Interview with Mária Takács, documentary filmmaker, journalist and activist, founding member of the first Hungarian lesbian organization, Labrisz.

Abstract

Anikó Imre conducted this interview with Hungarian documentary filmmaker, journalist and activist Mária Takács specifically for the special issue entitled "Toward Central and Eastern European Lesbian Studies." We discuss Takács's pivotal work for lesbian, LGBTQ, and more broadly, underrepresented minority rights and representations over the past two decades. We address how her three main areas of engagement have overlapped and integrated and how this work has become increasingly precarious against the backdrop of the Orbán government's repressive policies since 2010. We pay special attention to Takács's pioneering work as a filmmaker, from making the first documentary about the secret lives of lesbians under socialism to her latest, participatory project, a scripted web series about lesbian romance in a politically hostile atmosphere.