On April 1, Kristóf Bánszki’s short film Selfie University will premiere on HBO Max. The emblematic teacher of Szelfi University is played by Izabella Varga, who believes that a work has been created that fills the gap and deals with important issues.
According to the story, the university’s dream couple, Rómeó (Norbert Pribelszki) and Anabell (Nagy Blanka) are the most popular influencers in the country, their joint profile is only 12,763 followers short of one million, which is a national record. During their intimate movie night, Anabell finds something strange: a wedding ring emerges from the popcorn box. And Romeo drops to his knees in the crossfire of smartphones. They and their followers walk above the clouds, but they have no idea that in a few hours their perfect life will turn into a real nightmare.
Selfie University dissects one of the biggest and most mundane problems of today, which wants to present the development of technology and its dark sides. Izabella Varga also gave her opinion on how she thinks social media affects us.
The shadow effects of social media are usually discussed from the perspective of followers. I am glad that Selfie University is also investigating the dangers lurking from the other side, which affect (often minor) influencers. Although most of them appear confident and mature, they do not realize how much of a burden it can be to meet the expectations of their audience, which in the long run leads to enormous frustration and stress. Exposing their intimacy and private life to the public is also risky, as is striving for the immediate advantage of gaining more followers without considering the long-term consequences. The impact of intentionally hurtful comments, attacks, aggression and rumors can be unimaginably painful, while there is a lack of personal safety-related regulation on the part of platforms or authorities. These problems can and should be discussed with compassion, and Selfie University does this,” said Izabella Varga, who plays teacher Mártonffy in Kristóf Bánszki’s soon-to-be released film.
“Teacher Mártonffy has a successful modeling career behind her, she knows the beauty of popularity and glamour, but also its dark sides, so she tries to keep her students grounded in reality. She is popular among university students, the students appreciate her wry humor, eccentric style and humanity,” said the popular actress about her character, who also hinted that the teacher she portrays has plenty of surprises in store.
“If there is one group that is particularly vulnerable to digital influences, it is minors. They are extremely knowledgeable about technology and its uses and get on social networks very early. At the same time, they still have difficulty distinguishing between information and opinion, fiction and reality. The Selfie University and similar films can help to think together and find solutions,” said the actress, who herself started using social media for her daughters.
I consider the greatest danger to children to be easy access to content that is not suitable for their age, and parents not knowing what their children are doing, who they are following or what they are seeing on social networks. We need to talk about it a lot, we need to get to know our children’s idols and the influences on them. They are often left alone with these experiences because we, as parents, avoid learning about the platforms. In my circle of friends, we put it this way: it has become a parent’s task to follow trends if we want to understand the challenges facing our children. At that time, I also registered because of them,” he said.
Although Izabella Varga happily portrayed the teacher Mártonffy of Szelfi University, she is confident that a similar institution will only exist on the movie screen in the future.
“I hope that the Selfie University will remain a fiction and that the attention will be directed to the fact that the most important thing is to correct the fictitious experiences that are being thrown at us in real communities. To strive for personal experiences in the real world to continue to define our lives, so that we can use the Internet for what it is meant for: as a space for healthy learning and entertainment,” concluded Izabella Varga.
