thousand hours of footage, their video archive is today the largest private Hungarian archive of the regime change period. After 1990, their focus shifted to groups marginalized by society. In 1993, their work was recognized with a Pulitzer Memorial Prize.
Six evenings, six films, and ten invited guests await audiences at the Cirko-Gejzír. Opening remarks will be delivered by Zsuzsa Zádori, archivist and curator of the Fekete Doboz Collection at the Blinken OSA Archivum.
The series is presented in collaboration with Fekete Doboz, Cirko-Gejzír, Blinken OSA Archivum, and 444.hu.
The program series is in Hungarian.
1. February 23, 2026, 6:00 p.m. Civil Techniques – Fidesz
documentary film, 1988, 71 minutes
For six months, the cameras of Fekete Doboz followed a group of young men—including Viktor Orbán, Gábor Fodor, László Kövér, József Szájer, Péter Molnár, and Tamás Deutsch—documenting the founding of the Alliance of Young Democrats (Fidesz). The film offers a rare, close-up view of spontaneous discussions and debates among liberal law students and the process of shaping political strategy.
Directed by: Judit Ember, Márta Elbert, Gábor Halász, István Jávor, Csaba Káel, András Lányi, László Pesty
Guest: Csaba Iván, founding member of Fidesz, and Dániel Ács (444.hu)
2. March 2, 2026, 6:00 p.m. Motion-Picture History, Parts I–II
documentary film, 2006, 120 minutes
Constructed from television broadcasts and archival footage from Fekete Doboz, this film presents the history of the Hungarian and East European regime changes through interpretive narration accompanying the images.
Guests: Márta Elbert, director, and Dr. Béla Révész, historian, editors of the film
3. March 9, 2026, 6:00 p.m. The 169th Hour
documentary film, 1994, 54 minutes
In 1994, dozens of left-wing and liberal journalists critical of the right-wing Antall government were dismissed from Magyar Rádió. The film documents the process of politically motivated purges carried out within public broadcasting, the dismissals themselves, and the final, unaired episode of the program 168 Óra.
Guest: Júlia Váradi, editor and reporter
4. March 16, 2026, 6:00 p.m. Streetwise
documentary film, 2002, 93 minutes
For a year and a half, the filmmakers followed the lives of one hundred unhoused adults on the streets of Budapest. A close-up portrait and stark diagnosis of the hopeless situation faced by those pushed to the margins of society.
Guests: Márta Elbert, film director, and Bálint Misetics, social policy expert
5. March 23, 2026, 6:00 p.m. Films by the Students of the Fekete Doboz Roma Media School
documentary selection, 70 minutes
Like Bees (2004), dir. Katalin Fógel, 30 min.
Fradi Is Better (2002), dir. Norbert Szirmai and János Révész, 12 min.
Feathered (2004), dir. Juci Csík, 10 min.
Kaffka (2002), dir. Tünde Baranyi, 18 min.
Guests: Juci Csík, film director, and Anna Szilágyi, linguist
6. March 30, 2026, 6:00 p.m. Paid Advertisement
documentary film, 1995, 58 minutes
The film documents Hungary’s 1994 parliamentary elections, including campaign rallies, speeches by politicians, posters and their public reception, as well as the events of the first round of voting on May 8, 1994.
Guest: Endre Hann, Medián Közvélemény- és Piackutató Intézet
Venue: Cirko-Gejzír Cinema, 15–17 Balassi Bálint Street, 1055 Budapest Hungarian-language event.
Tickets: 2,500 HUF Program curator: Márta Elbert Contributors: Nóra Bertalan, Judit Hegedüs, Katalin Székely, and Zsuzsa Zádori (Blinken OSA Archivum)
The Fekete Doboz Collection is administered by the Blinken OSA Archivum. The full list of documentary films is available here.
