About us
Budapest International Documentary Festival is the only international documentary festival in the capital of Hungary that
- is a competition festival for the best documentaries from all over the world, without thematic or any other restrictions;
- hosts the creators of every film and covers all their costs;
- holds a Q&A session after every screening to provide a real one-off experience;
- groups the selected films into thematic sections;
- has an international jury of 5 professionals in every section;
- gives 5-6 awards with prize money along with other rewards and special mentions;
- is also a year-long project with screenings every month.
There lies a film within you too
– is this year’s festival motto.
And why is one of the country's most well-known actors, György Cserhalmi, "saying" this to us, smilingly through the posters? What does an actor even have to do with a documentary film festival?
For 11 years, since we founded BIDF in 2014, we have been trying to explain to the media and those realms of society unfamiliar with creative documentaries that anyone can be the protagonist of a documentary. It’s our stories that inspire documentary filmmakers around the world. And an actor, not in his capacity as an actor, but as a "fallible man" can be the hero of a documentary just like any of us, if the filmmaker wants to immortalise his fate and story.
To reference the 2025 BIDF competition sections:
Our 60 festival films tell us about human destinies, similar to our own, as we are the everyday heroes of our own lives, with our everyday struggles for the realisation of our everyday desires, in our everyday families, in the captivity of our ever-present everyday fears.
There would be no BIDF without social alliance:
Thanks to donations from thousands of sources throughout Hungarian society, in January 2025 we will organise the 11th BIDF, the country's most popular international film festival, in 11 cities outside of Budapest: Békéscsaba, Debrecen, Eger, Győr, Jászberény, Kecskemét, Pécs, Szeged, Székesfehérvár, Szombathely and Veszprém.
In addition to donors, numerous cultural institutions and embassies, 70 Goodwill Ambassadors of the films, 30 High School Student Goodwill Ambassadors, the 28-member International Jury, dozens of volunteers, moderators and supporters make it possible for true stories told with artistic power to reach the public in Hungary, which the invited creators also personally attend.
This year's lifetime achievement award winner:
Hungary - when creators are left to create - pioneers the documentary film genre that our festival represents. Sándor Buglya, our festival's Lifetime Achievement Award winner, was well ahead of his time when he made his films, using the method of "observation" of his characters meticulously, humbly and diligently, which is the most advanced artform in the world.
The independent BIDF perseveres, survives everything and raises its standards despite all difficulties - it does this also because its work is loved and respected by an ever-growing audience. This brings a smile to all our faces.
Our team looks forward to welcoming our dear audience once again in 2025!
Thank you! With much love,
Ági Sós and the BIDF Team
Our Team
Ági Sós Festival Director
András Petróczy Creative Director
Katalin Joó Event, Festival Coordinator
Piroska Tóth Guest and Senior Jury Coordinator
Márta Péter-Szabó Head of Creative Works, Graphic Designer
Emőke Déry Chief Financial Officer
Máté Balogh Technical Manager
Rita Szabó Transport Coordinator
Lili Tamara Ott Jury Coordinator
Dávid Balla Head of Cultural and Embassy Affairs
Anita Molnár Head of Educational Programs
Tünde Mangoldné Szentgyörgyi Audience-building
Katalin Berecz Audience-building
Judit Vértes Audience-building
Veronika Futár Audience-building
Ágnes Molnár Coordinator of Press
Szabolcs Kordos Coordinator of Press
Erika Szabó Back Office Manager
Erzsébet Futár Database Administrator
András Petróczy Social Media Manager
Ágnes Pataki Coordinator of the Nationwide Festival
Katalin Joó Coordinator of Moderators
Eszter Sós Coordinator of Volunteers
Levente Császár Coordinator of Volunteers
Dániel Holländer Coordinator of Film Subtitles
András Petróczy Creators of DOKK Podcast
István Orbán Translator
András Petróczy Festival Spot, Cinematographer
Ági Sós Festival Spot
Milán Hodován Composer
Motion Graphic Design
Mónika Strausz Coordinator of Civilian Ambassadors
Ági Sós Year Round Programmes, Screenings
András Petróczy Year Round Programmes, Screenings
Judit Éliás Accountant
Tímea Füzessy Maglics Attorney-at-law
Judit Bozóki Transport
Ági Pataki Audience-building, Szombathely
Sándor Csomán Audience-building, Szeged
Virág Horváth Audience-building, Veszprém
Éva Mezeiné Bányi Audience-building, Eger
Ákos Pusztai Audience-building, Debrecen
Zsolt Keszthelyi Audience-building, Jászberény
Zoltán Góg Audience-building, Jászberény
Renáta Simon Audience-building, Jászberény
Zoltán Major Audience-building, Pécs
Gergely Szabó Audience-building, Győr
Ila Szabó Audience-building, Békéscsaba
Rita Gerstmár Audience-building, Kecskemét
Mihály Domján Audience-building, Kecskemét
Lívia Lampert BIDF Childcare
Flóra Németh Festiva Media Crew
Örs Németi Editor
Zsolt Szent Péter Editor
Zsombor Csipak Editor
Ági Sós Festival Co-Founder
Rita Balogh Festival Co-Founder
