Kornél Mundruczó (; born 3 April 1975) is a Hungarian
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
and
theatre director
A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...
. He has directed 18 short and feature films between 1998 and 2020. His film ''
Johanna
Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek /h/ cou ...
'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. The production of ''
White God
''White God'' ( hu, Fehér isten) is a 2014 Hungarian drama film directed by Kornél Mundruczó and starring Zsófia Psotta. The film premiered on 17 May 2014, as part of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
Plot
The film follows the mixed-breed dog ...
'', another of his full-length films, was supported by the Hungarian Film Fund. It won the
Prize Un Certain Regard at the
2014 Cannes Film Festival
The 67th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palme d'Or was awarded to the Turkish film '' Winter Sleep'' directed by Nuri Bi ...
and was screened in the Spotlight section of
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
in 2015.
Early life
Mundruczó earned a diploma from
Hungary’s Academy of Film and Drama in 1998 as an actor, then in 2003 as a film and television director. In that same year, he founded Proton Cinema Ltd., dedicated to
film production
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...
, along with Viktória Petrányi, a constant co-creator and collaborator in his work and writing since the academy.
Career
Film
Mundruczó's first full-length feature ''This I wish and nothing more'' won, among other prizes, the award for best first film at the 31st Hungarian Film Week, as well as its Students’ Jury and Directors’ Guild Awards. He directed his short film ''Afta'' shortly after leaving school. It went on to win numerous international awards. ''Pleasant Days'', his second feature film, was awarded the Silver Leopard in Locarno in 2002. In 2003, he won the
Cinéfondation
La ''Cinéfondation'' is a foundation under the aegis of the Cannes Film Festival, created to inspire and support the next generation of international filmmakers.
It was created in 1998 by Gilles Jacob. Since then it has developed complementary ...
Program’s artistic grant, within the framework of the
Cannes International Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
, where he developed the screenplay of the film
''Delta'', together with
Yvette Bíró in Paris.
He has been a member of the
European Film Academy
The European Film Academy is an initiative of a group of European filmmakers who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988.
The Academy—under the name of European Cinema Soci ...
since 2004. In 2005, he won the
Nipkow
Paul Julius Gottlieb Nipkow (22 August 1860 – 24 August 1940) was a German technician and inventor. He invented the Nipkow disk, which laid the foundation of television, since his disk was a fundamental component in the first televisions. Hu ...
Program’s artistic grant to participate for three months in courses and consultations for talented screenwriters and directors in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. His fourth, fifth, and seventh feature-length films were entered in the official competition of Cannes Film Festival:
''Delta'' in 2008,
''Tender Son'' in 2010 and ''
Jupiter's Moon'' in 2017. The first won the
FIPRESCI
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...
Award.
In 2014, his film, ''
White God
''White God'' ( hu, Fehér isten) is a 2014 Hungarian drama film directed by Kornél Mundruczó and starring Zsófia Psotta. The film premiered on 17 May 2014, as part of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
Plot
The film follows the mixed-breed dog ...
'' – which was invited to Cannes Film Festival and made with the support of
Eurimages
Eurimages is a cultural support fund of the Council of Europe, established in 1989. Eurimages promotes independent filmmaking by providing financial support to feature-length fiction, animation, and documentary films. In doing so, it encourages c ...
, the European Council’s film foundation and the Hungarian National Film Foundation – won the main prize of the
Un Certain Regard program at the 67th Cannes Film Festival. Also, the film’s canine star won the
Palm Dog Award
The Palm Dog Award is a yearly alternative award presented by the international film critics during the Cannes Film Festival. Begun in 2001 by Toby Rose, it is awarded to the best performance by a canine (live or animated) or group of canines dur ...
for best performance by a dog. His first English-language feature, ''Pieces of a Woman'', was in Competition at 77th Venice International Film Festival.
In 2021, his film ''Evolution'' premiered in the new section of
2021 Cannes Film Festival
The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American director Spike Lee was invited to be the head of the jury for the festival for a second time, after t ...
, called Cannes Premiere, designed to give returning Cannes auteurs a safe place to screen new work outside of the competition.
Theatre
Mundruczó has worked in theatre and opera since 2003, first in Hungary and then in theatres abroad such as the
Thalia Theater in Hamburg, the
TR Warszawa TR Warszawa (also Teatr Rozmaitości w Warszawie, i.e., Variety Theatre in Warsaw) is a theatre in Warsaw, Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces ...
