D1film

Logline

A newspaper is a living and critical reflection of society in the care of its newsroom – but it also has owners. 80 Angry Journalists follows a confrontation between journalists and ownership that, through a major Hungarian case, opens up a multilayered reflection on the conditions necessary for an open democracy.

Synopsis

80 Angry Journalists is an inside account of the struggle over Index.hu, one of Hungary’s first, most widely read and most influential online newspapers. The film follows the conflict during its decisive escalation, which ended with the resignation of the entire editorial staff – more than eighty journalists, many of them among the country’s most respected.

Their decision was both a moral gesture and a practical step that threw them into uncertainty while at the same time opening up new possibilities. The film raises questions about journalistic freedom and the institutional and communal foundations on which it depends. Under authoritarian rule, these become a frontline stress test – with society as a whole next in line.

Background

When Viktor Orbán came to power, systematic control over the media became one of his long-term priorities. It was not Orbán himself, but his closest ally, businessman Lajos Simicska, who began building a media empire and gradually acquired some of Hungary’s most influential traditional outlets – Magyar Nemzet, Hír TV, Heti Válasz, Lánchíd Rádió and others. Critical coverage of the government rapidly disappeared from these media, while their owner prospered through state contracts and subsidies.

In 2014, information leaked that the owners of the still-independent Index.hu had sold Simicska an option to acquire the outlet, something he officially denied at the time. The arrangement was confirmed three years later, when he attempted to exercise the option. The move triggered massive public resistance and the transaction was never completed. In the meantime, Simicska had fallen out with Orbán and, after several years of confrontation, lost almost everything and eventually withdrew from public life.

Ownership of Index.hu was subsequently transferred to the newly established Hungarian Development Foundation (Magyar Fejlődésért Alapítvány), chaired by the newspaper’s long-time lawyer László Bodolai – “Bodi”, as his colleagues called him. The new structure was presented as a step towards even greater independence.

Doubts within the newsroom nevertheless remained. The editor-in-chief therefore introduced the so-called Independence Barometer – an indicator displayed on the homepage that could show three possible states of the newspaper: Independent, Under Threat and End of Independence.

Despite growing tension between the newsroom and the owners, the indicator remained at Independent. Shortly before the crisis came to a head, however, the foundation’s management announced plans for structural changes in the way Index.hu operated. Many journalists regarded these proposals as unjustified and unacceptable interference in both management and editorial content.

After weeks of escalating tension, respected editor-in-chief Szabolcs Dull moved the Independence Barometer to Under Threat. Millions of readers suddenly saw that something serious was happening, and the crisis quickly became international news.

The newsroom was turned upside down and an open struggle began. At that moment, long-time member of the editorial staff and experienced war correspondent András Földes picked up a camera and began documenting everything – editorial meetings with management, events unfolding around the newspaper, and the broader implications of silencing one of Hungary’s strongest independent voices. This is how his feature-length directorial debut 80 Angry Journalists began to take shape.

Trailer

• 80 Angry Journalists
• Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway / 2026 / 94 min.
• Idea: Spolek Šalamoun, Zuzana Piussi
• Director, cinematography: András Földes
• Editing, co-director: Anna Kis
• Sound: Jan Richtr
• Producer: Lorand Imre (Film Dough, Germany)
• Co-producer: Vít Janeček (D1film, Czech Republic)
• Czech distributor: Atlas Cinema
• PR Czech Republic: 2 Media

Festivals & Industry

• Academia Film Olomouc 2025 – Main Award in the Czech / Slovak Documentary Competition
• One World 2024 – Official Selection
• Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival 2024 – Official Selection
• dok.incubator CZ/SK 2025 – Industry Presentation
• Supported by the Czech Film Fund

Featuring

Orsolya Ajpek, Janka Judit Arnótszky, Szabolcs Barakonyi, Marianna Biró, Dániel Bolcsó, Balázs Bozzay, Ági Bozsó, János Bődey, Gergely Brückner, Flóra Csatári, Balázs Cseke, Ildikó Cser, Dénes Csurgó, Ági Demeter, András Dezső, Anna Egyed, Fruzsina Előd, Tamás Fábián, János Fehér, Máté Fillér, Balázs Flachner, András Földes, Gábor Földi, Zsolt Hanula, Levente Hernádi, Ági Hollik, Hajnal Hudák, István Huszti, András Iván, Kata Janecskó, Miklós Jenei, Sándor Joób, Márton Kárpáti, Dávid Klág, Ádám Kolozsi, Tímea Kolozsvári, Gergely Koroknai, Csongor Körömi, Dávid Kovács, Zoltán Kovács, Péter Lengyel-Szabó, Gergő Lovas, Márton Marczisovszky, Mira Marjanovic, Tamás Mészáros, Gábor Miklósi, András Mizsur, Réka Molnár, Veronika Munk, Attila Károly Nagy, Roland Nagy, Tamás Német, Péter Németh, Gergely Nyilas, Tamás Pál, Balázs Pándi, Luca Pintér, Judit Presinszky, Attila Rácz, Bianka Rostás, Attila Rovó, Dávid Sajó, Dániel Simor, Péter Somogyi, Gábor Stöckert, Zoltán Szabó, Bálint Szalai, Ferenc Szalma Baksi, Tamás Szémann, Máté Szilágyi, Tamás Szilli, Gábor Tenczer, Barbara Thüringer, Gergely Tóth, Máté Világi, Ede Záborszky, András Zsuppán, László Arató, György Folk, Balázs Márton, Ágnes Szűcs, Eszter Zalán, Věra Jourová, László Bodolai, Szabolcs Dull, László Szily and Péter Uj.