Books Are Our Weapons

Máté Konkol / Hungary / 2026 / International Premiere / 73 min.

synopsis

This Hungarian staged documentary captures the day-to-day life of a community of young, progressive-minded intellectuals. We come to understand the values the group upholds and reflects upon together, but also a certain self-absorption and lack of empathy that emerge here despite their theoretical ideals. We are guided by the characters of Noémie and Petri, who, albeit fictional, have been brought to life through improvisation. The scenes of their gatherings are shot in long takes, in which the camera moves in circles around the characters, thereby emphasising their sense of community and egalitarianism.

biography

Máté Konkol (1993) has worked as an assistant to Hungarian directors Szabolcs Hajdu and László Nemes. He is affiliated with the left-wing Budapest-based university institution, the College for Advanced Studies in Social Theory. In his short films, he explores issues of gender, class and political identity.