The ELTE–NFI University Film Club screening and discussion series continues. We welcome university members from all ELTE faculties.

An ironic family saga about the turning points of 20th-century Hungarian history and a woman who tried to stay out of history with cheerful irony. Berta, a middle-aged journalist, cares for her 92-year-old mother. The elderly woman, who suffers from dementia, sometimes recognizes her daughter, sometimes not even herself, but she talks constantly. She recounts the family's hundred-year history, how they moved when the current regime put pressure on them: they tried to stay out of history. The film’s style is unique in that it elegantly blends contemporary documentary footage with fictional scenes.

Mom and Other Loonies in the Family is essentially a family saga. The film is a series of short episodes and anecdotes that recount with cheerful irony the trials and tribulations of ordinary people who witnessed history from below. The film lists the dramatic turning points of 20th-century Hungarian history, from Trianon through World War II to the 1956 revolution, but filtered through family memories, they take on a cheerful tone. The family, which bears its fate with unshakeable spirit and humor, moves twenty-seven times to escape the regimes that threaten them.

Date: 12 November 2025, 6 p.m.

Venue: ELTE University Library and Archives, community space (Budapest, V. Ferenciek tere 6.)

Director, screenwriter: Ibolya Fekete

Cinematographer: Francisco Gózon, Nyika Jancsó

Editor: Károly Szalay

Music: János Novák

Main roles: Eszter Ónodi, Danuta Szaflarska, Juli Básti, Tibor Gáspár, Bálint Bán, Kata Bartsch

Our guests in the post-screening discussion will be psychologist and grief counselor Renáta Liliána Révész and the film's director, Ibolya Fekete.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rta41kov_Qg  

Due to limited seating, advance registration is required: https://www.ajk.elte.hu/content/anyam-es-mas-futobolondok-a-csaladbol-fekete-ibolya-filmje-2015.e.1955

The organizers welcome any correspondence regarding the film club at eltenfi.filmklub@elte.hu.

ELTE–NFI Film Club Facebook page

The ELTE–NFI University Film Club screening and discussion series continues. We welcome university members from all ELTE faculties.

The story of an unusual eviction condensed into a single day. Richard, a determined bailiff’s apprentice, has a new task: in his first eviction, he must remove an elderly woman living in a house with a garden on Zrínyi Street. However, Ilona has no intention of leaving her beloved home and puts up a heroic fight, using every means at her disposal to prevent the eviction. What’s more, a couple of activists show up on the scene and form a human chain in an attempt to save the old lady’s life, which is confined to her small house. But Richard is determined and will do everything in his power to achieve his goal. He has the „help” of the police, the fire department, the dog catcher who knows the old lady's pack of dogs well, the zoo workers, and the hostage negotiators. The Eviction was inspired by real events.

Date: 5 November 2025, 6:00 p.m.

Venue: ELTE University Library and Archives, community space (Budapest, V. Ferenciek tere 6.)

Director, screenwriter: Máté Bence Fazekas

Cinematographer: Evelin Judit Tóth

Editor: Marianna Rudas

Music: Dávid Konsiczky

Cast: Ákos Orosz, Mari Nagy, István Znamenák, Blanka Mészáros

Our guests for the post-screening discussion will be Dr. László Béda, enforcement lawyer, and Máté Bence Fazekas, the film’s director.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoY6NiP4Krg

Due to limited seating, advance registration is required: https://www.ajk.elte.hu/content/kilakoltatas-fazekas-mate-bence-filmje-2021.e.1953  

The organizers welcome correspondence regarding the film club at eltenfi.filmklub@elte.hu.

ELTE–NFI Film Club Facebook page

The object of the month – Western long-nosed echidna (Zaglossus bruijnii Peters & Doria, 1876) 

Today, the ELTE Natural History Museum is a repository of the university's natural history and natural science heritage and treasures, covering natural objects, museum education aids, and research tools collected at the university from the late 1700s to the present day. The date of its founding, 1774, is also linked to the founding of the Department of Natural History at that time. The museum has two large exhibition spaces: the Mineral and Rock Collection, with its impressive historical furniture, evokes the 19th century, while the Biological and Paleontological Exhibition is housed in a sunny, 21st-century glass pyramid. The artifact of the month is a western long-nosed anteater from the latter collection.  

