BÉLA TARR

(21 July 1955 – 6 January 2026)

Béla Tarr really was one of a kind. As much a cinematic painter as a filmmaker, the Hungarian director, screenwriter and producer was a star of the stage of world cinema. Unhindered by commercial restraints, he crafted slow-moving, existential dramas that stood up for the little man and decried authority. In spite of his sterling reputation at festivals around the world, he only made nine feature films, starting with the black-and-white drama Family Nest in 1979 and culminating with the psychological tragedy The Turin Horse in 2011, which was also shot in black-and-white, a medium he favoured. His masterpieces are generally accepted to be the 1994 epic Sátántangó and the monochromatic Werckmeister Harmonies (2000). He also made shorts and one film for television, Macbeth (1982), composed of two single shots. He died in January following a long illness.

JAMES CAMERON-WILSON