Béla Tarr laid to rest: Hungary bids farewell to the legendary filmmaker

Family members, friends, fellow artists and admirers gathered to say their final goodbyes to Béla Tarr, one of Hungary’s most influential and internationally acclaimed film directors, at his funeral this week. The ceremony honoured the quiet, uncompromising auteur whose stark, meditative films reshaped modern cinema and inspired generations of filmmakers both at home and abroad.

Below, we share moments from the farewell and look back at the life and legacy of the master of Hungarian arthouse cinema.

A life devoted to uncompromising cinema

Born in Pécs in 1955, Tarr began making films as a teenager and quickly emerged as a distinctive voice in Hungarian cinema. After starting out as an amateur filmmaker at just 16, he developed his craft at the legendary Balázs Béla Studio, where he directed his first feature, Family Nest (1977), already displaying the raw social realism that marked his early work.

His international breakthrough came with Damnation (1988), screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, paving the way for global recognition. Tarr later spent time in Berlin as a guest of the DAAD Artists’ Programme and taught for years at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin, influencing countless young filmmakers.

He went on to create some of the most revered works in European cinema, including Sátántangó, Werckmeister Harmonies and The Man from London. His final feature, The Turin Horse (2011), was widely seen as a fitting, austere farewell to filmmaking, after which he focused on education and mentoring.

If you missed it:

Renowned Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr dies

A Kossuth Prize and Balázs Béla Prize winner, Tarr was elected to the European Film Academy and remained a defining figure of Hungarian cultural life. His long takes, philosophical depth and bleak yet poetic visual style secured his place among the great auteurs of world cinema.

With his passing, Hungary has lost not only a filmmaker but a singular artistic voice whose influence will endure far beyond the screen.