Cinege International University Film Festival

The University of Theatre and Film Arts (SZFE) is organizing the CINEGE International University Film Festival for the first time this year between 13 and 15 November in Uránia National Film Theater. The festival's mission is to bring young filmmakers closer together and create an inspiring international community for dialogue, learning, and shared thinking.

The language of the programme is English. Participation is free, but registration is required. Seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

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About Cinege Festival

In keeping with the motto of CINEGE or Cinema New Generation, we will be screening films made by university students for three days.

Universities from four countries: Slovakia (Academy of Performing Arts, VŠMU), Italy (Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, CSC), Romania (National University of Theatre and Film “I.L. Caragiale”, UNATC) and the organizer, Hungary (University of Theatre and Film Arts, SZFE) will participate in the film festival with six films each. In addition to the screenings, workshops, roundtable discussions and professional lectures await those interested.

Details of the festival and the daily schedule can be found below.

Daily schedule of the festival

Programmes Programmes 3

Day 0 – Thursday, 13th of November 2025 (Private Event)

Uránia National Film Theatre (21 Rákóczi út 21, Budapest 1088)

18:30–19:00  Arrival, registration

19:00–19:15 Opening ceremony (Uránia Café)

19:15–19:45 Film screening: Lumière! – The Adventure Continues, narrated by György Ráduly (NFI Archívum) (Fábri Hall) 

19:45–20:10 Lecture: The Birth of Sound Film (Hevesi Hall)

A lecture by second-year acting students of the University of Theatre and Film Arts (SZFE).

20:15–22:00 Reception (Uránia Café)

Exhibiton: Photo exhibition by students of the University of Theatre and Film Arts (SZFE).

Day 1 – Friday, 14th of November 2025

Uránia National Film Theatre (21 Rákóczi út, Budapest 1088)

Zsigmond Vilmos Institute of Cinematic Arts (48 Mészáros utca, Budapest 1016)

09:00–10:00 Roundtable discussion – Introduction of participating universities. (Uránia Main Hall)

10:00–11:30 Film screenings – Block 1 (Uránia Main Hall) 51’04”

Maria Mitulescu: Dance, Queen (Romania) 19’28”

Ruxandra Socor: Gogotte (Romania) 9’20”

Daniela Sláviková: Nights and Days (Slovakia) 6’40”

Nicola Bartoleschi – Nicoletta Busto – Emanuele Ricciardi: Vista Mare (Italy) 4’44”

2nd Unit class: Exit (Hungary)10’52”

Discussion with the filmmakers after the screening.

12:00–15:00 Visit to SZFE (Zsigmond Vilmos Institute of Cinematic Arts) by representatives and students of invited universities (Private Event)

12:00–13:30 Professional programme 1.

Masterclass by János Vecsernyés, cinematographer

13:30–14:30 Lunch break

15:00–17:00 Film screenings – Repeat of Block 1 (Fábri Hall)

15:00–17:00 Film screenings – Block 2 (Uránia Main Hall) 69’16”

Mariam Awad: Kamal (Romania) 20’12”

Valeria Gaudieri: No Place Like Home (Italy) 15’08”

Radek Ševčík: Poisoned Well (Slovakia) 14’00”

Lilla Czifrik: Happiness Begins With a Tear (Hungary) 25’13”

Rebeka Vakrčková: Feast (Slovakia) 5’00”

Discussion with the filmmakers after the screening.

17:00–18:00 Professional programme 2.

Masterclass by Máté Haumann, actor (Uránia Main Hall)

18:00–20:00 Film screenings – Repeat of Block 2 (Fábri Hall)

18:00–20:00 Film screenings – Block 3 (Uránia Main Hall) 84’57”

Katarína Gramatová: A Good Mind Grows in Thorny Places (Slovakia) 19’52”

Elisa Fanais – Daniela Zottola: Antonio (Italy) 6’41”

Péter Dóczé: Hybris (Hungary) 19’51”

Naomi Kikuchi: Mondo gatto (Italy) 38’33”

Discussion with the filmmakers after the screening.

The language of the programme is English.

