Istenmezején 1972–73-ban

A Hungarian Village

Forum Special 2026

Istenmezején is a village in Hungary whose name translates as “the field of God”. Shown in rich black and white, the young, 1970s-style women led by Ilonka and Marika must decide between education and working in the fields, getting married young at the village disco or a future in the city, and must stand up to stridently patriarchal structures along the way – as far from an earthly idyll as they are from the kingdom of heaven. After Judit Elek made her international breakthrough with her brilliant feature debut The Lady from Constantinople in the 1968 Semaine de la Critique at Cannes following several short and medium-length films, it was more bitterly ironic coincidence than intentional contrarianism that she was not able to continue with her fiction career – her politically essential film The Trial of Martinovics and the Hungarian Jacobins was put on ice by the authorities. She turned her attention to documentary work. And thus Istenmezején 1972–73-ban and its sequel Egyszerű történet (A Commonplace Story) together became her “most important film”, as the Lady from Budapest herself confirmed. She passed away on October 1, 2025. A 1975 Forum film!

by Judit Elek (Director, Screenplay) Hungary 1974 Hungarian 78' Black/White Documentary form

Crew

Director	Judit Elek
Screenplay	Judit Elek
Cinematography	Elemér Ragályi
Editing	Júlia Trebitsch
Sound Design	Gábor Erdélyi
Producer	Laura Horváth
Executive Producers	László Nádasi, Katalin Ávéd

Produced by

Mafilm

Budapest, Hungary

MTV Documentary department

Budapest, Hungary

World Sales

National Film Institute Hungary - Film Archive

Budapest, Hungary

Additional information

Restoration: National Film Institute Hungary

Judit Elek

Filmmaker and screenwriter Judit Elek (1937–2025) graduated in 1961 from the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest and joined Mafilm as an assistant director. Between 1962 and 2011, she made multiple short films, documentaries and features. In her stories she explored difficult social situations, human loneliness, and attempts to establish contact. Her films are characterized by deep social sensitivity and a documentary approach. During her career, she was invited to the Film Festivals in Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Locarno, Mannheim and Oberhausen.

Filmography

1963 Találkozás (Encounter); short film 1966 Kastélyok lakói (Inhabitants of Castles in Hungary in 1966); short film 1968 Meddig él az ember? I-II (How Long Does Man Live?) 1969 Sziget a szárazföldön (The Lady from Constantinople) 1972 Találkozunk 1972-ben (Sötétben-világosban) (We Will Meet in 1972 (In Dark and in Light)) 1974 Istenmezején 1972–73-ban (On The Field of God in 1972–73) · Az első fénykép (Tamás Cseh: The First Photo) 1975 Egyszerű történet (A Commonplace Story) 1979 Majd holnap (Maybe Tomorrow) 1981 Vizsgálat Martinnovics Ignác szászvári apát és társai ügyében (The Trial of Martinovics and the Hungarian Jacobins) 1984 Mária-nap (Maria’s Day) 1989 Tutajosok (Memories of a River) 1995 Ébredés (Awakening) 1996 Mondani a mondhatatlant – Elie Wiesel üzenete (To Speak the Unspeakable – The Message of Elie Wiesel) 1998 Egy szabad ember – Fisch Ernő élete (A Free Man – The Life of Erno Fisch) 2006 A hét nyolcadik napja (The Eighth Day of the Week) 2018 És a halottak újra énekelnek… (After All the Dead Sing Again) 2019 Visszatérés (Retrace: Digital Director’s Cut)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026