The ELTE–NFI University Film Club continues the series of screenings and discussions. We welcome university citizens from all faculties of ELTE.

As we approach the 177th anniversary of the 1848–1849 Revolution and War of Independence, we commemorate the historic events. László Lugossy's film dramatically explores the moral dilemmas that arise after the defeated revolutions.

The 1848 War of Independence was defeated, and the Hungarian army laid down arms at Világos. Ferenc Majláth, Lieutenant-General of the Hussars, is conscripted into a punishment squadron. His commander, the Colonel, escapes.  He vows to his comrades that if the country needs him, they will rejoin the battle line. On his return home, he sinks into depression, refusing to cooperate with the Austrian regime. One day, he is joined by the Colonel, who organises a shadow army for Kossuth. The next day his whole family is arrested. He is confronted with a serious dilemma: is it worth surviving if you only compromise with the system? How can you live if you chase by day the very ideas you are passionate about at night? How long is it noble and honourable to hold on to ideas, and when does it put the family in unnecessary danger? Petals, flowers, wreaths is the tragedy of a man unable to forget and compromise. Not least, the film is one of the most beautifully photographed works in the history of Hungarian cinema. The most poetic film of '48, this Kafkaesque story won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

Date: 12 March 2025, 18.00

Venue: University Square campus (1053 Budapest, Egyetem tér 1-3. fszt., corridor next to the cloakroom)

Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NWk1Us3HP4

Starring György Cserhalmi, Lajos Őze, Grazyna Szapolowska, Jirí Adamira, Boguslaw Linda, Péter Malcsiner.

László Lugossy, the director of the film and Tamás Dobszay, historian, habilitated associate professor of the Department of Modern and Contemporary Hungarian History at the ELTE University of Applied Sciences, scientific director of the Hungarian Agricultural Museum and Library.

Due to the limited number of seats, pre-registration is possible at the following link:

https://ajk.elte.hu/content/szirmok-viragok-koszoruk-lugossy-laszlo-filmje-1984.e.1823

Correspondence about the film club is welcome via eltenfi.filmklub@elte.hu.

The ELTE–NFI Filmklub on Facebook 

The ELTE–NFI University Film Club continues the series of screenings and discussions. We welcome university citizens from all faculties of ELTE.

The legendary rock bands of 1980s Hungary, Hobo Blues Band and P. Mobil, will present a fictionalised version of themselves, exploring the atmosphere of the iconic rock concerts of the time and the social milieu in which they tried to assert themselves.  Lóránt Schuster, László Földes, Gyula Bill Deák, Egon Póka and others were in the same situation as the characters they portrayed: their bands were long refused recognition by official cultural policy, while young people attended their concerts by the tens of thousands.

The Bald Dog conveyed their generational sense of life and the civic rebellion of those outside the system. What makes it special, however, is not only the documentation of the Colorado band's concerts and the authentic reconstruction of situations taken from life, but also Szomjas' unique narrative style. The film became a cult film, and contributed significantly to the subsequent success of the bands, even though the Hungarian Record Company banned the record, which was prepared for release, and it was not finally released until 1993. It found its audience, with more than half a million people tuning in – many secretly recording the songs on cassette tapes. The film is a true Hungarian rock career story, a perfect record of the '80s lifestyle, and not least one of the best music films ever made, featuring songs from the biggest bands of the era alongside the Hobo Blues Band. Allen Ginsberg even makes a cameo appearance in the film.

Date: 5 March 2025, 18.00

Venue: University Square campus (1053 Budapest, Egyetem tér 1-3. fszt., corridor next to the cloakroom)

Dr. Csaba Bálint, founder of the Rock Museum, lawyer and Dr. Bence Csatári, historian, researcher at the Office of the National Remembrance Committee, author of several rock history books.

Due to the limited number of seats, pre-registration is possible at the following link:

https://www.ajk.elte.hu/content/kopaszkutya-a-magyar-rock-film-szomjas-gyorgy-filmje-1981.e.1825

Correspondence about the film club is welcome via eltenfi.filmklub@elte.hu.

The ELTE–NFI Filmklub on Facebook 

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences will celebrate the 200th anniversary in 2025. Among its members are many distinguished students and teachers who have left their mark not only on the Academy but also on the history of our institution. Ferenc Toldy (1805–1875), literary historian, university professor and former director of our library, was a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences from 1830.

Ferenc Toldy, then known as Schedel, was appointed head of the University Library in 1843. Toldy, whose original training was as a doctor, already had considerable library experience, as he had been the Academy’s secretary from 1835 and had managed the library himself, organising and registering it before its ceremonial opening in 1844. As director of the University Library, he drew up the rules for the use of the library of the Academy in 1848, which he then introduced in the University Library with minor modifications in the same year.

