King Felipe VI of Spain honored the Fulbright Program with the 2014 Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation in recognition of the Program’s educational and cultural exchange that has strengthened links and mutual understanding between the world’s citizens. The King, who is the former Prince of Asturias, presented the award at a grand ceremony in Oviedo, Spain on October 24, 2014. Executive Director Károly Jókay attended the event.

The Commission organized a two-day visit to Eger and surroundings for U.S. Fulbright grantees on October 10-11, 2014. Half of the group participated in a workshop on Internationalization of Higher Education at Eszterházy Károly College. The final event of the day was a wine tasting at Sike Winery in the Valley of the Beautiful Women. The next day the group visited the 18th century De la Motte Mansion in Noszvaj, the former forced labor camp at Recsk, now National Memorial Park and an 11th century church at Feldebrő.

The Commission sponsored a reception at the closing ceremony of the “From Kamenetsk Podolsk to Auschwitz” international scientific conference commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian Holocaust. Several U.S. and Hungarian Fulbrighters were among the speakers of the conference organized by the John Wesley Theological College (Budapest), Nazareth College (Rochester, New York) with the support of the Budapest University of Jewish Studies.

Fulbright Specialist Steven Fischer, currently posted at the Institute of English and American Studies, University of Debrecen, screened his documentary “Freedom Dance” at Central European University on October 13th. The screening was co-sponsored by CEU’s Center for Arts and Culture (CAC). CAC Director Lilla Földy was a most welcoming host.

Steven Fischer is a two-time Emmy® nominated writer/producer and digital cinematographer of fiction, non-fiction, and animated stories. His credits include the films Freedom Dance (2007) featuring Mariska Hargitay and Old School New School (2010) with Brian Cox. In 2010, The Daily Record included Fischer on their list of 60 Influential Marylanders. His films have received numerous awards including: Two Emmy Award nominations, CINE Masters Series Award, 7 Telly Awards, 2 CINE Golden Eagle Awards, and 2 Gold Remi Awards. Fischer is a Fulbright recipient in Hungary, and sought internationally to speak on creativity.

Freedom Dance (animated documentary, 29 mins, 2007) documents four months in the lives of artist Edward Hilbert and his wife, Judy, as refugees defiantly leaving Communist Hungary during the violent 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Along the way, Edward kept a journal in cartoon form detailing a trip defined by adventure. This animated documentary attempts to re-tell the Hilberts’ eventful escape by inter-cutting original character-driven animation with recorded interviews and photographs.

Discussion followed with Steven Fischer director, Fulbright Alum (’06 New York University) Csaba Békés historian (Hungarian Academy of Science, Corvinus University of Budapest), and Brigitta Iványi-Bitter art historian (MOME Animation) moderated by Károly Jókay (Executive Director of the US-Hungary Fulbright Commission).

Balázs Mikusi (’02 Cornell University and current host of Megan Small ’14) discovers original Mozart manuscript of the Piano Sonata in A, K.331 (Rondo alla Turca) at National Széchényi Library, Budapest.