WORK IN PROGRESS
Caretakers / Gondozók
PRODUCTION DETAILS:
PRODUCTION COMPANY: OTHER
DIRECTOR: Ambrus HERNÁDI
PRODUCERS: Rita BALOGH, Barbara FRANK
EDITOR: Anna VÁGHY
LOGLINE
Caretakers follows two Hungarian women, Zsuzsa and Brigitta, as they navigate the hidden struggles of undocumented caregiving in Germany and the U.S. While Western societies rely on their labor to sustain families and healthcare systems, these women are denied basic rights, trapped in cycles of exploitation, and forced to sacrifice their own stability. Balancing family ties, isolation, and an uncertain future, their journeys expose the harsh reality of migrant caregivers, essential yet invisible, revealing a system that benefits from their work while refusing their recognition.
LENGTH: 85 min
EXPECTED TIME OF DELIVERY: 2027
SYNOPSIS
The 21st century has reshaped life in Eastern Europe, forcing many women in their 50s into caregiving jobs that sustain Western families and healthcare systems while leaving them with no real place of their own. Caretakers follows two Hungarian women, Zsuzsa and Brigitta, who live like ghosts in the West—working in the shadows, without rights or recognition, while half their minds remain back home with the families they left behind. Trapped in a cycle of sacrifice and displacement, Zsuzsa fights to break free from the endless migration, while Brigitta clings to the hope of legal status in the United States, searching for belonging in a world that refuses to claim them.
Zsuzsa, a caregiver in Germany, shuttles between her job and the life she’s trying to hold together back in Hungary—renovating her home, paying off loans, keeping her husband sober, and caring for her aging mother. She tries to keep an emotional distance from her patients, refusing to grow too attached when they eventually leave. The constant traveling and readjustment take a toll on her, and for years, she has been searching for financial stability to finally return to Hungary for good. Yet this goal remains a mirage on the horizon: the monthly loan payments keep coming, construction costs have soared due to COVID, and saving for retirement seems impossible. When her mother was taken to the hospital and her husband went missing for a day, the anxiety over her loved ones overcomes the financial needs. When she finally moves home, to get back her Hungarian life, new struggles await - grueling factory work, the loss of her mother, and her own battle with cancer.
Brigitta, living in Brooklyn, is determined to build friendships and connect with the immigrant community in Brighton Beach - a necessity, as she hasn’t been able to leave the country in years. Coming from a small Hungarian town, the vibrant cultural mix of Brooklyn constantly exposes her to new experiences. She forms a close bond with a young Dominican man, who sees her as a mother figure after leaving his family behind at the Texas border. But her deepest connection is with Miriam, a 98-year-old Holocaust survivor she cares for with unwavering devotion. They are inseparable - Miriam is by her side whether she’s riding the Coney Island roller coaster with visiting friends, getting a tattoo, or celebrating her birthday. Unlike many caregivers, Brigitta refuses to let her job consume her entirely. Yet, after eight years without returning home and feeling the weight of age creeping in, her sense of instability grows. A sudden emergency hospitalization with Miriam shakes her, and as crackdowns on undocumented immigrants escalate under Donald J. Trump’s presidency, her future becomes more uncertain. Desperate for legal residency, she embarks on a quest to find a citizen to marry - a pursuit that brings both moments of humor and a stark glimpse into the hidden struggles of life without papers.
Caretakers follows a linear narrative, seamlessly linking most scenes while incorporating experimental voice-over segments that deepen the connection with the characters and provide additional context. The film weaves together the lives of Zsuzsa and Brigitta, highlighting both their similarities and differences. Every decision Zsuzsa makes is driven by her desire to return home, while Brigitta desperately searches for a path to legal residency in the U.S. As their stories unfold, it becomes clear that neither path offers an easy solution—only endless nights of reflection, weighing options, and ultimately, regrets. Rather than focusing on traditional plot progression, the film lingers on seemingly mundane moments, allowing viewers to witness Zsuzsa and Brigitta’s daily routines. This approach fosters an intimate connection, emphasizing emotional shifts over dramatic storytelling. Through its subjective perspective, Caretakers offers a deeply personal and authentic understanding of their sacrifices, resilience, and the quiet toll of living on the fringes of society.
Blending fly-on-the-wall intimacy with poetic sequences, the film reveals the systemic forces of capitalism that shape these women’s lives. In moments of humor and perseverance, Caretakers illuminates the unseen struggles of migrant caregivers—women whose labor keeps households running, yet whose own hardships remain invisible.
AMBRUS HERNÁDI, DIRECTOR
Ambrus is a filmmaker from Budapest, Hungary, with a deep passion for capturing intimate, personal stories. After earning an MA in Film Studies, he worked as a Camera Assistant on various productions before transitioning to documentary filmmaking. Ambrus has created documentary shorts for independent productions, online journals, and NGOs, and completed a Documentary Studies program at The New School in New York City. His diploma short was screened at DOCNYC, showcasing his talent for portraying authentic human experiences. He focuses on stories where self-expression thrives in rich, genuine atmospheres.
