The director of such art house films as “Sátántangó” and “The Turin Horse” has died.
Béla Tarr was 70 years old.
The Hungarian Filmmakers’ Association announced Tarr’s death, saying, “with deep sorrow we announce that, after a long and serious illness, film director Béla Tarr passed away early this morning,” The Associated Press reported.
The specific cause of death was not shared.
Tarr was born in Hungary in 1955 and started his career at Baláza Béla Stúdió in his home country. His first feature film as a director was “Family Nest” released in 1977, which won him the Grand Prix a the Mannheim Film Festival, Deadline reported.
It was the first of his festival awards in Europe and Asia over his four-decade career, along with honorary professorships at Chinese universities.
He eventually founded Társulás Filmstúdió, working there until it closed in 1985, Deadline reported.
His epic-length films, one of which runs 439 minutes or more than seven and a half hours, were frequently shot in black and white, the AP reported.
Tarr’s final film, “The Turin Horse,” was released in 2011 and was followed by his retirement from feature films.
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