The Free University
Jonathan Hunter / Hungary / 2019 / 54 min
Imagine waking up as an “enemy of the people.” This was the reality waiting for students and staff of Central European University (CEU) as a coordinated legal and media apparatus began to demonise and eventually criminalise the Hungarian-American institution. The film follows students of CEU as they struggle against their exile by an increasingly authoritarian government. We follow their stories in a backsliding democracy and the consequences of democratic “red lines” being crossed with impunity.
About the film
Imagine waking up as an “enemy of the people.” This was the reality waiting for students and staff of Central European University (CEU) as a coordinated legal and media apparatus began to demonise and eventually criminalise the Hungarian-American institution. The film follows students of CEU as they struggle against their exile by an increasingly authoritarian government. We follow their stories in a backsliding democracy and the consequences of democratic “red lines” being crossed with impunity.
ProducerMackenzie Nelson
EditorJonathan Hunter, Lucie Janotová, Ádám Hushegyi
SoundJonathan Hunter
CinematographyJonathan Hunter, Lucie Janotová