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 <em class="film-other">The Lady from Constantinople</em> 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 <em class="film-other">The Trial of Martinovics and the Hungarian Jacobins</em> was put on ice by the authorities. She turned her attention to documentary work. And thus <em class="film">Istenmezején 1972–73-ban</em> and its sequel <em class="film-other">Egyszerű történet (A Commonplace Story)</em> together became her “most important film”, as the Lady from Budapest herself confirmed. She passed away on October 1, 2025. A 1975 <em class="program">Forum</em> film!