In a camp of grass-root initiatives Valyo (Urban River) and FÁK a Rómain (Trees Should Stay on Romai Beach), a group of 15 volunteers built the necessary installations for Romai Free Beach Test Day in the summer of 2019.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

Valyo – City and River Association is a social organization active in the fields of urbanism, environmental protection, and culture. They have been involved in community public space renewal since 2011. The team works on raising awareness and facilitating appreciation of the coasts of the river Danube that are currently inaccessible to the public in Budapest due to heavy car traffic. They draw attention to exciting Danube sites with the means of art and community development and make proposals for their utilization – without the need to consume and pay just for the sake of being allowed to be there.

Their other film in a previous festival edition is Szabihíd – A Bridge of Liberty.

In 2013, the movement FÁK a Rómain (Trees Should Stay on Romai Beach) was established to protect one of the last wooded, gravel shores of Budapest and to strengthen the flood defense dam on the current main line of defense. The capital’s former leadership designed an environmentally destructive, risky mobile dam on the Romai coast that would have ruined the floodplain forest ecosystem as well as the direct contact with the river. Currently, the city and its 3rd district municipality unanimously consider the natural endowments of the coastline to be a valuable natural asset that needs to be preserved. The development concept is planned through community planning and a feasibility study was commissioned. In the meantime, Valyo and the FÁK a Rómain are working together to bring people closer to the Danube through the example of the Romai coast. The water quality is excellent along the coastline, there are plenty of boathouses, and a lot of energy is put into promoting the rowing life and making an accessible free-to-use beach.