Photo: Soppakanuuna / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Béla Tarr is, for me, one of cinema's most uncompromising visionaries. His stark black-and-white long takes and glacial pacing, most notoriously the seven-and-a-half-hour Sátántangó, demand endurance, but the spiritual residue they leave is unmatched. Winning the Silver Bear for The Turin Horse and then declaring he was done directing struck me as a perfectly austere exit, entirely in keeping with his vision. He pointed his camera at the marginalized and the desperate in bleak landscapes, and somehow found human dignity there. His passing in 2026 is a real loss. I hold this stubborn, poetic anarchist of a filmmaker in the highest regard.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Béla Tarr
- Name (Japanese)
- タル・ベーラ
- Reading
- たる・べーら
- Born
- July 21, 1955 (age 70)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Goat
- Origin
- Pécs, Baranya County, Hungary
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- screenwriter / film director / film producer / director / anarchist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- University of Theatre and Film Arts
Awards & achievements
- 1983 Béla Balázs Award
- 2001 Gundel Art Award
- 2003 Kossuth Prize
- 2005 Commander Cross of the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic
- 2010 Annual award ACFK
- 2011 Konrad Wolf Prize
- 2011 Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize
- 2011 FIPRESCI Prize of the Festival de Cannes
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Family Nest | — | |
| Notable work | The Turin Horse | — | |
| Notable work | Sátántangó | — | |
| Notable work | Werckmeister Harmonies | — | |
| Notable work | The Prefab People | — | |
| Notable work | Damnation | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Béla Tarr born?
Born July 21, 1955 (age 70).
Where is Béla Tarr from?
Béla Tarr is from Pécs, Baranya County, Hungary.
What does Béla Tarr do?
Béla Tarr works as screenwriter, film director, film producer, director, anarchist.
What is Béla Tarr known for?
Notable works include Family Nest, The Turin Horse, Sátántangó.
Screenwriter — see all → · Film director — see all → · More people from Hungary →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-17
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.