Telex Filmclub: If You Want to Be a Poet
On 7 November, we’re celebrating the first anniversary of Telex Karakter at Trafó with an all-afternoon and evening contemporary mini-festival!
At the Karakter Contemporary Mini-Festival, we’ll not only announce the winners of the Karakter short story competition, but also host discussions, a reading club, a guided exhibition tour and a naked dance performance. The programme will also feature a film premiere: this is the first opportunity to see Ha költő akarsz lenni (If You Want to Be a Poet) in Hungary, a documentary exploring the life, legacy and contemporary reception of poet László Bertók.
Schedule
The poetry of Bertók, who passed away in 2020, is brought to life through archival footage and conversations with writers and poets. One of the film’s central figures is Attila Bertók, the poet’s son, who reflects on what it was like to grow up as the child of a celebrated poet and how he continues to care for his father’s intellectual legacy.
Watch the film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NwXi5PjFmM
László Bertók was born in 1935 in Vése, Somogy County, Hungary. He dreamed of becoming a poet from an early age, but at just 19, he was imprisoned for eight months because of an anti-Rákosi poem. His first poetry collection, Fák felvonulása (The Parade of Trees), was not published until he was 37. In 2025, marking the 90th anniversary of his birth, his Összegyűjtött versek (Collected Poems) was also published.
Following the screening, director Máté Bartha will join Dávid Klág for a discussion about the film, the creative process behind it and the poetry of László Bertók.
📍 Venue: Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, 41 Liliom Street, Budapest, 1094
📅 Date: 7 November 2026
🕑 Time: 5:00–7:00 PM
Tickets: This programme requires a separate ticket. Buy tickets here.
Discover the rest of the mini-festival programme: https://fb.me/e/8sgLGGkTy
Trafó House of Contemporary Arts
The Trafó House of Contemporary Arts in Budapest is a unique venue in Hungary, embedded in the international contemporary scene, where different genres - theatre, dance, new circus, music and visual arts - are presented in a unique and authentic way.
