80 dühös újságíró

In 2020, Index, one of the country’s largest newsrooms, stood up as one when the freedom of independent journalism was put in definitive danger. One of the paper’s journalists, András Földes, followed for five years the struggle of journalists fighting to protect press freedom, resulting in a documentary film with a distinctive atmosphere reminiscent of detective movies.

The film 80 Angry Journalists presents an important chapter of the fight for democracy in Hungary through the revolution of Index journalists. No documentary has previously shown so closely what it means when leadership considered close to the government appears within communities and companies.

The collective resignation of Index journalists was one of the biggest scandals in Hungary that year, and news of it spread to the international press as well. As Vera Jourová, then Vice President of the European Parliament, explains in the film, it was after seeing the example of the resigning Index journalists that work began on the European-level media law (EMFA) aimed at protecting the press, which entered into force in 2025.

The film has three main protagonists: the community itself, its leader Vera Munk, and Index’s lawyer, the enigmatic László Bodolai.

Vera Munk’s storyline unfolds a female rise-to-leadership narrative. By following the fate of Veronika Munk, who stood at the head of the Index movement, we see how the dynamic journalist becomes first an unofficial, then an elected leader of a community, and how the turbulent events ultimately lead her path beyond that community.

The story’s most disconcerting figure is Index’s lawyer, László Bodolai, whom the viewer must decide whether to see as a naïve leader, a seasoned secret agent, or a misled Shakespearean hero.

The community’s struggle tells a broader story: that in the face of pressure from power, the only effective form of resistance is unity.

Through the footage, we also witness how the departing Index newsroom establishes Telex, a new news portal sustained by reader donations. In the aftermath of their experiences, the journalists face unexpected internal challenges, but perseverance ultimately brings success.

How can a close-knit community survive the pressure of autocracy? 80 Angry Journalists seeks an answer to this question.