Echidnas belong to the egg-laying mammals (Monotremata). Fossils that can be considered their direct ancestors are approximately 17 million years old, but based on modern CT morphometric studies, the age of the humerus bone from the oldest common ancestor of egg-laying mammals is dated to 100 million years ago, and it is considered to be a semi-aquatic (water-bound) mammal with a duck-billed body. Thus, the terrestrial, burrowing lifestyle of today's echidnas is a secondary adaptation. They have retained their good swimming ability to this day. Their anatomical and physiological characteristics combine ancient and modern features: they have a cloaca, reproduce with parchment-like eggs, but feed their tiny offspring with secretions from their mammary glands; their shoulder girdle structure is reptilian; their skeleton is robust; their skull is disproportionate and simple, their jawbone and mandible are elongated like a bird's beak and toothless: deceptively, this unique structure is called both a trunk and a beak. Electro- and mechanoreceptors in the skin covering the trunk help them find their prey. To date, little is known about their lifestyle, distribution, and population size. Based on fossil finds, analysis of indigenous rock paintings, and recent observations, it is certain that they were significantly more common and occurred over a larger area in Papua New Guinea, Australia, and Tasmania, in both dry and wet tropical environments. Their scientific name is thought to derive from Echidna, a half-human, half-snake creature from Greek mythology. There are four known extant species of echidnas. 

Our collection includes a male specimen of the western long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijnii). It is of outstanding scientific and historical value.   

This species is the largest and has the thickest fur among its relatives, with a slightly downward-curving "beak-like trunk." The lifelike specimen was prepared by the famous German taxidermist Gustav Adolph Frank, and its acquisition is documented as having taken place in 1886–87. The species lives in the higher tropical mountain forests of Papua New Guinea, is sluggish, and is mainly active at night. During the day, it rests in bushes, among roots and rocks, or in burrows dug and abandoned by other animals. Like its relatives, it feeds on soil-dwelling invertebrates, which it digs out with its strong claws and nose and easily catches with its long, sticky, spiny tongue (e.g., ants, termites, earthworms). It is solitary, but during the mating season, which lasts for weeks, many individuals chase each other conspicuously, and the female enjoys the company of her offspring for 7-12 months, caring for them. The species is critically endangered (CR) according to the IUCN due to habitat loss, illegal hunting, and introduced predators. 

Written by Dr. Mária Tóth Ronkayné (biologist-museologist, ELTE Natural History Museum Biological and Paleontological Exhibition) 

At the third quarterly report of the K21 Quality Coordination Committee 2025, the leaders of the working groups reported on the results of the past quarter, ongoing work and changes.

The Primer Research Working Group evaluated the results of the ELTE staff and student needs and satisfaction survey regarding libraries. The Process Management Working Group coordinates the description of key processes contained in the Quality Management Handbook.

The Communication Working Group provided information on the tasks and achievements of the working groups through the website, the newsletter and the short film 3 months – 3 minutes on the mailing list, as well as contributed to the success of the preparation and administration of the K21 reporting days meetings. The group also provided assistance in publishing further EKSZ news on the ELTE Libraries website, including EKSZ honorees, a welcome message and service description for first-year students, as well as a timeline posted on the occasion of the anniversary of special education teacher training, which also appeared in the EKSZ newsletter.

The data and results of the Green Library questionnaire are currently being summarised.

The Library Managers Working Group held a meeting to discuss changes following the expiry of public procurement contracts for books and periodicals this year, the announcement and conditions of new public tenders, as well as  EISZ procurements for 2026 and current issues.

An update on the achievements of the K21 Quality Coordination Committee and our new developments will be posted on our website soon.