Day 2 – Saturday, 15th of November 2025

Uránia National Film Theatre (21 Rákóczi út, Budapest 1088)

10:00–12:00 Film screenings – Repeat of Block 3 (Fábri Hall)

10:00–12:00 Film screenings – Block 4 (Uránia Main Hall) 79’46”

Andreea Parfenov: Loop (Romania) 17’16”

Paoli De Luca: Star (Italy) 14’30”

Márton Papp: 1 Story with 2 Main Characters (Hungary) 26’00”

Hannah Dale: Till Tomorrow (Slovakia) 16’54”

Carmen Dumitru: Night Terror (Romania) 5’06”

Discussion with the filmmakers after the screening.

10:00–12:00 Special screening – Marta Basso – Tito Puglielli: What’s the Time?/Che ore sono? (Fábri Hall)

12:00–13:00 Lunch break

13:00–15:00 Film screenings – Repeat of Block 4 (Fábri Hall)

13:00–15:00 Film screenings – Block 5 (Uránia Main Hall) 87’58”

Ioana Coca: Reazem, Climbing Shadows (Romania) 18’29”

Vojtech Javurek: Far Between Us (Slovakia) 12’00”

Barbara Somossy: It Will Never End (Hungary) 38’39” 

Endre Dózsa: Dams and People (Hungary) 18’50”

Discussion with the filmmakers after the screening.

15:00–17:00 Film screening – Evening (Uránia Main Hall)

17:00–18:00 Professional programme 3. (Uránia Main Hall)

Masterclass by Lajos Koltai, cinematographer and director – discussion of his film “Evening“

18:00–20:00 Film screenings – Repeat of Block 5 (Fábri Hall)

20:00–01:00 Closing Event (Uránia Café)

The language of the programme is English.

Movies of the University of Theater and Film Arts

Students from the University of Theater and Film Arts will be participating in the festival with the following movies:

Happiness Begins With a Tear – director: Lilla Czifrik

1 Story with 2 Main Characters – director: Márton Papp

It Will Never End – director: Barbara Somossy

Hybris – director: Péter Dóczé

Exit – director: 2nd Unit director class

Dams and People– director: Endre Dózsa

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Italian movies

Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia

Elisa Fanais – Daniela Zottola: Antonio
Marta Basso – Tito Puglielli: What's the Time?
Naomi Kikuchi: Cat World
Valeria Gaudieri: No Place Like Home
Paoli De Luca: Star
Nicola Bartoleschi – Nicoletta Busto – Emanuele Ricciardi: Sea View

Romanian movies

National University of Theatre and Film „I.L. Caragiale”

Socor Ruxandra-Maria: Gogotte
Mariam Awad: Kamal
Andreea Parfenov: Loop
Carmen-Maria Dumitru: Night Terror
Ioana Coca: Reazem, Climbing Shadows
Maria Mitulescu: Dance, Queen

Slovakian movies

The Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava

Vojtěch Javůrek: Far Between Us
Katarína Gramatová: A Good Mind Grows in Thorny Places
Rebeka Vakrčková: Feast
Daniela Sláviková: Nights and Days
Radek Ševčík: Poisoned Well
Hannah Dale: Till Tomorrow

Hungarian movies

University of Theatre and Film Arts

Lilla Czifrik: Happiness Begins With a Tear
Márton Papp: 1 Story with 2 Main Characters
Barbara Somossy: It Will Never End
Péter Dóczé: Hybris
2nd Unit director class: Exit
Endre Dózsa: Dams and People

Masterclasses

Masterclass of Máté Haumann

Meet Máté Haumann at the CINEGE International University Film Festival! Máté Haumann will hold a masterclass of international filmmaking on Friday, 14th of November. Join us at 5 pm at Uránia National Film Theater.

Participation is free, but registration is required.

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Masterclass of Lajos Koltai

Meet Lajos Koltai at the CINEGE International University Film Festival! We will screen Lajos Koltai's film Este/Evening, followed by a discussion with the director on Saturday, 15th of November. Join us at 5 pm at Uránia National Film Theater.

Participation is free, but registration is required.

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Italian movies

Elisa Fanais – Daniela Zottola: Antonio

In a southern Italian village, the ‘Wedding of the Trees’, an ancient agrarian rite of pre-
Christian origin, is being celebrated. Among the crowd is also Antonio, a child who, playing
with ants, is involved in the ceremony in his own way.

Marta Basso – Tito Puglielli: What's the Time?