RITA BALOGH, PRODUCER
Balogh, passionate about documentaries, works in distribution, producing, and directing. In 2016, she founded her production company OTHER FILMS, creating impactful works for the international market like Whose Dog Am I?, screened at festivals such as Warsaw IFF and Tallinn Black Nights. Her recently co-produced series Iron Curtain premiered on ARTE in 2024. OTHER FILMS focuses on international co-productions and alternative distribution, fostering social discourse across the world. Co-founder of the Budapest International Documentary Festival (BIDF), she also launched a rural open-air cinema. Her online docu series as a director, Before We Grow Up, reached 20K viewers per episode.
ANNA VÁGHY, EDITOR
Anna Vághy is a Hungarian editor, born and raised in Budapest. After completing an MA degree in Literature and Film Studies (Eötvös Lorand University, Budapest) she studied filmmaking in the UK (Bournemouth University), specialized in Post Production and Editing. Her MA project was assisting the editor of László Nemes’s Oscar winning narrative feature, Son of Saul in 2014. In the last ten years she has been editing both fiction and documentary feature films and won several awards.
The Taste of Democracy
PRODUCTION DETAILS:
PRODUCTION COMPANY: OTHER FILMS
DIRECTORS: Peter AKAR, Ambrus Fatér
PRODUCERS: Rita Balogh, Barbara FRANK
EDITOR: Marianna RUDAS
LENGTH: 80 min
EXPECTED TIME OF DELIVERY: 2025
TOTAL BUDGET: 221 000 EUR
FINANCING IN-PLACE:
79 156 EUR – National Film Institute
33 924 EUR – National Film Office, Tax Rebate
IN SEARCH:
Co-producer, Broadcaster, Distributor
LOGLINE
When Anna (38) takes over her mother’s two-Michelin star restaurant she wants to change the authoritarian nature of the kitchen and create a democratic and sustainable community, but once she loses the stars, she needs to prove whether she is worthy of the legacy at all.
SYNOPSIS
When Anna (38) takes over her mother’s well-established restaurant business everyone thinks she is
spoilt and that she is not fit for the job. To add fuel to the flames, she decides to tear apart the two
Michelin-star restaurant and try to reinvent it with a new philosophy: she wants to end the chef-
centered autocracy in the kitchen, and build up a democratic model led by an artistic community where
all the staff members make the decisions together. But does equality work when the team has to
decide on tastes and when the main goal is to please the high-class guests and the culinary world?
Our feature length documentary follows Anna’s journey from the moment she shut the restaurant, until
the new one opens in the future. This is about a 3-year period. Her closest colleague is the egocentric
creative head of the company, Marcell. He grew up poor and walked the ladder from being a waiter to
be in the heart of this fine-dining business. To create something special and to receive the allured
Michelin star would mean he has succeeded in his life.
Marcell finds the introverted chef, Akos (32) and makes him the head of the kitchen, as he believes
he has a special talent. But the growing pressure gets the worst out of him, as he slides back to his
former drug addiction and eventually ends up having a nervous breakdown. Marcell and Anna agree
not to fire him and to give him a second chance, as they believe creating true art requires a certain
level of insanity. Unbeknownst to them, this starts an uncontrollable earthquake in the staff.
Can Anna prove her worthiness to her mother and to the culinary industry, and can she finally be
happy? Will Marcell ever be looked upon as someone who belongs to the artistic world? Will Akos be
able to function as a chef of a Michelin star restaurant, and is he really a genius?
PETER AKAR, DIRECTOR
AKAR graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts, Hungary (SZFE) as a screenplay writer and went on to study documentary directing at the MA course of the National Film and TV School in the UK. He has made several documentaries for British TV stations such as Channel 4 and STV. His film Sing Your Heart Out has won the Grierson Award and the Royal Television Society’s Award. Apart from documentaries he has worked on TV series both as a writer and a director.
AMBRUS FATÉR, DIRECTOR
FATÉR graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts, Hungary (SZFE) as a director. He gained experiences in commercials, music videos and fiction films. His graduate movie, Collapsed lung won critical acclaim internationally, as well a couple of prizes. Throughout the years he developed the expertise to tell stories in a unique way. https://www.faterambrus.com/about
RITA BALOGH, PRODUCER
In 2014, she co-founded the Budapest International Documentary Festival. In 2016, Rita set upher production company, OTHER FILMS to produce and promote international films. Her latest feature,Whose Dog Am I? was screened in Warsaw IFF, Tallinn Black Nights FF, etc. Rita is also a filmmaker,making documentaries with a focus on building bridges within societies. She is a participant of the Emerging Producers program of 2024.
BARBARA FRANK, PRODUCER
Producer of documentaries and online series with long-time experience in content creation at the
biggest Hungarian commercial TV. In 2021 she established Compact TV an independent creative company focusing on full scope production of factual series for different online platforms. The company was awarded the best online production hub of 2021 and 2022 at the Online Audio & Video Awards Hungary.
MARIANNA RUDAS, EDITOR
Marianna is the editor of the European Film Awards shortlisted documentary WHO I AM NOT. Previously she edited COLORS OF TOBI, a Silver Eye Award nominated documentary. The films she has edited have competed at major festivals such as
SXSW, BFI Flare, CPH:DOX, DOC NYC, Sheffield DocFest, Sarajevo, IDFA and won awards at the Thessaloniki, Docs Barcelona, Guadalajara and Krakow Film Festivals. She is passionate about telling intimate, authentic stories about social issues.