Béla Tarr

Early life Tarr was born on 21 July 1955 in Pécs, but grew up in Budapest. By his own account, initially he sought to become a philosopher, and considered film-making as something of a hobby. However, after making his 8mm short films, the Hungarian government would not allow Tarr to attend university so he instead chose to pursue film production. After Werckmeister Harmonies he began filming A Londoni férfi (The Man From London) an adaptation of a Georges Simenon novel. It was scheduled to be released at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival in May, but production was postponed because of the February suicide of producer Humbert Balsan. Additionally, there were disputes with other producers regarding a possible change in the film's financing. and was made available for online streaming by the Criterion Channel. In January 2011, Tarr joined the Board of Directors of the recently formed cinema foundation and NGO for human rights Cine Foundation International. In a press release dated 24 January 2011 Tarr made the following statement regarding the imprisonment of filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof: :Cinematography is an integral part of universal human culture! An attack against cinematography is desecrating universal human culture! This cannot be justified by any notion, ideology or religious conviction! Our friend, brother and esteemed colleague Jafar Panahi is in prison today, based on conjured and fictional accusations! Jafar did not do anything else than what is the duty of all of us; to talk honestly, fairly about our own country and loved ones, to show everything that surrounds us with tender tolerance and harsh austerity! Jafar's real crime is that he did just that; gracefully, elegantly and with a roguish smile in his eyes! Jafar made us love his heroes, the people of Iran; he achieved that they have become members of our families! WE CANNOT LOSE HIM! This is our common responsibility, as despite all appearances we belong together. In July 2021, he executive-produced the Icelandic-Swedish-Polish horror-drama film Lamb, directed by his former student at film.factory, Valdimar Jóhannsson. Death On 6 January 2026, Tarr died at a Budapest hospital at the age of 70, after a long and serious illness. in 2018 ==Awards==

In 1979, he received the Grand Prize for his film Family Nest at the Mannheim–Heidelberg International Film Festival. In 1982, he received a Special Mention Award for the film The Prefab People at the Locarno International Film Festival. Two years later, at the same festival, Tarr received the Ernest Artaria Award for his film Almanac of Fall. In 1988, he received the Bronze Rosa Camuna Award for his film Damnation at the Bergamo Film Meeting. In 1994, he received several awards for the film Satantango, including the Caligari Film Award (Berlin International Film Festival), the National Society of Film Critics Award for Experimental Film, ''the Âge d'Or Prize (Brussels Prix de l’Âge d’Or), the Grand Prix of the Jury (Budapest Hungarian Film Week), as well as the FIPRESCI Prize and the Golden Moon Award for Best Director at the Faro Island Film Festival''. In 2001, he received the Berliner Zeitung Jury Award for his film Werckmeister Harmonies at the Berlin International Film Festival. In 2005, he received the France Culture Award (Foreign Filmmaker of the Year) for the film Damnation. In February 2011, he received the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize and the Competition FIPRESCI Prize at the 61st Berlin Film Festival for his film The Turin Horse. In September 2012, he received the BIAFF special award for lifetime achievement. In 2016, he was appointed Honorary Professor at the Beijing Film Academy. In 2017, he was awarded the Honorary Medal and appointed Honorary Professor at Wuhan University. In June 2017, he received the lifetime achievement at Sardinia Film Festival, XII edition. In 2021, he received the Homeland Award in Budapest. In December 2022, he received the lifetime achievement award at International Film Festival of Kerala, IFFK, 27th edition. In December 2023, he received the Honorary Award of the EFA President and Board at the 36th European Film Awards. In 2023, he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate by FAMU - Prague University of the Arts. In November 2024, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival, TIFF. ==Political views==

In his later high school years, Tarr became an anarchist. Speaking to Partizán, a left-wing podcast, he said that during his last years of high school, he "didn't even take [his] schoolbag" because "[he] had Mao's Bible in [his] pocket". In an interview in 2023 Tarr said "I still consider myself an anarchist". Tarr was an atheist. Tarr was a critic of nationalism. In a 2016 interview said, "Trump is the shame of the United States. Mr. Orbán is the shame of Hungary. Marine Le Pen is the shame of France. Et cetera." In a letter hung near the entrance to a pro-migration exhibition in front of the Hungarian Parliament, Tarr wrote, "We have brought the planet to the brink of catastrophe with our greediness and our unlimited ignorance. With the horrible wars we waged with the goal of robbing the people there. [...] Now we are confronted with the victims of our acts. We must ask the question: who are we, and what morality do we represent when we build a fence to keep out these people?" In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Tarr signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages. == Legacy ==

Art Gus Van Sant often cites Tarr as a huge influence on his later work, beginning with Gerry when Van Sant began using very long uninterrupted takes. Anarchist movement After his death, Freedom published a eulogy in his honour, saying about him that: "his social realism was always suspicious of established power". This appreciation was shared by Autonomies. ==Filmography==

Feature films • Családi tűzfészek / Family Nest (1979) • Szabadgyalog / The Outsider (1981) • Őszi almanach / Almanac of Fall (1984) Short films • Hotel Magnezit (1978) • Cinemarxisme (1979) • Utazás az alföldön / Journey on the Plain (1995)'' Documentary films • Az utolsó hajó / The Last Boat (1990, 31 min), segment from City Life • Muhamed (2017, 10 min) • Missing People (2019, 95 min) ==See also==