(FILES) Hungarian film director Bela Tarr speaks during the opening ceremony of the 16th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival on December 2, 2016, in Marrakesh, Morocco. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)
Budapest: Renowned Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr died on Tuesday at the age of 70, the Hungarian news agency MTI reported, citing film director Benedek Fliegauf, who spoke on behalf of Tarr's family.
The Hungarian Filmmakers' Association confirmed in a statement that Tarr passed away in the early hours of Tuesday after a long and serious illness.
Born in Pecs in 1955, Tarr is one of the most influential figures in contemporary European cinema.
(FILES) Hungarian film director and screenwriter Bela Tarr poses with his honorary award trophy during the 36th European Film Awards ceremony in Berlin, on December 9, 2023. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)
He was internationally acclaimed for his distinctive cinematic language, marked by long takes, stark black-and-white imagery and philosophical depth.
His most celebrated works -- Satantango (1994), Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) and The Turin Horse (2011) -- received wide recognition at major international film festivals and are frequently cited among the most important arthouse films of recent decades.
His adaptations of novels by fellow Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai played a key role in bringing the author international attention. Their long-standing artistic collaboration helped establish both figures on the global cultural scene, with Krasznahorkai later going on to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2025.
Tarr retired from feature filmmaking after The Turin Horse but remained active internationally as a teacher and mentor.
