DEMOCRACY NOIR at the Elmwood Theater

DEMOCRACY NOIR at the Elmwood Theater, Berkeley

As Viktor Orban dismantles Hungary’s democratic institutions, three women – a journalist, a politician, and a nurse – work tirelessly to fight for their country’s soul.   A rousing portrait of resistance and a chilling mirror image of the current crisis of democracy in the US. Revered by Donald Trump and the Heritage Foundation, Orban’s influence helped shape Project 2025 and the current policies of the Republic Party. The film is a timely lesson on how the rise of autocratic politicians around the world, and an increasingly emboldened far right politic, pose dire consequences for us all.

Fact award Nominee CPH:DOX, Tim Hetherington Award Nominee, Sheffield,

Best Documentary and Impact Award, Boston Film Festival;

Jury Award, One World Festival Prague; Best Documentary, Sebastopol Film Festival;

Best Human Rights Film, Chicago International women’s Film Festival

Democracy Noir provides a sweeping account of one of the most consequential regimes of this century. It paints an incisive portrait of how Viktor Orban used a free and democratic election to install authoritarian rule in Hungary, enjoying widespread approval from Hungarian nationalists as well as global conservative neighbors inclined to his illiberal views. He changed the constitution, took over the courts, dismantled the rule of law, and took over the media. Revered by Donald Trump and the Heritage Foundation, Orban’s influence helped shape Project 2025 and the current policies of the Republic Party. The film is a timely lesson on how the rise of autocratic politicians around the world, and an increasingly emboldened far right politic, pose dire consequences for us all.

Democracy Noir tells this story through the activism of its three subjects, – opposition politician Timea Szabo, journalist Babett Oroszi, and nurse Nikoletta (Niko) Antal� detailing how unchecked power can quickly remove rights that were once taken for granted. It shows the women fighting their country’s unravelling social and cultural landscape.

Democracy Noir’s inspiring protagonists offer lessons in resistance against long odds that can serve to arouse increased resistance by Americans to the dismantling of democracy and the rule of law in our own country. By 2019, the Hungarian opposition to Orban, that began nearly a decade earlier with street protests, unified and won the mayoral race in Budapest where 20% of the nation’s citizens reside. It was this Mayor who led the courageous Pride march in defiance of Orban’s ban in 2025.   In 2020, a new party, Tisza, was formed and gained prominence when a former member of Orban’s party, Peter Madgar, became its leader in 2024.  Tisza is an actual threat to Orban’s power, making the elections of 2026 important dates for Hungary and the United States.