Julianna Ugrin

“I can clearly remember the first time I have heard about You. About the part of me, that was always missing from my life. My Grandmother often says, I was born with two missions. Firstly, to fill in the space that You left behind, secondly to bring peace into the family.” My brother was kidnapped by his own father, on the 3rd of June 1987 from Budapest, the capital of the communist Hungary. My mother went through unbearable pain of losing her son. The only way she could survive was burying this story deep in herself. I was born into this secret. It completely determined my life. I was looking for my brother everywhere. When I turned 14, I decided to find him. After six years of searching, I finally found him in Brussels. He became a head of an anti-terrorist team. His job is nothing else but saving people from being killed and kidnapped. After long years, I was able to convince my brother to meet my mother. Not long ago, they met after 28 years. Now he is looking for the truth about his past. As I started the search and organized the first meetings, I am the person linking the audience with the story. The film follows my lyric narrative and presents the story through my eyes. People who are involved as my mother, my own father, my brother’s father, the prosecutor and so on, telling the story, what happened in the past. Besides that, the family super 8 archives represent the past and the lost memories. The current situations, like my brother’s wedding last summer or the relationships, feelings which are changing are being filmed as well. So the past story, the present situations and my journey through finding my brother and making a film about it give the structure of my documentary. For me this film is a personal mission. The biggest task in my life was finding my missing brother, and the only way I can entirely fulfill this mission is to tell it with my tool, which is filmmaking.

I am the only member from my family who is able to travel with my Holocaust survivor grandmother from Budapest to the yearly Generation Forums in Ravensbrück former Concentration Camp. We stay there at houses, which used to serve as female SS guards’ accommodation. Artists come to perform, young people listen to survivors, we remember, days are devoted to memories. Although I am there to support my grandmother, it seems she is much stronger than me. But how do I deal with this location, spending summers in a death camp? How can I balance my feelings in between hate for this place and overcoming the unbearable memories of my grandmother’s past that all became part of mine?

I grew up with the knowledge of a horrible trauma that happened to my family 80 years ago. Almost everyone perished of my family in concentrations camps. One of the only survivors is my grandma. I know every single detail. She is 97 years old. We have a very special bond between us since my childhood. I follow her everywhere she goes even if it is painful for me. I hoped our last visit together at the Holocaust Memorial event in 2021 of Rechlin KZ would end to my painful journeys and let me live in the present, but I ended up with a different conclusion.

"Dear Helen" is a film-letter, an experimental docu-diary, dedicated to my great-grandmother Helen, who perished in Rechlin KZ, in the arms of my grandma.

Driven by genuine curiosity and a deep love for storytelling, Viktória, a young filmmaker, embarks on a journey to uncover how we navigate a changing and most uncertain world. Inspired by a 150-year-old Austro-Hungarian Arctic expedition, she sees the past as a lens for understanding our present – from which we might even learn a deeply valuable lesson of cooperation and persistency. With a spirit of adventure, she sets out to explore how individuals and communities adapt to shifting environments—and what role personal action can play in shaping the future.

The series follows Viktória and her international crew as they sail from Bremerhaven, Germany, to the remote Arctic archipelago of Franz Josef Land, retracing the historic expedition while exploring the region’s modern complexities. As they journey north, they explore Norway’s rugged coasts, Sámi traditions, and remote research stations, uncovering how nature, culture, and human survival are deeply intertwined. Encounters with vibrant characters offer fresh perspectives on the Arctic’s significance, revealing its impact on our daily lives across the globe, and how its fate is tied to our shared future.

Blending personal storytelling, intimate encounters and stunning visuals, Frozen Ocean connects past and present, combining animated sequences inspired by the historic expedition’s journals with the experiences of our time. Through Viktória’s eyes, the Arctic emerges not just as a distant frontier but as a mirror of humanity’s greatest challenges and hopes. The series invites viewers to reflect on their own connection to this extraordinary region and inspires us to reimagine what is possible with joint efforts.

Recipes for Life follows young filmmaker Péter as he explores identity, friendship, and love through the story of József, a Hungarian refugee in Copenhagen. Péter, navigating a breakup and his return to Budapest, seeks cooking lessons from József, who once cooked for freedom fighters during the 1956 revolution. Their lessons evolve into deeper reflections on love, loss, and life’s fragility. Each chapter is tied to a gastronomic term, paralleling Budapest and Copenhagen. As József cares for his ailing ex-wife, Péter faces his own crossroads. Their unlikely friendship reveals that learning to cook is also learning to live.