Call for applications for the János Ujvári Diploma Award

for students graduating in the fall semester of the 2025/26 academic year

The aim of the János Ujvári Diploma Award is to help students approaching the end of their higher education studies to examine the topic of their diploma thesis from an intellectual property protection perspective, with appropriate professional support, and to map out the intellectual property protection aspects and protectability possibilities of the topic they have chosen.

While writing the application, students can learn about the theoretical foundations of intellectual property protection and gain insight into the economic and legal significance of its tools from a practical perspective. By participating in the application, students gain knowledge that they can later utilize in the labor market as researchers, engineers, or in any other profession.

Applicants

The competition is open to students enrolled in higher education, undergraduate and master's programs who will complete their studies by the end of the fall semester of the 2025-26 academic year.

Content of the competition

Graduate students can apply for the competition with a diploma/thesis prepared by them, in which they explore the intellectual property protection aspects of the chosen topic at least 10 pages, or with a diploma/thesis that is entirely devoted to a selected issue of intellectual property protection. When evaluating the applications, both approaches are subject to equal consideration, and choosing either solution does not constitute a disadvantage when ranking the papers.

The thesis must reflect that the student has a basic understanding and interpretation of the intellectual property protection system, and can place the examination of their own topic and solution within it. The Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (HIPO) supports the writing of the application with intellectual property protection training and the provision of an individual professional consultant, whose task is to accompany the student throughout the preparation of the thesis and to help him/her write the thesis.

The application is based on a competition, students can submit works in four categories:

• patent/utility model protection,
• trademark and design protection,
• copyright
• the economic role of intellectual property protection.

Only one category can be indicated in an application, and the project work will later be assessed in this category. However, if the subject of the diploma thesis or dissertation is the result of creative work that affects several categories, the application must include an analytical examination in relation to each of the relevant forms of protection. In such cases, the assessment also covers knowledge of the connections between the forms of protection. The HIPO is entitled – in justified cases – to classify the thesis in a category other than that indicated by the student.

Amount of the application fee and its assessment

Applications are assessed by a committee consisting of experts appointed by the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office. The first three winners in each of the four announced categories will be awarded as follows:

• first prize 250,000 HUF,
• second prize 200,000 HUF,
• third prize 150,000 HUF.

The amount of the fee is taxable income, the benefit (tax benefit) for young people under 25 years of age cannot be applied.

The HIPO reserves the right to change the categories and the number of awards based on the content and quality of the applications.

Conditions for winning the competition prize

1. Completion of a 20-hour distance learning course on intellectual property protection unless the student has previously completed a minimum of 20 hours of intellectual property protection training certified by the university
2. Exploration of intellectual property protection aspects related to the topic of the diploma thesis/dissertation in a minimum of 10 pages. While writing the thesis, the student must consult with the professional consultant provided by the office at least three times. The student can obtain information about the exact criteria for the evaluation from his consultant.

Application process

1. Indicate your intention to apply to the central ujvaridiplomadij@hipo.gov.hu application email address with the following information by the registration deadline:

• applicant's details: name, email address, name of educational institution, indicating faculty,
• title and brief outline of the diploma/thesis,
• indication of the intellectual property protection category in which you wish to apply and the intellectual property protection topic in which you wish to examine the content of your thesis.

2. Fulfillment of the application conditions detailed above.
3. Preparation and submission of the application thesis integrated into the diploma/thesis by the specified deadline. The content of the diploma/thesis will be examined by the HIPO exclusively from the perspective of the depth to which the student has managed to explore possible intellectual property protection aspects.

Please submit the materials electronically, in PDF format, to the central application email address. For all questions concerning the application, further information can be requested from the central application email address.

The applications are evaluated by an independent expert committee composed of HIPO employees. All students will be notified of the results of the evaluation.

Deadlines

Deadline for registering the intention to apply:     December 1, 2025

Deadline for preparing the diploma award application:    March 20, 2026

Applications for students graduating in the spring semester of the 2025-26 academic year will be evaluated together with applications for students graduating in the fall semester of the academic year. All students will be informed of the results of their application by September 30, 2026.

