There is a unique and potent power to the personal documentary. Unlike grand, issue-based cinematic essays that seek to explain the world, the personal doc aims for something more intimate: to understand a world through the filmmaker’s own eyes. It’s a genre that trades objectivity for a raw, vulnerable subjectivity, inviting us not just to learn but to feel. It is in this quiet, contemplative space that Rita Lengyel’s directorial debut, Mein Ungarn in Berlin (My Hungary in Berlin), finds its voice. Lengyel, an actress perhaps best known to international audiences for her magnetic performance as Mathilde in Hannes Stöhr’s 2008 techno-drama cult classic Berlin Calling , steps behind the camera to turn the lens on the most complex subject of all: her own family.  

The result is a delicate and deeply moving exploration of identity, memory, and the feeling of being caught between two worlds. The film is described not as a straightforward narrative but as a “family kaleidoscope,” a collection of memories and moments that piece together a life lived between Hungary and Germany, between the lingering shadows of the East and the vibrant promise of the West. Through this intimate journey, Lengyel crafts more than just a home movie; she creates a poignant “European snapshot in time,” a quiet testament to the search for belonging in a continent defined by its shifting borders and layered histories.  

A Film Born from a Divided Heritage: The Making of a European Snapshot

The story of how Mein Ungarn in Berlin came to be is as compelling as the narrative it presents, revealing a unique ecosystem of artistic support within European cinema. The film’s journey began not in a commercial production office but in the halls of academia, as Lengyel’s diploma project for her directing studies at the prestigious Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. This origin is fundamental to understanding the film’s DNA; it was conceived in an environment that prioritizes artistic exploration and personal expression over market viability. The university’s role extended beyond education, acting as a co-producer and providing an institutional framework that nurtured this deeply personal project from its inception.  

This academic support was bolstered by a significant professional relationship. Hannes Stöhr, the acclaimed director who guided Lengyel’s performance in Berlin Calling, stepped into the role of producer through his company, Stoehrfilm. This transition from a director-actress dynamic to a producer-director collaboration speaks volumes. It reflects a profound trust in Lengyel’s vision and a commitment to helping her tell her story. Stöhr’s involvement lends the project a certain pedigree, connecting it to his own celebrated “Berlin Trilogy” of films (  

Berlin is in Germany, One Day in Europe, and Berlin Calling) that so expertly captured the city’s evolving identity. In essence, an established director recognized a unique voice in his collaborator and used his industry standing to elevate her student film into a feature documentary.  

This support system was crucial, as Lengyel embarked on the emotionally and ethically complex task of documenting her own family. Over a period of two years, from 2009 to 2011, she followed her grandparents, mother, and uncle, collecting their stories and memories. This patient, long-term approach allowed for a depth and intimacy that is the hallmark of the best personal documentaries, creating a rich tapestry woven from the threads of individual lives caught in the sweep of history.

 

A Family Kaleidoscope Across Borders: Plot and Thematic Analysis

Mein Ungarn in Berlin eschews a traditional, linear plot for a structure that mirrors the very nature of memory itself: fragmented, associative, and deeply emotional. Described as a “family kaleidoscope,” the film follows Lengyel as she navigates the past and present of her family members, piecing together their disparate experiences to form a cohesive, albeit complex, whole. The narrative is a collection of “different perspectives” on Hungary, the city of Budapest, and Lengyel’s chosen home, Berlin, creating a multi-generational portrait of migration, displacement, and the search for belonging.  

At its core, the film is Lengyel’s “own search for identity”. Born in Düsseldorf into what she calls a “patchwork family,” Lengyel’s life has been lived between cultures—Cologne, Budapest, and finally Berlin. This personal history is the film’s anchor, exploring the profound tension of being caught “between Hungary and Germany, between East and West”. This is not merely a geographical divide but a historical and ideological one, reflecting the broader European experience in the wake of the Cold War. The film delves into the complex German concept of  

Heimat—a term that transcends “homeland” to encompass a deeper sense of belonging, roots, and identity—and questions what it means to find or create one when your history is split across borders.

A brilliant and vital element in this exploration is the inclusion of the Berlin-based band Rotfront. The band, whose members also feature in the film, is more than just a source of music; they are a living embodiment of the film’s central themes. Known for their “Emigranski Raggamuffin” style—a boisterous fusion of klezmer, reggae, hip-hop, and Eastern European folk—Rotfront represents the vibrant, multicultural, and constantly evolving identity of modern Berlin. Their music becomes a sonic metaphor for the cultural hybridity that Lengyel herself embodies. Where Budapest and the stories of her family carry the weight of history and memory, Berlin, through the lens of Rotfront, emerges as a space of new beginnings, a  

Wahlheimat (chosen home) where a new, composite identity can be forged. By juxtaposing the intimate, often melancholic, family history with the energetic, forward-looking pulse of the band, Lengyel creates a powerful dialogue between the past and the present, between the identity one inherits and the one one chooses to build.  

