Table 13, Café Meridian — Sofia Coppola Short Film Award

Over the past few months, I’ve been writing, directing, producing, editing, and serving as DoP on a new short film: Table 13, Café Meridian.
 

Set on a Saturday afternoon so stiflingly hot the asphalt feels like it's melting, the story follows four strangers who find themselves untethered at life's messy crossroads. They wander into a newly opened corner café, where a dusty jar of neon-pink lollipops sparks an unplanned afternoon of raw conversation, accidental adventure, and letting their guards down. It’s a story about female solidarity, messy reinvention, and realizing you don’t have to face life's blank page alone.
 

The project was recently part of the Sofia Coppola Short Film Award (Decentralized Pictures) ("raw, unpredictable chemistry of female solidarity," "tender, well-observed ensemble... warm, specific, and quietly universal," "there's an elegant, dream-like sense to the story").
 

A massive thank you to our incredible cast - Celina Schleicher, Justine Olguin, Zsofia Erdelyi , Nefeli Konstantinou, and VO artist Margaret Demy - and our partners at NDustrial Studios and MadDesz catering for bringing this world to life.

You can check out the project, cast, and team on IMDb.

Introducing Overcut: Strategic. Balanced. Driven.

Independent filmmakers don’t beat Hollywood with massive studio budgets. They beat it with impact, sharp strategy, and story.
 

I’m thrilled to share a project that has been very close to my heart: our new film app, Overcut, is launching soon on the iOS App Store!

Building Overcut took roughly eight months of intense, hands-on work. Thankfully, we hadn't even thought for a second that a high-value app could be made with AI in a vibe-coding sprint in a couple of days. So we went in wanting to work hard, keep an eye on every detail, learn about coding, ask experts for help, and only use AI to manage timelines and workflows better.

Collaborating closely with brilliant engineering and IT friends, and putting the app through rigorous beta-testing rounds and validation circles with professionals from both film and tech backgrounds has been a great, useful, sometimes hard, but necessary experience. In this day and age, I think it's important to remember: true value can only come out of real expertise and tedious, honest work behind the scenes.
 

As the founder, the idea for Overcut came directly from my own experiences in the trenches as a director and producer. I kept seeing brilliant creative friends get overwhelmed by the business side of filmmaking—or burn out trying to navigate brutal hours without proper support. I wanted to build the practical, modern toolbox I always wished I had when I was starting out or feeling blocked.
 

The name itself comes from a strategy I’ve long admired in high-performance sports: just like a Formula 1 pit crew executing a flawless pit stop, independent filmmakers don’t need to be strategic and healthy to compete (with big-budget projects).
 

Bringing this idea to life was a meticulous, long process—building out the app’s underlying infrastructure, production pipeline, and intuitive UX/UI piece by piece. We then went through an incredible beta testing phase with 30+ industry professionals whose feedback and validation proved invaluable. After refining the app and implementing those real-world improvements, Overcut is officially ready for launch.
 

Traditional film education teaches us how to frame a shot, but it rarely prepares us for the actual job: contract negotiations, global tax incentives, real-world budgeting case studies, or navigating AI and legal frameworks through a practical lens. Worse, it ignores the human element—how to handle burnout, maintain physical well-being, and lead a crew with empathy and assertiveness.
 

Overcut bridges that gap, offering a daily edge across six core sections:

• 01. My Toolkit: Curated production stacks and modern workflows.

• 02. The Crew: Leadership, communication, and protecting your mental and physical well-being while fostering healthy, supportive set cultures.

• 03. Pit Notes: Quick, actionable tips straight from the trenches of film.

• 04. Strategy: Practical legal, tax, and financial frameworks to protect your IP and build real financial literacy.

• 05. Guides: Boots-on-the-ground intel for shooting across Europe—from studio breakdowns and local tax rebates to direct contact info.

• 06. Case Studies: Real budgets, real breakdowns, and honest lessons from indie projects across the US and Europe.
   

Creativity and personal sustainability should go hand in hand. You don't have to burn out to make incredible cinema. Plus, because we believe smart strategies should come with smaller footprints, a portion of every Overcut subscription goes directly to dedicated NGOs reducing global CO₂ emissions.
 

Overcut is built to help you ditch procrastination, protect your creative flow, and push past every "no."
 

