GOODBYE HUNGARIA

A film by Jon Nealon

ContactJon Nealon1 Jackson PlaceBrooklyn, NY 11215(718) 965-0363nealon@pipeline.com

Festivals and Screenings

January 14, 2004 Woodstock Film Festival Continuing Film SeriesInquiring Mind Bookstore, Saugerties, New York (Pre-Opening)

June 17,18, 23, 24, 2004 Human Rights Watch International Film FestivalWalter Reade Theater, New York, NY (World Premiere)

October 7, 2004Northwest Film Center – Portland Museum of ArtPortland, OR

October 7, 2004Alliance FrancaiseMadras, India

October 15, 18, 20 Festival International de Cine y Derechos HumanosMadrid and Barcelona, Spain (European Premiere)

November 6, 2004 Clark University Human Rights Film FestivalWorcester, MA

November 10-12 Unheard Voices, Houston, Texas

January 4, 2005 Yerba Buena Center for Performing ArtsSan Francisco

January 29, 2005 Coolidge Corner Theater, Boston MA

Summary

Both political tale and love story, Goodbye Hungaria begins in a refugee camp inHungary, home to hundreds of men, women and children fleeing war andoppression from every corner of the globe. To the refugees, Eastern Hungary is acold and unwelcoming place; Asylum is rarely granted, and there are fewopportunities for work. For most, the only way out of this legal limbo is through athriving underground smuggling ring. Jon Nealon’s cinema verité documentarychronicles the lives of Abed Al-Sahli a Palestinian refugee who acts as advocateand de facto translator for the camp’s Arab population, and Charu Newhouse, anAmerican volunteer. As both Abed and Charu struggle to make life better for therefugees caught in red tape and subject to the vagaries of international politics,their fates become connected. The film traces their unlikely love story from thehopelessness of the camp, to a dramatic arrival in New York City (complete witha startling final scene set in a location that will thrill and move every New Yorker!)where they come to start a new life, together.

Background

In the years following the end of Communism in Eastern Europe, many eastern bloccountries struggled to gain acceptance into a new global force - the European Union. Todo so, these countries had to prove that they could “behave” like Western Europe bytaking in refugees and offering them political asylum. In 1998, Hungary was declared a“first safe country” for asylum seekers. Refugees on their way to the West were forced toapply for asylum in the first country they passed through that accepted applicants. Forthousands of asylum seekers, that country was Hungary. Refugees were sent to campsscattered across the country. Debrecen was the largest, housing close to a thousandpeople. While they awaited word of their status, the refugees were prohibited fromworking and from leaving the country. Translation services were virtually non-existentand most refugees received no legal advice to help them navigate the maze of everchanging international immigration law.

I was traveling in Budapest when I learned about the Debrecen camp from a recentcollege graduate, Charu Newhouse. She had decided to move into the camp andbecome its only volunteer, with no backing from any organization. The HungarianRefugee Board gave me permission to film in the camp for one month.

StoryCharu Newhouse is a young American volunteer who struggles to raise awarenessabout the dismal state of the Debrecen refugee camp. She does her best to drum updonations from relief organizations, but there is never enough to go around. Back inCharu’s hometown of York Pennsylvania, she has become a local hero. The newspaperhas been running a series of articles about her situation, and the coverage has led to anoutpouring of donations. Her parents now have an entire warehouse full of clothes,games and medical supplies. But back at the camp, the situation is still dire.

In her work as a volunteer, Charu has the help of a young Palestinian man named AbedAl-Sahli. Born a refugee in southern Lebanon, Abed has never held citizenship in anycountry. Like everyone else in Debrecen, he was on his way to Western Europe whenthe law changed and he was sent to the refugee camp. Since Abed speaks fourlanguages, he acts as translator and advocate for the many Arabs living in the camp.

Tensions run high when a list is released of people who are slated to be sent to a newcamp in rural Hungary. People have come to rely on one another and the prospect ofbeing sent to an unknown camp is terrifying. Abed’s name is on the list and he isdevastated. Not only does he help the Arab population at the camp, but he has come tolook after two Iraqi families.

When the announcement comes, many people scramble to get out of the country. Fadi,a Palestinian friend of Abed’s, has decided it’s time to pay illegal smugglers for a tripacross the Austrian border, and he wants Abed to come with him. But Abed is torn; he

feels a responsibility to stay in Debrecen to help his fellow Arabs, and the Iraqi childrenwho have come to rely heavily on him for protection and guidance. Although Charuthinks he should go with Fadi and get out of the country, Abed decides against it. Hemakes a plan to leave the camp while the transfers take place, and then sneaks back in.

The second part of “Goodbye Hungaria” takes place six months later. Much haschanged. Fadi has made his escape with the Mafia. Abed has helped the Iraqi familiesflee to Sweden. And Abed and Charu have fallen in love. After marrying in a mosque inBudapest, they begin filing the paperwork that will allow Ahmed to come to the States.This is no easy task, since Abed has never had citizenship in any country. Finally, thevisa comes through. Abed and Charu move to New York to start their life together. Inthe final scene, Abed and Charu visit the World Trade Center. Abed has never scene askyscraper before, and needs to see it with his own eyes to actually believe it.

Jon NealonFilmmaker

Jon Nealon is a documentary filmmaker and editor based in New York City. He startedhis career working with Robert Drew – one of the founders of the cinema veritémovement in the United States. Since then, he has produced and directed numerousdocumentaries for television, including “Ruby Ridge: Anatomy of a Tragedy” for TheLearning Channel. Most recently, he was the Senior Producer for the award-winningverité series “Women and the Badge,” for the Oxygen Network, which chronicles thelives of women in law enforcement. “Goodbye, Hungaria” is his first independent film.