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Béla Tarr, Defining Voice of European Slow Cinema, Dies at 70

Family statements cite a long illness, prompting tributes to his long‑take style.

Overview

  • Hungary’s MTI news agency, citing his family, said the filmmaker died Tuesday at 70 after a long illness; the family requested privacy and some outlets initially misstated his age.
  • Tarr became a leading auteur with Sátántangó (1994), The Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) and The Turin Horse (2011), often collaborating with writer and recent Nobel laureate László Krasznahorkai.
  • His signature approach featured black‑and‑white imagery, minimal dialogue and extended, precisely choreographed takes associated with so‑called slow cinema.
  • He won the Berlinale Grand Jury Prize in 2011 for The Turin Horse and received a European Film Academy honorary award in 2023.
  • After declaring The Turin Horse his final feature, he turned to education and cultural work, co‑founding the film.factory school in Sarajevo in 2013 and mentoring young filmmakers.