Explore the platform and get ready for the App Store launch at overcutfilm.com.

Eurocine 2026

There is something special about being in a room where the entire European and international film ecosystem collides. Spending time at Eurocine 2026 was a brilliant reminder of why face-to-face community matters so much in our increasingly remote world (big dislike from me).

Between connecting with directors, DoPs, producers, and journalists spanning Spain to Poland to the US, the energy was infectious.

And Hermiones time-turner would have come in handy, because the agenda was stacked.
 

We explored next-gen editing tools and cutting-edge lighting setups, alongside pragmatic debates on AI’s real-world place in the production workflow. We also spent significant time on a critical question: how can European countries provide sustainable support and production services to incoming US studio and indie projects in 2026 and beyond?

Building bridges across borders, crafts, and tech always feels like time well spent. What an extravaganza!

"The Master of Time" - Sundance x Merrell Doc Program

Our new short documentary, The Master of Time, was recently submitted for the Merrell x Sundance Collab Brand-Supported Storytelling Program.
 

This initiative by Sundance supports original, social-first short films exploring Merrell’s "It Starts Outside" campaign, highlighting how stepping outside acts as an antidote to indoor isolation and sparks connection, renewal, and personal transformation. As an outdoorsy person who loves nature, lakesides and hikes, this premise was an immediate spark of inspiration.
 

Our project follows an 80-year-old master clockmaker surrounded by hundreds of ticking machines who steps outside his sanctuary, discovering that while time cannot be stopped, it can be slowed down the moment we reconnect with ourselves, nature, and each other.
 

A massive thank you to Patty West, Director at Sundance Collab and Alexander Ho, Global Creative Director at Merrell - for creating this incredible opportunity and serving as such supportive, inspiring guides throughout the process.

Orson Welles, Recent Reviews and a Small Glass of Bicerin

I recently published a new research paper titled "Why Are There So Many of Me?" Authorial Autonomy, Political Foresight, and the Cultural Sensitivity of Orson Welles.

Now available in full length on Academia.edu—with editorial features appearing in Marie Claire and Art Here Art Now—the piece explores how Welles's early world travel and sharp sociopolitical instincts shaped his radical approach to storytelling, long before Hollywood came calling. From his landmark 1936 "Voodoo Macbeth" to his fierce anti-fascist theater and perpetual hustle for creative independence, Welles remains a masterclass in auteur self-determination.
 

This research was conducted in collaboration with the Museo Nazionale del Cinema di Torino, timed alongside their My Name is Orson Welles exhibition. Beyond the archives, a highlight of the visit was riding the museum’s legendary glass elevator—shooting straight up through the center of the vast dome past beanbag-laden moviegoers, neon installations, and surrealist exhibits, culminating in a dizzying 360-degree panorama of Turin and the Alps.
 

A very special thanks to the Museo Nazionale del Cinema di Torino and Veronica Geraci for the generous invitation, access, and inspiration.
 

Meanwhile, my weekly film and stage reviews continue to roll out on Art Here Art Now and Librarius (published in both English and Hungarian).

A few recent pieces include:

• Solomamma: The Danger of Seeking All the Answers

• The Drama: A Morally Knotty Dive into the Perceptions of Love

• Backrooms: All Hail the Digital Pioneer Who Saved the Summer Movie Season
   

Coming up next: Blue Heron (getting lost on memory lane) and The Invite (marital warfare, jamón, and the rooibos tea nobody asked for) and more!

Béres Csepp TV Spots, 2026

Béres Csepp is a Hungarian tonic drop with essential trace elements, used to support the immune system, recovery after illness, and everyday vitality.
 

Director / Producer Dora Endre

DOP Istvan Banfalvi

Makeup / Hair Katalin Szeles

Set Design Matthew Herman

Talent Fruzsina Gorgenyi, Laura Toth

Production Company CYD Films

"Procrastinators" I 2026

Mixed media (film, projection, video, sound)

La Garçonne x BIELO - Campaign Spot

Campaign film for BIELO’s collaboration with La Garçonne, New York.

Directed by Dora Endre

Produced by Piper Werle and Don Hatton

Cinematography / Photography by Sam Saschi

Music George Atwell

DASHFORD|MEDIA

lagarconne.com