Soviet Fantasia
Hajnal has grown up taking for granted what generations of their family have believed: a better life lies abroad. As they begin to discover their queerness, fantasies of kissing girls and folk dancers breaking into queer ballroom collide with the fear that they will never be accepted at home. Haunted by a busó, a masked figure from folklore, they dream of a life in Britain where nobody will know where they came from. But even after they leave, the familiar presence follows.
'Soviet Fantasia' is a love letter to queer Eastern Europeans who struggle to connect with home in the face of ongoing attacks on their human rights. The film asks what it means to belong to a place that makes you feel you don’t.
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CREDITS
Hajnal Elizabeth Kate Weber
Poet Zsófi Kemény
Sherlock Holmes Charlie Coldfield
Dancers Lilla Buzás, Zsófia Szász, Hanna Hajdu, Réka Anna Gonda
Written & directed by Penn Bálint
Featuring the poem “Szív és érv” by Zsófi Kemény
Produced by Gerzson Szántó & Penn Bálint
Executive producers Luke Jeffery, Luke Hagan, Claire Horrocks & Jonas Hawkins
Cinematography by Dániel Misota
Edited by Penn Bálint & Luke Jeffery
Original score by Sarolta Szécsi
Featuring “Dos Eybiker Yidene (Nign) / The E-Biker’s Legényes” by Zoë Aqua
Choreography by Ffion Godwin & Zsófia Szász
Production design by Penn Bálint
Costume design by Penn Bálint
FESTIVALS & SCREENINGS
2026
Fluid identitások, posztmagyar valóságok, Turbina, Budapest
Oska Bright Film Festival, Brighton
Liszt Institute / Hungarian Cultural Institute, Sofia
Film Ball, Octopus Shorts showcase, Gdańsk
2025
Cornwall Film Festival, Winner: Queer On Screen Award
Mezipatra Queer Film Festival, Prague & Brno
Cambridge Film Festival
Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Cardiff, Nomination: Best British Short Film
Encounters Film Festival, Bristol
BuSho Budapest Short Film Festival
Octopus Film Festival, Gdańsk
Queer Vision Film Festival, Bristol
Moonstep International Short Film Festival, Budapest Lift-off event
Sutton Queer Film Festival, London
Lluniau Lliwgar Film Club, Caernarfon
BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival
Creative UK, Plymouth Arts Cinema, private screening
Best of BuSho, Hungarian shorts touring selection
Liszt Institute mini-festival, 798 Art District, Beijing
Film4 & Channel 4 streaming, as part of the Iris Prize Best British shorts programme
2024
Aesthetica Short Film Festival, York
Two Short Nights Film Festival, Exeter, work-in-progress screening