Three lives intertwine in a psychiatric community in Palermo. Giuseppe doesn’t want to get old, he spends his days fully immersed into rock music. In spring his given time in the community will run out. Ursula has found love, but between illness and medications it is not easy for her to look after another person. Bianca is a communist, she longs for the outside world and feels caged, far from home and her children. In the static time of the community, everyone is waiting for something to happen to survive.

Naomi Kikuchi: Cat World

Looking at my cat I wonder if he preferred to live in nature. The moment he runs away from home, a thousands dangers for a cat on the street materialize in my mind. The search for my cat leads me to meet many people who take care of stray cats and to discover places that celebrate animals, from cat cafés to pet cemetery. At the end of the search, without finding my cat, I realize that the questions I ask myself about the bond between humans and animals have no definite answers and are full of contradictions.

Valeria Gaudieri: No Place Like Home

In a dystopian future, young astronaut Abrisk ventures to an uninhabited and inhospitable planet Earth in search of a chance at life. In her wanderings, the explorer makes an extraordinary encounter: she finds her peer Margot and decides to follow her. But Margot has a secret that will confront Abrisk with an unexpected choice.

Paoli De Luca: Star

Chiara dreams of becoming a movie star. That morning, she faces an important part‐on‐part audition. After several failed directions and interpretations in front of the camera, the director asks her to play the lines of the script once again, but this time looking at him.

Nicola Bartoleschi – Nicoletta Busto – Emanuele Ricciardi: Sea View

A charming Italian village, nestled between sea and mountains, is drowned every summer by hordes of tourists hungry for “authenticity”. Between selfies, spaghetti binges, yachts, fires and postcard-perfect patriotism, the picturesque village is transformed into a grotesque Mediterranean theme park. But something seems about to give way.

Romanian movies

Socor Ruxandra-Maria: Gogotte

A sculptor defies nature to perfect his works.

Mariam Awad: Kamal

Kamal, a 33-year-old Syrian migrant who wants to reach his family in Germany, is transiting through Romania for two days. He is hiding in an abandoned house, waiting for the opportune moment when a contact can facilitate his clandestine border crossing.

When the moment arrives, he faces a situation that could jeopardize his freedom and the possibility of seeing his family again. Kamal is forced to choose between arriving on time at the location where a car is supposed to pick him up to take him across the border, or saving a girl from rape whose cries he hears on his path to freedom.

Andreea Parfenov: Loop

During one night, Laura tries to escape her toxic relationship for the umpteenth time, alongside her pet fish. Unfortunately, this time no one takes her seriously.

Carmen-Maria Dumitru: Night Terror

A man is trapped in an abandoned hotel by the sea, constantly threatened by apparitions and strange phenomena, and finally manages to defeat the monstrous spirit that follows him.

Ioana Coca: Reazem, Climbing Shadows

Reazem, Climbing Shadows follows Răzvan Nedu, a young Romanian who refuses to be defined by his disability. As both coach and elite athlete, he balances earning a living while competing at the prestigious Salt Lake City World Cup.

The film captures his extraordinary independence and determination as he pushes beyond physical limitations and societal obstacles, building toward the dramatic question: Can this remarkable young man claim climbing's ultimate prize, a gold medal on the world stage?

Maria Mitulescu: Dance, Queen

While out with her friends to get stoned and have some regular fun, Sasha starts to regret drinking from random unknown cups... was that just regular Cuba Libre in that glass by the toilet? Why is she here?

Slovakian movies

Vojtěch Javůrek: Far Between Us

Alone, surrounded by deep forests, little boy Vašek sees something strange in the sky. His biological mother Iveta's unexpected request catches his adoptive parents Jan and Pavel by surprise. Can the adults understand the young child's emotions, or will Vašek have to face his fears all by himself?

The dense film tells a story in an almost apocalyptic tone about the destructive power of fear and the painful path to mutual closeness.

Katarína Gramatová: A Good Mind Grows in Thorny Places

”Dom Strom" is a short documentary that follows 12-year-old Adam, a local self-proclaimed lumberjack in the so-called “hungry valley” in the middle of Slovakia. Despite the toughness of his life, Adam spins a simple and poetic tale. He's a kid with grown-up responsibilities, standing out as the hardest worker among his friends, even though he's Roma, a fact that doesn't bother him or his family but that is often brought up of by their peers. His brother's part of an extremist political party with conservative views on minorities, but Adam looks up to him for his tree-sawing skills.