Award presentation

The awards will be presented in a ceremonial setting at the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office headquarters. The application fees will be transferred to the winning applicants at the same time as the award ceremony. All applying students will be invited to the award ceremony.

Budapest, 2025. September 2025

The ELTE–NFI University Film Club screening and discussion series continues. We welcome university members from all ELTE faculties.

In Oscar-winning director Kristóf Deák's film, set in 1951 during the establishment of totalitarian rule, the life of a Budapest family is turned upside down. At dawn, they are awakened by the ringing of the State Protection Authority, who remain in their home and hold them captive for days without revealing who or what they are looking for. The absurd situation is exacerbated by the fact that the authorities also take into custody anyone who enters the apartment. The apartment, like a little roly-poly, swallows up everyone who rings the doorbell. Days pass in increasing uncertainty, fear takes hold of the captives, leaving them unable to control their suppressed emotions. In this tense atmosphere, even the smallest tasks of everyday life become almost impossible to accomplish, giving rise to absurd situations treated with subtle humor that relieve the tension of this work. Based on an incredible but true story, we are transported to the stifling and unpredictable atmosphere of 1950s Hungary.

Date: 22 October 2025, 6 p.m.

Venue: ELTE University Library and Archives, community space (1053 Budapest, Ferenciek tere 6.)

Starring: Eliza Sodró, Zsófia Szamosi, Ernő Fekete, Gábor Csőre.

Our guest for the post-screening discussion will be János Rácz, PhD, Senior Research Fellow at the VERITAS Research Institute for History and Archives.

Due to limited seating, please register in advance.

Registration: https://www.ajk.elte.hu/content/foglyok-deak-kristof-filmje-2019.e.1933

The organisers welcome letters regarding the film club at eltenfi.filmklub@elte.hu.

ELTE–NFI Film Club Facebook page

The ELTE–NFI University Film Club screening and discussion series continues. We welcome university members from all ELTE faculties.

Budapest, spring 1989. Petya (Gábor Karalyos) is celebrating his eighteenth birthday. He meets his friends at Moszkva Square and they set off to party. The political situation is changing day by day, but the young people preparing for their final exams are not in the least bit interested in this at all. Instead of the change of regime, Petya is preoccupied with his friends, his first love, his first trip to the West, and his coveted car.

Hamburgers with mixed pickles, a red Lada, and a meeting at Moszkva Square under the clock. Ferenc Török's film quickly became a cult classic, subjectively capturing the mood of the change of regime. Most of the film’s scenes were shot at easily recognisable locations in Budapest: Moszkva Square, II. Rákóczi Ferenc High School, Tunnel, Gellért Spa, Pajtás Restaurant on Gyorskocsi Street, Liberty Bridge, etc.

The film uses archive footage and excerpts from Hungarian and foreign news reports to depict several historical events in Hungary during the summer of 1989, including the reburial of Imre Nagy, the death and funeral of János Kádár, and the high school graduation scandal that actually took place that year.

Date: Wednesday, 15 October 2025, 6:00 p.m.

Venue: ELTE University Library and Archives, community space (Budapest, V. Ferenciek tere 6.)

Director, screenwriter: Ferenc Török

Cinematographer: Dániel Garas

Editor: Béla Barsi

Music: Balázs Temesvári

Cast: Gábor Karalyos, Eszter Balla, Erzsi Pápai, Simon Szabó, Vilmos Csatlós, Ilona Béres, Imre Csuja

Our guest in the post-screening discussion will be the film's screenwriter and director, Ferenc Török.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRHkwO-5fFg

Due to limited seating, registration is possible at the Moszkva Square (Ferenc Török's cult film, 2001) link.

The organisers welcome letters regarding the film club at eltenfi.filmklub@elte.hu.

