László Nemes (born Nemes Jeles László; ; 18 February 1977) is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. His 2015 debut feature film, '' Son of Saul,'' was screened in the main competition at the

2015 Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...

, where it won the

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

. He is the first Hungarian director whose film has won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. ''Son of Saul'' is the second Hungarian film to win the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. In 2016, Nemes was a member of the main competition jury of the

2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian director George Miller was the President of the Jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies. On 15 Marc ...

Early life

Nemes was born in Budapest as the son of a Jewish mother and the Hungarian film and theatre director

András Jeles András Jeles (born 27 March 1945) is a Hungarian film director and actor. He is best known for directing the 1984 film ''The Annunciation''. His son László Nemes László Nemes (born Nemes Jeles László; ; 18 February 1977) is a Hungarian ...

. He moved to Paris at the age of 12. Nemes became interested in filmmaking at an early age and began filming amateur horror films in the basement of his Paris home. After studying History, International Relations and Screenwriting, he started working as an

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...

in France and Hungary on short and feature films. For two years, he worked as Béla Tarr's assistant during the filming of '' The Man from London''.

Career

After directing his first 35-mm short film, ''

With a Little Patience ''With a Little Patience'' ( hu, Türelem) is a Hungarian short film made in 2007, written and directed by László Nemes. It depicts the daily routine of an office clerk keeping records and thus assisting extermination efforts in the course of th ...

'', in September 2006, he moved to New York to study film directing at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Beginning in September 2011, he spent five months in

Sciences Po Paris , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

as part of a scholarship program arranged by the Cinéfondation, where he and Clara Royer developed the script for ''Son of Saul''. In 2012, they continued intensive work on the screenplay for seven months at the Jerusalem International Film Lab rubbing shoulders with emerging directors such as

Boo Junfeng Boo Junfeng (Chinese: 巫俊锋; pinyin: wū jùn fēng; born 4 December 1983) is a Singaporean filmmaker. Boo's films, Sandcastle (2010) and Apprentice (2016) have been screen at the Cannes Film Festival, beginning with his debut, Sandcastle, w ...

and :fr:Morgan Simon. He developed his project ''

Sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...

'' through the TorinoFilmLab Script&Pitch programme in 2012 and the Framework programme in 2015.

''Son of Saul''

His debut feature film, ''Son of Saul,'' premiered at the 68th Cannes Film Festival as part of the main competition. It won the

, the second-most prestigious prize of the festival. Nemes accepted the 2015 Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film for ''Son of Saul'' at the telecast on 10 January 2016. It is the third Hungarian film nominated for a Golden Globe and the first Hungarian film to win.

Influences and artistry

Nemes has named

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( rus, Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker. Widely considered one of the greates ...

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...

, Terrence Malick and

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

as some of his favorite directors.

Filmography

Feature films

* '' Son of Saul'' (2015) * ''

'' (2018)

Short films

* ''

'' (2007) (14 minutes, 35mm) * ''The Counterpart'' (2008) (14 minutes, 35mm) * ''The Gentleman Takes His Leave'' (2010) (29 minutes, 35mm)

Awards

* Kossuth Prize (2016)

Feature films

* 2015 - Cannes Film Festival -

* 2015 - Cannes Film Festival - FIPRESCI Competition Award * 2015 - Cannes Film Festival - François Chalais Prize * 2015 - Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film * 2016 -

Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film The Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film is an award presented annually at the Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Aw ...

* 2016 -

* 2017 - BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language * 2018 - 75th Venice International Film Festival - FIPRESCI Award * 2018 - 15th Seville Film Festival - Eurimages Award To The Best European Coproduction * 2019 - 9th Beijing International Film Festival - The Best Director

Short films

* 2007 - Hungarian Society of Cinematographers - Best Short Film * 2007 - Hungarian Film Week - Best Short Film * 2007 - Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Films - Silver Mikeldi * 2008 - Angers Premiers Plans - Best European Short Film * 2008 - Angers Premiers Plans - ARTE Prize * 2008 - Angers Premiers Plans - Best Actress: Virág Marjai * 2008 - Athens International Film & Video Festival - Black Bear Award * 2008 - Mediawave International Film Festival - Best Cinematography * 2008 - Indie Lisboa International Film Festival - Onda Curta Award * 2010 - NexT International Film Festival Bucharest - "Cristian Nemescu" Best Directing Award

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nemes, Laszlo Living people 1977 births Writers from Budapest Writers from Paris Hungarian film directors Hungarian screenwriters Hungarian people of Jewish descent Tisch School of the Arts alumni Directors of Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners Filmmakers who won the Best Foreign Language Film BAFTA Award