My parents were both born in Hungary but immigrated to the States in the early 1950’s. Although I was born and raised in Los Angeles, I speak fluent Hungarian and grew up playing the violin at various Hungarian events commemorating the 1956 Hungarian Revolution or fundraising for Hungarian Freedom Fighters. The photos I saw as a child of heroic Hungarians struggling against their vicious Soviet oppressors burned themselves into my consciousness and I attribute much of my visceral hatred for Communism and its related political doctrines to those searing images. Many of my friends and their families were drawn from among the 100,000 Hungarians who fled their beloved homeland once all hope for lasting freedom was crushed. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, I was even interviewed a number of times by Radio Free Europe, so I proudly claim a nearly infinitesimal grain of credit for helping to hasten the collapse of the “Evil Empire.” (more…)

Documentary filmmakers spend plenty of time examining the Bush administration, the Iraq War and the aftermath from Hurricane Katrina. All are fair game, but few directors tackle the horrifying impact Communism had across the globe during the 20th century. Last year’s “The Singing Revolution” did just that, recalling the Soviet’s cruel occupation of Estonia and how the country kept its culture alive through several torturous decades under Communism.

Now, Hungarian filmmaker Klaudia Kovacs gives us “Torn From the Flag,” a film the Hollywood Reporter dubbed “perhaps the most comprehensive chronicle of the [1956] Hungarian uprising yet caught on film.” “Torn,” which won First Prize at the Beverly Hills Hi-Def Film Festival, will be shown at 4 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 21) at The Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills. (more…)