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Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Director of Sátántangó, Dies at 70

The Hungarian auteur’s death was confirmed by his family via MTI after a long illness.

Overview

  • Tarr’s passing was announced by filmmaker Bence Fliegauf on behalf of the family through Hungary’s MTI, with the European Film Academy noting a “long and serious illness.”
  • The Hungarian Film Artists Association asked that the grieving family not be contacted, echoing a broad request for privacy shared by film bodies.
  • Over a compact career of nine features from Family Nest (1979) to The Turin Horse (2011), Tarr earned major festival recognition, including Berlin’s Jury Grand Prize for his final feature.
  • A defining figure of slow cinema, he was renowned for long single takes, stark black-and-white images, and deep influence on international arthouse filmmakers, notably Gus Van Sant and Jim Jarmusch.
  • He later focused on teaching and mentorship, founding the film.factory school in Sarajevo, maintaining long collaborations with writer László Krasznahorkai and editor/co-director Ágnes Hranitzky, and receiving the European Film Academy’s Honorary Award in 2023.