Ferenc Toldy was at the helm of the University Library for more than three decades, and this period was one of the most turbulent and challenging for the library. The library building was in a state of virtual disrepair when Toldy took over, and throughout his directorship he struggled to build a new library building and to gain ownership of the land on which the library stood. The results of his efforts were still to be seen, but the new library building was not yet ready to be handed over. The internal life of the library also underwent significant changes under his directorship. He established an auxiliary library of major national and foreign lexicons and dictionaries to assist researchers in their work, and he also opened a journal reader. During his directorship, he was careful to surround himself with the best staff, employing János Garay the poet, Antal Reguly the linguist, Iván Nagy the historian and József Szinnyei the bibliographer. He was himself a major scholar, one of the greatest critics and aestheticians of his time, and is credited with the systematic scholarly shaping of Hungarian literary history.

The ELTE University Library and Archives, as a member of the international Coimbra Group (CG) Heritage Working Group, is pleased to invite all interested parties to the Coimbra Group webinar “AI Ethics and Governance” on Thursday 13 March 2025 from 15:00 to 16:30 CET, with keynote speaker Francesca Rossi, IBM Fellow and IBM AI Ethics Global Leader.

The public webinar of the Coimbra Group, which includes Eötvös Loránd University among its members, is open to students, academics and members of staff from all universities belonging to the group, as well as to all interested members of the wider higher education community. The event aims to explore the implications, opportunities and challenges of AI for higher education. Registration and more information is available here.

Emerald Publishing has offered trial access to their largest database (premier package) until March 31, 2025. The database content can be accessed by connecting to the ELTE internet network (either directly on campus or remotely using a VPN service) and, subject to the terms of use, can be used without restrictions until the end of the trial period.

The database and modules are part of the EISZ offering and can be subscribed to through EISZ.
The database consists of 13 modules, 9 of which are related to economic science, but there are also modules related to healthcare, education, engineering and information and knowledge management.

The journals are available at the following link: https://www.emerald.com/insight/

On Monday, 24 February 2025, the ELTE Savaria Library and Archives will be open from 12.00 for the national written round of the National Peter Bod Library User Study Competition.

Thank you for your understanding!

The ELTE–NFI University Film Club continues the series of screenings and discussions. We welcome university citizens from all faculties of ELTE.

In a highly exciting, free adaptation of Stefan Zweig's The Chessnovella, the filmmakers have created a psychological thriller with unexpected twists and turns. Elements of the story are interspersed with events in Hungary in 1956. Márta and István try to leave the country on the last refugee train. Alongside the young couple, the relics of the Church are also on their way to the border, the path of which is being tortured out of a Catholic priest, B, by the men of power. The characters' stories intersect on the train in an all-consuming game of chess in which not only the fate of the treasures but also the lives of the lovers are at stake. Set to be released in 2023, the film is one of the most exciting and visually unique in recent years, mixing literary adaptation, fantasy and history. Barnabás Tóth, a director who has been in the running for the Academy Award several times, has once again made a film that will not let go.

Venue: University Square campus (1053 Budapest, Egyetem tér 1-3. fszt., corridor next to the cloakroom)

Date: 26 February 2025, 18:00

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOirfnfYawU

Starring Sára Varga-Járó, Gergely Váradi, Károly Hajduk, Pál Mácsai, Bori Péterfy. The film was Hungary's Oscar nominee in 2023.

In the post-screening discussion, our guests are Barnabás Tóth, director, co-screenwriter, master teacher at ELTE, Linda Lisztes, actor, co-writer and András Másik Szőke, cinematographer.

Due to limited seating, please register in advance here:

https://www.ajk.elte.hu/content/mesterjatszma-toth-barnabas-filmje-2023.e.1817

Correspondence about the film club is welcome via eltenfi.filmklub@elte.hu.

The ELTE–NFI Filmklub on Facebook 

The University History Collection currently holds around fifteen thousand frames, some of which are in the form of negatives and some of which are on paper. The earliest images in the collection are of Loránd Eötvös and his family in the 1880s, but most of the images date from between 1950 and 2000. 

The majority of the photographs depict events related to university life, such as the opening of the academic year, doctoral inaugurations, conferences, sporting events and artistic performances. We also keep portraits, group photos and building photographs. Digitised items from the collection are available in the ELTE Digital Institutional Repository. A detailed report on the composition and management of our photo collection can be found in the Archives Review (Levéltári Szemle) 2024, issue 3, by Georgina Schlay.

Deputy State Secretary for Public Collections and Cultural Development Máté Vincze and Head of Department László Szende, PhD visited our library on 13 February 2025.

Our guests, on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, were invited to discover the building's representative spaces and storage rooms. During the visit, Dr. Kulcsár Szabó Ernőné Gombos Annamária, Director General of the ELTE University Library and Archives, also provided information on the mission, future plans and current goals of the institution. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the possibilities for development of the collection preservation and storage.