The View from the Viewfinder: A Raw and Intimate Aesthetic

The technical execution of Mein Ungarn in Berlin is perfectly aligned with its thematic goals, creating a visual and auditory experience that feels as personal and authentic as the story it tells. The film’s aesthetic choices are not merely stylistic; they are integral to its argument about the subjective nature of memory and identity.

The cinematography, helmed by Sven Jakob, embraces the intimacy of the documentary form. Shot on XDCam HD, a professional digital format popular in the early 2010s, the film possesses a look that is clean and clear without being overly polished or cinematic. This choice grounds the film in a sense of realism, avoiding the artifice of a more stylized production. The camera work likely relies on handheld techniques during interviews and observational scenes, placing the viewer directly into the spaces inhabited by Lengyel and her family. This approach fosters a sense of immediacy and connection, making us feel less like spectators and more like participants in this personal excavation of the past.  

This feeling is amplified by the film’s editing. Credited to Andrea Schönherr and Andreas Schulz, the structure is best understood through the film’s own description as a “kaleidoscope”. This suggests a non-linear, associative editing style that prioritizes emotional and thematic connections over a strict chronological narrative. Much like an essay film, the rhythm of  

Mein Ungarn in Berlin is likely dictated by the flow of memory, jumping between time periods, locations, and perspectives to build a cumulative emotional impact. This structure is a powerful reflection of how we process our own histories—not as a straight line, but as a web of interconnected moments, feelings, and images.

The soundscape, too, is woven from the fabric of the film’s world. The original music is provided by the bands featured within the narrative—Rotfront, Kex, and Januar Horo Olh—rather than a traditional, non-diegetic score. This grounds the film’s sound in the cultural reality it depicts, enhancing its authenticity. The work of the sound team, including re-recording mixer Johannes Hampel, would have been crucial in blending these musical performances with the intimate interviews and ambient sounds of Budapest and Berlin, creating a cohesive auditory experience that transports the viewer across borders and through time.

A Festival Darling’s Quiet Journey: Critical Reception and Commercial Analysis

To search for Mein Ungarn in Berlin on major film databases is to encounter a telling silence. There are no user ratings on IMDb, no Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, no Metascore to be found. Likewise, box office data is non-existent. For a conventional film, this absence of data would signify failure. For a deeply personal, non-commercial documentary like this, however, it tells a different story—one about an alternative ecosystem for cinema, where success is not measured in dollars or percentages.  

The film’s public life was lived not in multiplexes but on the festival circuit, most notably at the 2012 “Achtung Berlin – New Berlin Film Award”. This festival, dedicated to showcasing films made in and about the German capital, was the ideal venue for a film so intimately tied to the city’s identity. Its screening at the historic Babylon cinema further cemented its place within Berlin’s cultural landscape. Festivals like Achtung Berlin serve a vital function, providing a platform for personal, art-house films that would otherwise be lost in the commercial marketplace. They foster a direct dialogue between filmmaker and audience, creating a space for cinema that is challenging, intimate, and specific.  

Therefore, the success of Mein Ungarn in Berlin must be defined on its own terms. It is successful because it was made—a graduate of a prestigious film school, a completed diploma project that fulfilled its artistic mandate. It is successful because it found its audience, however niche, within a festival context that valued its unique voice. And it is successful because it exists as a permanent document of a filmmaker’s courageous journey inward. Its value lies not in its market penetration, but in its powerful articulation of a personal vision that speaks to the universal quest for one’s place in the world.  

Final Thoughts

Mein Ungarn in Berlin is a quiet film that speaks with profound emotional resonance. Rita Lengyel has crafted a documentary that is at once a loving portrait of her family and a sharp-eyed exploration of the complex, often contradictory, nature of cultural identity. It is a film about the ghosts of history that shape us and the new worlds we build to define ourselves.

While its limited availability means it may not be a film that audiences can easily find, rate, or discuss on a mass scale, its importance should not be underestimated. Mein Ungarn in Berlin is a testament to the power of personal filmmaking. It is a raw, honest, and beautifully rendered snapshot of a life lived in the spaces between, a search for Heimat that reveals that sometimes, home is not a place on a map, but a mosaic of memories, faces, and songs we carry within us. It is a film that deserves to be seen and celebrated for its courage, its intimacy, and its quiet, unwavering humanity.

Title	Mein Ungarn in Berlin (My Hungary in Berlin)
Director	Rita Lengyel
Writer	Rita Lengyel
Key Cast (as themselves)	Rita Lengyel, János Baksa-Soós, Veronika Baksa Soós, Simon Wahorn, Yuriy Gurzhy, Dorka Gryllus, Lilian Másik, Can Togay
Featured Music	Rotfront, Kex, Januar Horo Olh
Cinematography	Sven Jakob
Editing	Andrea Schönherr, Andreas Schulz
Production Companies	Stoehrfilm GmbH, Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF
Year of Production	2012
Runtime	84 minutes
Original Languages	German, Hungarian
Genre	Documentary, Personal Portrait, Social Issue
Box Office	Not publicly available; primarily a festival circuit film.
Key Festival Screenings	Achtung Berlin – New Berlin Film Award (2012)