Film Screening & Discussion - Democracy Noir: A New Dawn
When Film Becomes an Act of Civic Courage
As part of Democracy Week 2026 in Geneva, join us for a unique film screening of the award-winning documentary Democracy Noir: A New Dawn, followed by a conversation on democratic resilience and civic courage.
- Date : Thursday 8 October 2026
- Time: 12:00 – 14:00
- Location: DCAF, Maison de la Paix, Petal 5, 9th floor, Open space
- Language: English
- Free, upon registration
About the film
What happens when democracy is dismantled not overnight, but step by step, from within?
Join us at lunchtime at the Maison de la Paix in Geneva for a screening of Democracy Noir: A New Dawn, the award-winning documentary by filmmaker Connie Field, followed by a conversation on democratic resilience, civic courage and the gradual erosion of democratic institutions.
Set in Hungary, the film follows three women, an opposition politician, a journalist and a nurse, as they confront the erosion of democratic institutions and the shrinking space for dissent. Through their personal stories, Democracy Noir: A New Dawn offers an intimate perspective on how authoritarianism can take root from within a democracy, and what it means to resist it.
The screening will be followed by a moderated conversation with a documentary storyteller and a civic-space practitioner, exploring the role of filmmakers and storytelling in defending democracy. What can film reveal that political analysis or statistics cannot? When does documenting democratic erosion become an act of civic courage? And can storytelling help move us from awareness to engagement and action?
Participants are invited to bring their own lunch, which they may eat during the session. Beverages will be provided.
Film Synopsis
Democracy Noir: A New Dawn is a sweeping account of how Viktor Orbán used a free and democratic election to install authoritarian rule in Hungary and of his stunning defeat, as told through the personal stories of three courageous women: a journalist, an opposition MP and a nurse. Orban changed the constitution, took over the courts, dismantled the rule of law, and took over the media. Revered by Donald Trump and the Heritage Foundation, Orban’s influence helped shape Project 2025 and the current policies of the Republican Party. But in 2026 Peter Magyar’s party Tisza ousted him from power propelled by a panoply of grass-roots protest movements joined by ordinary Hungarians. The triumph is unique in our era of democratic backsliding. A film by Academy Award Nominee and Emmy Winning Director Connie Field and Producer Sigrid Dyekjear.
Watch the trailer
Speakers
Stéphane Matute is the head of distribution strategy at OurFrame. He works to ensure that audiovisual stories reach the right audiences and contribute to changes in knowledge, perceptions and behaviour around environment, climate, social justice and health-related topics. He also oversees the distribution of KAPAW, a Swiss digital media outlet focused on innovative solutions to societal challenges; WaterBear, an international documentary platform dedicated to nature and impact; and Louise va au cinéma, a Swiss film distribution organisation. Working at the intersection of film, communications and social change, he develops multichannel campaigns, partnerships and bespoke events informed by OurFrame’s impact methodology.
Connie Field (producer / director) is an Academy Award nominated and Emmy winning director who has made a number of high profile documentaries that have been shown all over the world. Before getting involved in film she worked as an organizer in many social and human rights organizations where she established her commitment to progressive social change which she has carried into her film career. Many of her films focus on hidden histories, stories that had not been told before which should be an important part of our collective memories. Her film The Whistleblower of My Lai with the Kronos Quartet about the young Army officer who reported the US massacre in My Lai premiered in Vietnam; Tambo on the life of the ANC leader premiered in South Africa and won the director’s prize at the Pan African Film Festival; Al Helm: Martin Luther King in Palestine, about an African American gospel choir touring Palestine in a Palestinian play about Martin Luther King Jr. Prior to that she completed the seven-part series Have You Heard From Johannesburg, on the global movement that ended Apartheid in South Africa. Some of her previous work includes Freedom on My Mind a history of the civil rights movement in Mississippi; the feminist classic The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter and ¡Salud! on Cuba's role in the struggle for global health equity She has won numerous awards including Academy Award nominations, the Sundance Grand Jury Prize, a primetime Emmy Award, British Academy Award Nominee, Best Series, and Best Feature Documentary from numerous festivals, as well as having her films listed as the Best Doc of the Year or One of the Ten Best Films of the Year by a number of film critics. Her work has been broadcast in over the world including Japan, Brazil, South Africa, Britain, Australia, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, England, and in the US. She is a recipient of the John Grierson Award as most outstanding social documentarian, and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0275908/
Moderator
Ignacio Packer is an experienced international executive who has spent more than three decades leading organisations and teams through change, complexity and uncertainty across the business, humanitarian and social sectors.
He is currently Executive Director of the Caux Foundation in Switzerland, where his leadership has focused on organisational transformation, trust, partnerships and positioning Caux as a place where leaders across sectors can address some of the difficult questions facing society. He will complete his three-and-a-half-year mandate on 14 October 2026 and pass on the baton to the new Executive Director, Olivier Anselmo.
Previously, Ignacio served as Executive Director of ICVA and Secretary General of the Terre des Hommes International Federation, alongside leadership roles with Terre des Hommes, Médecins Sans Frontières and the Swiss Tropical Institute. His earlier career also included several years in the private sector with KPMG and the European Bank for Latin America.
Having led organisations where difficult decisions affect people, performance and purpose, Ignacio is particularly interested in what leadership must become in the age of artificial intelligence. For him, AI raises not only technological questions but profoundly human and organisational ones:
An ultra-trail runner, Ignacio knows something about uncertainty, endurance and moving forward without always seeing the whole path.
About Geneva Democracy Week
International Democracy Day, established by the UN, takes place every year on 15 September. Celebrated in more than 100 countries, it aims to ‘re-examine the state of democracy around the world’. To mark the occasion, the State Chancellery of the Canton of Geneva has been organising ‘Democracy Week’ since 2015, which focuses on a theme related to democratic issues in the canton of Geneva. The 2026 edition will be held from 3 to 11 October and will focus on the theme ‘Reinventing democracy: between tradition and innovation’.
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This screening is organised by the Caux Foundation with the support of the Loterie Romande, and kindly hosted by DCAF.