Adam tries to show only the good side of himself in the village, although his friends see him differently. Patiently, he waits for the right time to reveal who he truly is, defying expectations along the way.

Rebeka Vakrčková: Feast

One night, Lea and her goslings are awakened by howling wolves approaching. She jumps out of bed and blows the forest horn to warn the village in the valley. Villagers try to defend themselves, but fear wins. They flee, leaving frightened animals behind. Hungry wolves devour them all. The sight of torn bodies terrifies one gosling, whose frantic gagging draws the wolves’ attention. Heart pounding, Lea realizes she must protect them. She steps forward, standing between her hut and the approaching wolves, making their way through snow, ready to face them.

Daniela Sláviková: Nights and Days

"Nights and Days" is a brief exploration of the joys and struggles of girlhood, focusing on the lives of two sisters who, through intimate dialogue in a hotel room, reveal the secrets of their relationship, their first menstruation, their first sexual experiences, and a fateful sentence that has forever remained etched in the memory of the younger sister.

Radek Ševčík: Poisoned Well

October 12, 2022 – terrorist attack in Bratislava – death of innocent LGBTI+ people – no political response. Film-requiem discusses the deteriorating state of society after the attack, as well as the intimate feelings of LGBTI+ people, including the author himself. Suppressed emotions cannot be filtered even on a self-defense course, where the participants do not belong, where they are forced to be because of their fear.

A rotten well poisons society's opinions, which do not improve even after the attack. Do people really need to live in fear?

Hannah Dale: Till Tomorrow

One day in the life of two brothers reveals the harsh contrast between the cold four walls of their home and fleeting moments of peace. On their way from school to home, they have no idea what challenges await them behind closed doors. Amid constant conflict and a broken family, they discover that despite their differences, their bond is their greatest certainty.

Hungarian movies

Lilla Czifrik: Happiness Begins With a Tear

I never thought I’d end up working with film. I got my bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, where I focused on aesthetics and film studies. That’s when I first came across documentaries that weren’t about wildlife. I wanted to try being behind the camera myself — and it looks like I’ve stayed there ever since. I hope the films I make will mean as much to others as they do to me.

Márton Papp: 1 Story with 2 Main Characters

This is a story with two main characters. They don’t know each other yet — though it would be convenient if they did. Who knows, they might even fall in love. People do that sometimes.

Barbara Somossy: It Will Never End

Set in 1868 amid the fading world of the Hungarian outlaws, Sose lesz vége (It Will Never End) is a poetic love drama inspired by Sándor Petőfi’s ballad “The Innkeeper’s Wife Loved the Outlaw.” Directed by Barbara Somossy as part of the Petőfi 200 Memorial Year, the film tells the story of forbidden love, loyalty, and the longing for freedom in a harsh yet lyrical landscape. Shot in Apajpuszta — a site deeply connected to Petőfi’s life and to Hungarian film history — the film blends authentic folk music, dance, and cinematic tradition to evoke a timeless portrait of passion and fate.

Péter Dóczé: Hybris

At a war memorial in Sarajevo, Zoé’s careless behavior sets off an unexpected chain of events. In the cable car cabin heading down from the mountain, she finds herself alongside two local men. One of them, Goran, is a war survivor - and the past, thought to be buried, suddenly takes shape to teach her a cruel lesson about the inhumanity of war.

2nd Unit director class: Exit

Peter is late for his son's birthday party. He is carrying balloons and a cake. As he steps out into the parking garage, a seemingly insignificant moment slowly turns into a nightmare: the outside world becomes violent, and everyday courtesies are gradually replaced by anger.

Endre Dózsa: Dams and People

In September 2024, a huge flood poured down the river Danube. The people of Kismaros have to work together to stay dry and get through the danger.

Scene

Photo exhibition of SZFE cinematography’s students and lectures

Curator: Dr. Gabriella Uhl, art historian

What’s going on in the mind of a filmmaker? This question is explored in an exhibition featuring selected photographs from the works of the students and lecturers of the University of Theatre and Film Arts, Zsigmond Vilmos Institute of Cinematic Arts. Hey, are you looking for a place to do a shoot, taking notes about what you see, and waiting for the right lighting? You can see some great examples of this in the photographs.