Enlightenment
Stories of a generation left alone in the midst of a global birth crisis.
When fifteen-year-old René sees his stillborn brother covered in blood, his entire life changes. After months of a secret relationship, he wants to come out with his boyfriend, Christian, and break up with his girlfriend, Natasha. But the tragedy changes everything around him. Christian's family grows paranoid about protecting his younger sister, but she is still kidnapped. After losing his brother and his boyfriend, and believing that Natasha is pregnant, René decides to renew his Catholic faith but is torn between his religious and sexual identities.
Amid this personal and social anarchy, a new movement is emerging, one that claims that God has come to Earth to save us all.
Director's note
The Enlightenment is rooted in my personal experiences with religion and faith. I grew up Christian, but I always questioned my beliefs and never truly felt part of the community. Later, I became part of a Buddhist community, where I again felt like an outsider. These experiences sparked my interest in how easily beliefs can change and how quickly people adapt their values under pressure.
As a Hungarian, I have witnessed the changes my country has undergone over the past decades. I have seen how a new political power transformed society and our place within Europe, only to ultimately fail to deliver the future it had promised. Our series explores how a new system gradually gains legitimacy by promising belonging and freedom, and how people's fears become part of that system.
In many ways, I see echoes of my own experiences in our protagonist, even though his journey ultimately takes him far beyond them. In every episode, he tries to do the right thing and to finally find his place in the world. Yet every decision forces him to make new compromises until he eventually breaks under their weight.
Our generation grew up in a world full of possibilities, only to watch many of them gradually disappear as a result of the pandemic, wars and political crises. I feel that many of us look towards the future with uncertainty, wondering whether we will even be able to start families of our own. Against this backdrop of uncertainty, I became interested in how deeply people need guidance and a sense of belonging, and in whom we choose to trust during times of crisis.
I believe that my co-writer's experiences and my own complement each other, helping us tell this story in a way that stays close to the characters. We belong to the very generation we are portraying. It needs to be told from our perspective, not only for ourselves but also for our parents and grandparents, so that they can better understand the world we are growing up in.
Producer's note
The world we live in today is shaped by uncertainty. The Enlightenment tells a story that feels more relevant now than ever. With populist politicians on the rise across Europe and technological advances making surveillance states increasingly conceivable through the use of artificial intelligence, I feel it is essential to engage with the moral and ethical dilemmas of our time.
*The Enlightenment *also explores questions of identity and belonging. Our protagonist has grown up in a world where society is made up of diverse cultures and people, and where identity has become more abstract than ever. When the country in which he was born ceases to exist, he is confronted directly with what it means to be German.
With our 20-minute format and contemporary coming-of-age storytelling, I believe there will be widespread interest among young audiences. Additionally, our near-future Berlin setting engages with contemporary concerns across Europe, such as the rise of right-wing populism and the spread of AI, and expands the story's reach beyond our generation.
This collaboration began more than a year ago, when we developed and shot a 65-minute proof of concept for the series as our graduation film, filming over a total of 20 days. The experience showed us that we make a strong team and motivated us to continue developing the idea and working towards bringing it to life.
We believe our story has a very specific audience: everyone who cares about the future of the European continent and Union. And the more the cultures and countries of Europe differ from one another, the more interesting and multifaceted our story can become.
Profile
Pavel and Csodó GbR is a Berlin-based independent production company founded by producers Pavel Penev and Robin Csodó. Having completed two features and several shorts, the company develops independent films and international series with co-production partners in Canada and Hungary.