The animated short animation Wish You Were Ear, directed by Mirjána Balogh, won the Crystal Bear for Best Short Film at the 75th Berlinale on February 21, 2025. The film, supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary and produced by the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME), was part of the Generation 14+ competition. The 11-minute film explores the transformative effects of romantic relationships on one’s self-image.

‘This film confronts the philosophical question of existence and self-realisation in the most artistic and therefore universally accessible way. Its creative abstraction and profound symbolism touched and inspired us. The philosophy behind the subject matter in particular made us think about how life shapes us and how we deal with change. The film confronts us with transience, but at the same time reveals that we are forever made up of everything we experience. It reminds us how essential communication, mutual respect and understanding are to the purest human existence, no matter how different our experiences are’ – the jury commented on honouring the film.

Set in a world where ex-partners have to swap a chosen body part after a break-up, Wish You Were Ear is a reflection on how relationships change us, shape our identity and our self-image – whether we want them to or not. The protagonist in the story feels incomplete and disfigured, and yearns for their original, complete form. When they encounter someone else wearing their former ear, they are set on a path to self-acceptance.

Mirjána Balogh, a 2024 MOME graduate, explained that her film examines how people accept—or fail to accept—the changes brought by past relationships and how these changes shape their identity. Wish You Were Ear joins a long line of MOME animation graduates whose films have been featured at prestigious international festivals like the Berlinale, continuing a successful streak that began in 2017.

The film was produced by MOME with the involvement of numerous current and former students. Its distribution and festival promotion are managed by MOME’s Film Knowledge Hub in collaboration with the NFI. The sound design was created by József Iszlai, with editing by Judit Czakó and production by József Fülöp.