– The Hungarian producer explains why she works in the documentary field and how she sees its connection with the society
After earning her MA in Film Studies, Anna Tóth (ULab) has worked across fiction, animation, and documentary — the form that remains closest to her heart. She has produced and line-produced TV and cinema releases, often focusing on social issues through personal stories. In 2024, she took part in the Producers Link program with a focus on youth content, and in 2025, completed the Green Film Lab — a sustainable filmmaking workshop by TorinoFilmLab. She is a member of MADOKE, the Hungarian Documentary Association. An interview with her, now selected for the 2026 Emerging Producers programme (read her EP profile here).
Why do you produce documentaries? Do you see documentary cinema as an instrument of social and political change?
Anna Tóth: I believe that documentaries can help us understand each other and, at the same time, learn more about the world. I think it is important to raise awareness and inform people. That is why these films should reach broader audiences beyond just festival-goers. Organizing screenings in the countryside – like KineDok – that bring important films and topics to alternative rural venues (such as cultural centres, schools, cafés, etc.), helps achieve this.
How do you achieve and maintain work-life balance and foster overall well-being?
I try to spend as much time as possible in nature to recharge. In addition, I go to therapy and try to exercise as much as possible, and occasionally meditate as well. Recently, I decided that I need to include a daily 1–1.5 hour walk. Even though I’m in the middle of moving right now, during periods like this, it’s also important to accept and be kind to ourselves if we can’t achieve every goal at once.
Where do you find audiences for your films?
Most likely, our films first reach documentary audiences through festivals, then sometimes in cinemas or television, and often on streaming platforms, which means a wider audience. However, there is a large part of society that lacks access or information. Organizing alternative screenings in the countryside and later making the films accessible online to the general public is very important in the case of many films.
What projects do you have underway (including fiction films and other projects)?
Currently, I have a feature documentary in post-production, Don’t Forget the Steps (directed by Réka Dubinyák), as well as a short fiction film, Unwellness (directed by Réka Pinczés). The former explores the dynamics of a dance group of people around the age of 70 through a dementia-prevention program, reflecting on ageing. The short film portrays a woman in peri-menopause as she gradually reopens herself to intimacy.
I am also developing several documentary projects. Home is a Dollhouse (directed by Dorottya Márton) is currently circulating at workshops and pitch forums. We have participated in programs at Verzió and the IDFA, and will continue at EastDoc in March. It is a personal film in which a filmmaker who grew up without her mother turns the camera on both of them to confront abandonment and seek connection while she still can.
In addition, I am developing Little Someone (directed by Dóra Benyó), in which Dóra, a visual artist, uses her paintings while uncovering her grandfather’s hidden past. Loba Loca (directed by Clara Farkas) is a documentary reflecting on echoes of generational womanhood across time. Violence of Freedom (directed by Anna Nemes), also by a visual artist filmmaker, explores artistic freedom and chosen family within the Brooklyn drag scene.
I am also working on a feature fiction project in development, Thanks, We’re Fine (directed by Máté Bence Fazekas and Boglárka Ászity), which participated in the Biennale workshop and is currently seeking partners. It follows a young couple confronting their financial vulnerability as they ask the conservative rural parents for help buying their first home. The film explores both ideological clashes and the persistence of love.
I am further involved in Metamorph (directed by Róza Kereszty), which is a short film but it is a preliminary study of a feature. It centers on a mother–daughter confrontation, where the two women struggle with old wounds while attempting to move closer to each other.
Alongside these, I am developing a more “outsider” project: a feature-length animated film, Children of the Wind Mother (creator: Mirabella Ágoston, scriptwriter: Anikó Mangold). The story follows siblings lost in the spirit world who must save the dying Wind Mother, while confronting family legacies and grief.
Overall, I am working across a diverse slate of projects, but in recent years I have found myself particularly drawn to stories focusing on women’s and queer experiences, as well as themes of ageing and intergenerational relationships.
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EMERGING PRODUCERS is a leading promotional and educational project, which brings together talented European documentary film producers. The programme is organised and curated by the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.
Deadline for applications to the EMERGING PRODUCERS 2027 edition is 31st March 2026.
