VILLA NEGRA

70 min - Fiction Documentary

Dir: Botond Lelkes,   Lilla Gulyás,  Benedek Vida,  Bozó Bekő

DOP: Péter Polus, Gergely Harsányi, Botond Lelkes

Producer: Botond Lelkes

Line Producer: Evelyn Balogh

The Villa Negra documentary is set on the outskirts of a small Hungarian village, nestled in a beautiful valley. Its protagonists are Hungarian visual artists in their fifties—painters and sculptors. Villa Negra is an artist retreat that, for 25 years, has provided a space for creators to withdraw from the world every summer for two weeks, focusing solely on their art, themselves, and each other.

They were 25 years old when they first arrived in this small village. Now, with a quarter of a century of life experience behind them, they are still here, creating. These are not artists celebrated by galleries or international forums, but rather a deeply philosophical and alternative artistic community. They are among the significant visual artists of their time—without the world even realizing it.

Although the film is a documentary, it is structured more like a feature film. Its narrative is driven by the artists' conversations—about life, crises, disappointments, hope, and faith. These intimate moments are interwoven with montage sequences and cutaway shots that capture them in the act of creation, as well as the artworks taking shape. The most vibrant discussions emerge during shared meals, where each day, a different artist cooks for the group. They clean fish together, fry meat in a cauldron over an open fire—actions that unintentionally mirror the chiseling of stone, the carving of wood, or the mixing of paint.

At its core, the film is not about art itself, nor about opportunities, success, or failure. It is about people in a unique and extraordinary setting—the artist retreat. It is about friendship, solidarity, creation, struggles, and self-irony. It is about us.

The film is seen through the vision of producer-director Botond Lelkes, whose perspective guides the story. The cinematographers and co-directors are visiting the retreat for the first time, experiencing it with fresh eyes. Botond's father and uncle founded Villa Negra—it is, in a way, his contemporary. Thus, Villa Negra also becomes a personal reflection: a glimpse into the preceding generation through the eyes of the next—and perhaps, in a way, a glimpse into their own future.