Judit Elek, who died at the age of 87 on 1 October 2025, was one of the first, hugely influential Hungarian female directors, and this year Forum Special focuses on female directors.

As a child, she spent her pocket money on cinema tickets. After studing directing in the class of Félix Máriássy at the Academy of Drama and Film, she launched her career as a dramaturg at Budapest Film Studio. She became one of the leading figures of Hungarian film history as a founding member of Balázs Béla Studio. She won several major prizes for her 1967 documentary How Long Does Man Matter? / Meddig él az ember?, and her first feature film The Lady from Constantinople / Sziget a szárazföldön (1969), was extremely popular. Her inimitable stylistic traits include blurring the lines between feature film and documentary, as well as blending fiction and reality, according to a press release from the National Film Institute – Hungary that you can find HERE.

After winning several prizes at European and international festivals, Judit Elek was presented with a lifetime achievement award from the Hungarian Film Academy during the MOZ.GO Hungarian Motion Picture Festival in 2024.

The Hungarian National Film Institute – Film Archive oversees the preservation and distribution of the works of Judit Elek as well as the entire national film heritage, while the digital restoration is conducted by experts from the National Film Institute – Filmlab.