ELTE–NFI Film Club Facebook page

As part of the ELTE Heritage Coordination program run by the ELTE University Library and Archives, and funded by this year's collection preservation budget, the Rector's Office initiated the restoration of the historical dean's chain of the Faculty of Law and Political Science. The chain, which had been damaged over the decades, was restored by Szilvia Döbrentei, a goldsmith and restorer working for ARCHEOLORE Kft.

In addition to restoration, new, high-quality, durable storage cases were made for all four historical chains (the rector's and three faculty chains) by Tokkészítő Kft. to ensure their long-term preservation.

The chain of office for the Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science was made on May 3, 1960, at the Ötvös Studio of the Applied Arts Company, by master goldsmith József Péri. The chain of the Faculty of Law features a round emblem with a sword pointing upwards and a set of scales on the reverse side, bearing the inscription: "UNIVERSITAS SCIENTIARUM BUDAPESTINENSIS DE ROLANDO EÖTVÖS NOMINATA FACULTATIS POLITICO IURIDICAE DECANUS". The chain links alternate between a sword and scales and an open book with a paragraph symbol, separated by gold-plated links decorated with green enamel.

The chain was made for the 325th anniversary of ELTE, based on the decision of the University Council and the initiative of Rector Gyula Ortutay, based on the sketches of Gyula László. Thanks to the renovation, this university insignia of significant historical value can be preserved in a dignified manner for future generations.

Written by Bianka Kovács-Molnár

An important task of ELTE Heritage Coordination is to manage and showcase the valuable cultural heritage owned by the university, and one of the goals of the meetings held two or three times a year is to further develop professional knowledge and acquire new insights.

On September 29, 2025, Dr. Marianna Berényi, communications manager at the Museum of Ethnography, editor-in-chief of Hungarian Museums Online, and editor of Museum Café, gave a lecture entitled Effective Communication at the ELTE University Library and Archives. In her presentation, she gave a brief introduction to museum communication practices and sought answers to questions such as how to communicate effectively on a small budget, what to base communication on, and where to find reliable background materials.

The ELTE–NFI University Film Club screening and discussion series continues with another SPECIAL EDITION. We welcome university members from all ELTE faculties.

Tamás Almási's dramatic documentary film brings together political prisoners from the Kistarcsa internment camp and their former prison guards forty years later. In the final years of socialism and after the fall of communism, it became possible to talk openly about the historical traumas of the recent past. What makes Almási's film different is that he not only juxtaposes different points of view in interviews, but also personally confronts the former prison guard with his former prisoners. Twelve former prisoners recall what life was like in the Kistarcsa internment camp in the 1950s. They revisit the prison, where their former captor, ÁVH Major Piroska, also appears, and the confrontation they have been waiting for for nearly 40 years begins.

Among those reminiscing are a writer (Magda Vámos), an actress (Camilla Dévay, mother of Dorottya Udvaros), an aristocrat (Mónika Esterházy, aunt of Péter Esterházy), a staunch communist, and a kulak. What they have in common is that they were all sent to Kistarcsa on trumped-up charges, their crimes mostly amounting to having a relative or loved one declared an enemy of the regime, but there were also those who were sentenced to three years simply for kissing near Rákosi's villa.

Date: Friday, October 10, 2025, 6:00 p.m.

Venue: ELTE University Library and Archives, community space (Budapest, V. Ferenciek tere 6.)

Director: Tamás Almási

Dramaturg: Gyöngyi Bende

Cinematographers: Nyika Jancsó, Loránd Mertz, György Kováts

Editors: Katalin Halász, Béla Koncz

Composer: István Slamovits

Our guests in the post-screening discussion will be Tamás Almási, the film's Kossuth and Béla Balázs Prize-winning director, screenwriter, and cinematographer, and Tibor Zinner, historian and university professor.

Due to limited seating, advance registration is required: Ítélet nélkül (Without Judgment, documentary film by Tamás Almási, 1992).

Please send any correspondence regarding the film club to eltenfi.filmklub@elte.hu.

Az ELTE–NFI Film Club Facebook