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Béla Tarr © Zero Fiction FilmThe Hungarian auteur Béla Tarr bid a farewell to the active filmmaking at the age of 55 with the 146-minute long reckoning The Turin Horse (2011), consisting of 30 takes. His filmography counts nine features that elevated him into the pantheon of world cinema, earning Tarr epithets as legend, master, cult or visionary, among others. Tarr started shooting films as an amateur at the age of 16, and at 22 he got a shot to make a feature-length film, Family Nest (1979), at Béla Balázs Studio. The early stage of the filmmaker's career marked by Family Nest, The Outsider (1981) and The Prefab People (1982) is defined by social themes and documentary style akin to cinéma vérité. However, the core of his work features his singular aesthetics and bleak visions of the post-communist landscape, notably in Damnation (1988), the cinephiliac 432-minute long treat Sátántangó (1994), and Werckmeister Harmonies (2000). His distinctive style stems from black and white,...

Not yet thirty, the Hungarian director Béla Tarr was already making a name for himself both at home and abroad. During the late 1970s and early 1980s his early features earned prizes at film festivals west of the Iron Curtain; in Hungary, however, he remained a marginal figure as the regime did not take kindly to his films’ openly dissenting spirit. This rendered it increasingly difficult for him to make films in his native country and following the independently funded Damnation, he moved to West Berlin, only returning after the dissolution of the Eastern bloc. Upon his return, Tarr got to work on a project that had been gestating for a decade: the 432-minute Satantango, which was released in 1994 and became a cult sensation among cinephiles. The resulting recognition, together with the enthusiastic endorsement of his work by prominent peers such as Susan Sontag and Gus van Sant, turned the forever uncompromising,...

Hungarian director Bela Tarr and Eurimages head Roberto Olla are to receive the honorary Heart of Sarajevo award at the 19th edition of the festival (Aug 16-24).

The award honours “an individual for exceptional contribution to the affirmation and development of South East European film industry”.

Announcing the honours, the Sarajevo Film Festival called Tarr “one of the most significant directors of our time”.

The director, who has now retired from film-making, founded the film.factory at the Sarajevo School for Science and Technology (Ssst) this year. He announced his retirement from directing last year and now lives in Sarajevo.

Tarr made his directorial debut aged 22 with Family Nest (1977). Focussing on social issues with a documentary style he followed up with The Outsider (1981) and The Prefab People (1982).

His TV adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1982), which he filmed in just two shots, marked a new phase in his creative work. Damnation (1988) saw the beginning of a visual style for...

Hungarian director Bela Tarr and Eurimages head Roberto Olla are to receive the honorary Heart of Sarajevo award at the 19th edition of the festival (Aug 16-24).

The award honours “an individual for exceptional contribution to the affirmation and development of South East European film industry”.

Announcing the honours, the Sarajevo Film Festival called Tarr “one of the most significant directors of our time”.

The director, who has now retired from film-making, founded the film.factory at the Sarajevo School for Science and Technology (Ssst) this year. He announced his retirement from directing last year and now lives in Sarajevo.

Tarr made his directorial debut aged 22 with Family Nest (1977). Focussing on social issues with a documentary style he followed up with The Outsider (1981) and The Prefab People (1982).

His TV adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1982), which he filmed in just two shots, marked a new phase in his creative work. Damnation (1988) saw the beginning of a visual style for...