István Szabó Biography

Date of Birth: February 18, 1938 Born in Budapest, Hungary, István Szabó graduated as a film director from Hungary's prestigious Academy of the Art of Theatre and Film. After making several short films, at 26 he went on to direct his first feature film, The Age of Daydreaming (1964). It won the Silver Sail for Best First Work at the 1965 Locarno International Film Festival and a Special Jury Prize for Best Director at the Hungarian Film Festival. Over the next 40 years he would receive many more awards and nominations, including: Special Jury Prize, Locarno and Best Director from the Hungarian National Film Festival for Father (1966); Golden Leopard and Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Locarno for 25 Fireman's Street (1973), Silver Berlin Bear and Academy Award nomination for Confidence (1980); FIPRESCI Best Screenplay Award at Cannes and Film Critics Awards from Britain, Italy and Poland for Mephisto (1981); BAFTA award for Best Foreign Language Film and Cannes Special Jury Prize for Colonel Redl (1985); Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film for Hanussen (1988); Silver Bear, Berlin and European Screenwriter Award for Sweet Emma, Dear Böbe (1992); Golden Globe nomination, Genie nomination and Writers Guild of Canada award for Sunshine (1999) and Best Director at the Mara del Plata Film Festival for Taking Sides (2001). His latest film, Being Julia (2004), starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons, won rave reviews when it opened at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Filmography:

Being Julia (2004)
Taking Sides (2003)
Ten Minutes Older: The Cello (2002) (segment "Ten Minutes After")
Sunshine (1999)
Dear Emma, Sweet Böbe (1992)
Meeting Venus (1991)
Hanussen (1988)
Colonel Redl (1985)
Bali (1984)
Mephisto (1981)
Der Grüne Vogel (1980)
Confidence (1980)
Várostérkép (1977)
Budapest Tales (1976)
25 Fireman's Street (1973)
Dream About a House (1972)
Budapest, Why I Love It (1971)
A Film About Love (1970)
Piety (1967)
Father (1967)
Traffic-Rule Tale for Children (1965)
The Age of Daydreaming (1964)