Béla Tarr

Biography

Béla Tarr (July 21, 1955 – January 6, 2026) was a Hungarian filmmaker. Much of his work is marked by philosophical elements and a pessimistic view of humanity. His films utilize unconventional storytelling methods, such as long takes and/or non-professional actors to achieve realism. Debuting with Family Nest in 1979, Tarr underwent a period of what he refers to as "social cinema", aimed at telling mundane stories about ordinary people, often in the style of cinema vérité. Over the next decade, the cinematography of Tarr's films gradually changed; Damnation (1988) was shot with languid camera movement aimed at establishing ambience. It marked Tarr's earliest experimentation with philosophical themes, focused mostly on bleak and desolate representations of reality. Sátántangó (1994) and Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) continued this approach; both are considered by some critics to be among the greatest films ever made. Tarr would later compete in the 2007 Cannes Film Festival with his film The Man From London. Frequent collaborators of Tarr include his wife Ágnes Hranitzky, novelist László Krasznahorkai, film composer Mihály Víg, cinematographer Fred Kelemen, and actress Erika Bók. …

Directed

1. The Turin Horse (2011) — Director
2. Werckmeister Harmonies (2001) — Director
3. Satantango (1994) — Director
4. Damnation (1988) — Director
5. The Man from London (2008) — Director
6. Autumn Almanac (1984) — Director
7. Family Nest (1979) — Director
8. The Prefab People (1982) — Director
9. The Outsider (1981) — Director
10. Visions of Europe (2004) — Director
11. Hotel Magnezit (1978) — Director
12. Macbeth (1982) — Director
13. Journey on the Plain (1995) — Director
14. The Last Boat (1990) — Director
15. City Life (1990) — Director
16. Prologue (2004) — Director
17. Cinemarxism (1979) — Director
18. Muhamed (2017) — Director
19. Diplomafilm (1981) — Director
20. Missing People (2019) — Director
21. György Fehér's Films According to Béla Tarr (2001) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Tarr Béla: I Used to Be a Filmmaker (2014) — Himself
2. The Doctor's Pupil (1984)
3. Season of Monsters (1987) — Jesus as Mental Patient
4. About Cinema (2015) — Self
5. 365 Day Project (2007) — Self
6. The State That I Am Fish (2011) — Béla Tarr
7. Iván Iljics halála (1965) — Vászja (as Tar Béla)
8. A Country Divided (2018)
9. Béla Tarr: Mysterious Harmonies (2008) — Himself
10. FUKUSHIMA with BÉLA TARR (2025) — Self
11. Il vento del cinema
12. Parola (su una data) (2003)