Árpád Schilling, Hungarian director, internationally recognised but considered a public enemy by the government of Viktor Orbán, has left his country. As godfather of the festival "A weekend in the East" which currently puts the spotlights on Hungary in the cultural scene of Paris, Mr. Schilling will attend a debate devoted to the “Undesirables” in the theatre Odéon next Monday. A short meeting before the event...

Flore de Borde: WHAT DOES THE WORD "DISSIDENCE" MEAN TO YOU?
Árpád Schilling: For me this word means that one creates a distance, takes "a breath of fresh air", when one can be in a position to observe the complexity of things. For some time I was part of something and then I came out of it.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN SAYING "OUT"? 
I stepped out of a system that I could not stand anymore. There is a political system built by Viktor Orbán, with all his legislative arsenal, the new Constitution, the control over the media, the universities and the cultural system, or the rewriting of history. But there is also my professional environment, namely the theatre scene, which became opportunist, complaisant to the power. And last but not least, there is a lack of solidarity at all levels of the Hungarian society.

HOW DID ALL THESE CONDITIONS INFLUENCE YOU? 
During the last ten years, I have tried with my company "Krétakör" to work for making some changes in Hungary. We worked in the countryside in collaboration with the local people in order to raise awareness on topics such as corruption, racism, poverty. But these initiatives did not make any significant change and put me in isolation. My foundation has been subjected to Kafkian tax audits, they have withdrawn our financial support. I felt very lonely and completely supportless in my own professional context. I had the feeling that I become more and more bitter, hard and distant. I have two young children and I did not want to show them that face of me. This summer, I decided to leave my country and move to France. It was a spiritual, intellectual and human decision. I have a political conscience and an awareness in how doing my job, that I did not want to betray.

WERE YOU ALONE? THERE IS NO OPPOSITION IN HUNGARY, THERE IS NO FORM OF DISSIDENCE? 
There are not so many people like that ... There are only a few initiatives, mainly individuals who demonstrate, who try to protect the environment or to defend human rights. But they are very few and do not have support. In the intellectual milieu, nowadays, it is the reign of apathy. The generation coming from the era “before Orbán” has aged and does not manifest much. Among young people, the power exerts a very strong magnetism. The small civil associations fight against the big ones just because they need to snatch a subsidy, a visibility. There are internal conflicts everywhere. Civil society does not react quickly enough to all events happing against/with them, so they lock themselves. If you are invited to a conference – for example - and at the last moment the topic is judged to be disturbing, they just easily take your out from the program. People just say that it’s not worth of making a scandal of it, it does not matter what happened, that there are other problems in the country to be solved. There is no time to react, we simply keep turning the page. What shocks me the most today is the lack of solidarity, to say "No" together. It's horrible because, I think, because there is always a moment, and there was a moment when we had the possibility of refusing what happens to us.

WHAT DO YOU DO NOW, WHAT DIRECTION DO YOU GIVE TO YOUR WORK? 
I have a lot of projects abroad. I continue to observe Hungary with some despair. But I also want to broaden my horizons, to understand what is happening in Europe, in the United States or in South Africa. I need to make comparisons, to learn something. I notice a spread of "virus" and when I say "virus", I think of a "primitive" form of thinking, a mental blockage, a fear of the complexity of the world. I am preparing my next play to be opened in Zagreb in December. The title is "Pension Eden". It is about a community, which can live happy, as long as it remains ignorant. I ask questions concerning the responsibility of the individual in this community. It's a provocation, of course, and that's an important part of my work. Nevertheless, I remain optimistic, I have two children, a new generation is at our door.

by Flore de Borde