Keep Quiet is a 2016 biographical documentary film about Hungarian politician Csanád Szegedi, known for his anti-semitic comments and membership in the radical nationalist party Jobbik, who later discovered he was Jewish.[1][2] The British-made film includes interviews with Szegedi, his grandmother who was a former Auschwitz concentration camp survivor and archive footage.

Keep Quiet
Directed byJoseph Martin
Sam Blair
Produced byAlex Holder
Danielle Clark
Nicole Stott
StarringCsanád Szegedi
Anne Applebaum
András Dezső
Rabbi Boruch Oberlander
Katalin Molnár Szegediné
Imréné Molnár
Eva 'Bobby' Neumann
CinematographyMárton Vízkelety
Edited byBen Stark
Kim Gaster
Music byPhilip Sheppard
Production
companies
AJH Films
Passion Pictures
Running time
94 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Hungary
Canada
Belgium
Poland
LanguagesEnglish
Hungarian
Hebrew

On 14 April 2016 the film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in the World Documentary Competition.[3]

Synopsis

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Csanád Szegedi was a member of the Hungarian radical nationalist Jobbik party, who espoused anti-semitic rhetoric. He was a founder of the Magyar Gárda (Hungarian Guard), a now-banned paramilitary wing of Jobbik. Then came a revelation which changed his life: Szegedi's maternal grandparents were Jewish and his grandmother a survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp who, fearing further persecution, had hidden her religious background.

The film follows Szegedi's on his three-year journey to embrace Judaism, forced to confront his family's past, his wrongdoing, and his country's turbulent history. But is this change a genuine process of reparation and spiritual awakening, or is he a desperate man with nowhere to turn?

Reception

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The film received positive reviews from critics. Frank Scheck from The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Be prepared to talk about it after," and called the film "[An] amazing story... Should provoke strong controversy upon its theatrical release. It's fascinating throughout."[4] Daniel Walber from NonFics called the film "[a] powerful narrative of repentance."[5]

Keep Quiet was featured in "The 10 Best Movies at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival" in Time Out New York. "If you want a controversial fest title, this is it."[6] Jewish Week commented: "A superb piece of nonfiction filmmaking, telling a story of import with grace and intelligence."[7] Slant Magazine wrote, "The filmmakers astutely reveal how a culture can eat another alive and somehow live with itself."[8]

References

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  1. ^ "This politician hated Jews. Then found out he was one". Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  2. ^ "What happened when an anti-Semite found he was Jewish?". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  3. ^ "Keep Quiet | 2016 Tribeca Film Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  4. ^ "'Keep Quiet': Tribeca Review". Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  5. ^ "Keep Quiet (2016) Documentary Review". 2016-04-26. Archived from the original on 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  6. ^ "The 10 best movies at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival". Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  7. ^ "From Hungary To Buenos Aires And Beyond". The Jewish Week | Connecting The World To Jewish News, Culture & Opinion. 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  8. ^ "Tribeca Film Festival 2016: Keep Quiet | The House Next Door | Slant Magazine". Retrieved 2016-08-11.
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