The Béla Balázs Award () is the highest state professional award that can be awarded to filmmakers and television producers in Hungary. Named after the Hungarian film critic, aesthetician, writer, and poet

Béla Balázs Béla Balázs (; 4 August 1884 – 17 May 1949), born Herbert Béla Bauer, was a Hungarian film critic, aesthetician, writer and poet of Jewish heritage. He was a proponent of formalist film theory. Career Balázs was the son of Simon Bauer a ...

, who died in 1949, the award was founded in 1958. It can be awarded to those who have demonstrated outstanding creative activity in the field of motion pictures, or who have achieved outstanding artistic and scientific achievements. The prize is awarded annually by the Hungarian culture minister on March 15.

Awarding of the prize

The request for ministerial recognition can be initiated by anyone - except for the candidate themselves and their immediate family - three months before the due date. The candidate's professional portfolio must also be submitted on a medium capable of playing audiovisual content. The received initiatives are evaluated by a committee invited by the minister, the president of the

Hungarian Academy of Arts Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians/Magyars, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the ...

, and a person appointed by the minister and make a proposal for the awardees. The minister invites the members of the committee proposing the award for a period of four years, considering the proposals of the relevant professional organizations. Since 2012, a maximum of 4 people can be awarded annually. By convention, the award is usually given to the candidate nominated by the Hungarian Film Academy. Award winners are given a commemorative medal with an embossed portrait of Béla Balázs.

References

Hungarian film awards {{film-award-stub