Márta Mészáros
- Known for
- Directing
- Born
- September 19, 1931
- Birthplace
- Budapest, Hungary
Márta Mészáros (born 19 September 1931) is a Hungarian screenwriter and film director. The daughter of László Mészáros, a sculptor, Mészáros began her career working in documentary film, having made 25 documentary shorts over the span of ten years. Her full-length directorial debut, Eltavozott nap/The Girl (1968), was the first Hungarian film to have been directed by a woman, and won the Special Prize of the Jury at the Valladolid International Film Festival. Mészáros' work often combines autobiographical details with documentary footage. Prominent themes include characters' denials of their pasts, the consequences of dishonesty, and the problematics of gender. Her films often feature heroines from fragmented families, such as young girls seeking their missing parents (The Girl) or middle-aged women looking to adopt children (Adoption). Although Mészáros has made over fifteen feature films, she is arguably best known for Diary for My Children (1984), which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. It was the first entry in a trilogy of autobiographical films which also includes Diary for my Lovers (1987) and Diary for my Father and Mother (1990). Throughout her career, Mészáros has won the Golden Bear and the Silver Bear awards at the Berlinale; the Golden Medal at the Chicago International Film Festival; the Silver Shell at the San Sebastian International Film Festival; and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1991 she was a member of the jury at the 17th Moscow International Film Festival.
Filmography
Aurora Borealis: Northern Light 2017
Director, Writer
No Country for the Poor 2017
Additional Camera
My Mother's Letters to Stalin 2015
Director
Hungary 2011 2012
Director, Writer
Negative history of Hungarian cinema 2010
as Self
Last Report on Anna 2009
Director
Still Alive: A Film About Krzysztof Kieslowski 2006
as Self
The Unburied Man 2004
Director, Screenplay
Notes in Lifestyle Margins 2002
Actor
The Miraculous Mandarin 2001
Director
- Little Vilma: The Last Diary
Little Vilma: The Last Diary 2000
Director, Writer
Daughters of Fortune 1999
Director, Screenplay
The Seventh Room 1996
Director, Screenplay
Fetus 1994
Writer, Director
Edith and Marlene 1993
Director
Diary for My Father and My Mother 1990
Writer, Director
Bye Bye, Red Riding Hood 1989
Writer, Director
Diary for My Loves 1987
Director, Writer
- Vieras
Vieras 1984
Director, Writer
Diary for My Children 1984
Writer, Director
The Land of Mirage 1983
Director
A Mother, a Daughter 1981
Writer, Director
The Inheritance 1980
Director, Writer
Márta Mészáros: Portrait of the Hungarian Filmmaker 1979
as Self
On the Move 1979
Writer, Director
Just Like at Home 1978
Director, Writer
The Two of Them 1978
Director, Screenplay
Nine Months 1976
Director, Screenplay
Adoption 1975
Writer, Director, Director of Photography
At the End of September 1974
Director
Riddance 1973
Director, Writer
At the Lőrinc Spinnery 1972
Director, Writer
Don’t Cry, Pretty Girls! 1970
Director
Binding Sentiments 1969
Screenplay, Director
The Girl 1968
Director, Writer
In Memoriam László Mészáros 1968
Director, Screenplay
Blow-Ball 1965
Writer, Director
- Szentendre And Its Painters
Szentendre And Its Painters 1964
Director
Care and Affection 1962
Director
Heartbeat 1961
Director, Writer
Salesmanship 1960
Director
Tomorrow's Shift 1959
Director, Screenplay
Women of Today 1958
Director
Let All Children Smile 1957
Director, Screenplay
Everyday Stories 1955
Director, Writer
Credits from TMDB.