, the
Schauspielhaus Zürich
The Schauspielhaus Zürich ( en, Zürich playhouse) is one of the most prominent and important theatres in the German-speaking world. It is also known as "Pfauenbühne" (Peacock Stage). The large theatre has 750 seats. The also operates three st ...
and the
Vlaamse Opera The Vlaamse Opera (Flemish Opera) is an opera company in Belgium directed by Jan Vandenhouwe which operates in two different opera houses in two Flemish cities, the Vlaamse Opera Antwerp at Van Ertbornstraat 8 and the Vlaamse Opera Ghent at Schouwbu ...
. He is most keen to begin new projects where he finds the subject, collaborators and venue inspiring. During the creative process, he strives to create a team. For new projects, he very often casts the same actors, who work with him as creative partners. After freelancing with more or less the same group of people for several years, in 2009, he founded
Proton Theatre, his independent theatre company, with producer Dóra Büki.
Proton Theatre is a virtual artistic company organised around the director’s independent productions. Besides preserving maximum artistic freedom, their goal is to ensure a professional structure for their independently produced theatre plays and projects. Chiefly, their performances are realized as international co-productions, and their frequent collaborators include the
Wiener Festwochen
__NOTOC__
The Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival) is a cultural festival in Vienna that takes place every year for five or six weeks in May and June. The Wiener Festwochen was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the four Allie ...
,
HAU Hebbel am Ufer in Berlin, Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels, Trafó House of Contemporary Arts in Budapest and
Hellerau
Hellerau is a northern quarter ''(Stadtteil)'' in the city of Dresden, Germany, slightly south of Dresden Airport. It was the first garden city in Germany. The northern section of Hellerau absorbed the village of Klotzsche, where some 18th cent ...
in Dresden. Productions directed by the artistic leader include ''The Ice'' (2006); ''Frankenstein-project'' (2007), which inspired his later film
''Tender Son''; ''Hard to be a God'' (2010); ''Disgrace'' (2012), based on the post-apartheid novel by Nobel Prize-winner
J. M. Coetzee
John Maxwell Coetzee OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African–Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, translator and recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is one of the most critically acclaimed and decorated authors in ...
and, in turn, inspiring his film ''
White God
''White God'' ( hu, Fehér isten) is a 2014 Hungarian drama film directed by Kornél Mundruczó and starring Zsófia Psotta. The film premiered on 17 May 2014, as part of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
Plot
The film follows the mixed-breed dog ...
''; ''Dementia'' (2014), ''Winterreise'' (2015), ''Imitation of Life'' (2016), ''The Raft of the Medusa'' (2018), ''Evolution'' (2019) inspiring his film with the same title and ''The Seven Deadly Sins/Motherland'' (2020). In addition, Proton wishes to provide space for the realisation of company members’ ideas. In this spirit, they created the following performances: ''Last'' (2014), directed by Roland Rába; ''1 link'' (2015), directed by Gergely Bánki and ''Finding Quincy'' by János Szemenyei.
Proton's performances have toured to more than 110 festivals until 2020, including the
Festival d’Avignon
The ''Festival d'Avignon'', or Avignon Festival, is an annual arts festival held in the French city of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by Jean Vi ...
, the
Adelaide Festival
The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
, the Singapore International Festival, the Seoul Bo:m Festival, and the
Zürcher Theater Spektakel
The Zürcher Theater Spektakel (''Zürich Theatre Spectacle'') is an international theatre and performing arts festival, held annually each summer in Zürich, Switzerland. First held in 1980,
the festival invites 20-25 different performing arts g ...
. In 2017, for ''Imitation of life'', Mundruczó was nominated for the
Faust Award. It was the first time in the history of this award that a non-German theatre, in this case a Hungarian independent company was nominated.
Filmography
Theatre
, -
, 2006 , , ''
Caligula
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
'' , , Radnóti Theatre, Budapest, Hungary , ,
, -
, 2005 , , ''
Zérus - the poems of Sinead Morrissey'' , , Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, Budapest, Hungary , ,
, -
, 2004 , , ''
Nibelung-Residency'' , , Krétakör Company, Budapest, Hungary , ,
, -
Opera
References
External links
Proton Theatre*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mundruczo, Kornel
1975 births
Living people
Hungarian male film actors
Hungarian film directors
Hungarian screenwriters
Male screenwriters
Hungarian male writers
People from Gödöllő