The Offence is a short story about an official obsessed with modernity. A provincial town where he works seems to be a mainstay of tradition, but also of xenophobia and fear of everything that is new and unknown. In an attempt to shake the residents out of their backwardness, the official decides to employ an unusual method. Tapping into human perversity, he compels progress by introducing bans and limitations, which people try to defy.

The film was shot during Karolina Breguła’s residency in Budapest, which coincided with far-reaching changes in the cultural sector, introduced under the dictation of the ruling right-wing party Fidesz. The Offence was a response to the atmosphere in the country, the conservatism of the society and the uproar among the part of the Hungarian art scene that had been excluded by the authorities from the official artistic circulation. It seemed that strict state control over culture had led to an awakening that usually accompanies attempts to curtail creative freedom. The film features curators, critics and artists from Hungary and Poland.