Márta Mészáros

Directing

Márta Mészáros

Born 1931-09-19 · 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.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Hungary 2011 poster
NR

Anthology film made as an act of protest against Hungarian government of Viktor Orban.

Hungary 2011

2012

Hungary 2011 poster
NR

Anthology film made as an act of protest against Hungarian government of Viktor Orban.

Hungary 2011

2012

At the End of September poster
10.0

Young Petőfi Zoltán the son of the great Hungarian poet, Petőfi Sándor, feels as though he were a stranger in the house of his mother and stepfather. Off he goes, finding work in Debrecen, where his theatrical and literary career and love all seem to be on their way.

At the End of September

1974

Riddance poster
6.4

Jutka, a young woman who works in a factory, falls in love with Andras, a university student. She pretends to be a student, to him and to his parents, and begins to live a lie. Finally she rebels against Andras and his demands and the social conventions that forced her to live a lie.

Riddance

1973

Riddance poster
6.4

Jutka, a young woman who works in a factory, falls in love with Andras, a university student. She pretends to be a student, to him and to his parents, and begins to live a lie. Finally she rebels against Andras and his demands and the social conventions that forced her to live a lie.

Riddance

1973

No artwork available
4.3

The movie is inspired by writer-director Márta Mészáros' own childhood. The film is a grim reminder of horrible days under Stalinist period when several innocent people were persecuted for no fault. A good film which allow people to know how people in Europe were tortured before second world war by dictators and authoritarian regimes.

Little Vilma: The Last Diary

2000

No artwork available
4.3

The movie is inspired by writer-director Márta Mészáros' own childhood. The film is a grim reminder of horrible days under Stalinist period when several innocent people were persecuted for no fault. A good film which allow people to know how people in Europe were tortured before second world war by dictators and authoritarian regimes.

Little Vilma: The Last Diary

2000

The Two of Them poster
6.1

Looking for a safe place to live after being harassed by her husband, a depressive and violent man, Juli stays at a women's shelter run by Mária.

The Two of Them

1978

The Two of Them poster
6.1

Looking for a safe place to live after being harassed by her husband, a depressive and violent man, Juli stays at a women's shelter run by Mária.

The Two of Them

1978

Diary for My Loves poster
7.0

A continuation of "Diary for My Children," the film picks up in 1950, when Juli, the diarist, is 18 and determined to become a movie director.

Diary for My Loves

1987

Diary for My Loves poster
7.0

A continuation of "Diary for My Children," the film picks up in 1950, when Juli, the diarist, is 18 and determined to become a movie director.

Diary for My Loves

1987

On the Move poster
5.0

Barbara is a forty-year-old woman of Polish origin living in Budapest. She is a biologist, a wife and a mother. The death of her woman friend opens her eyes to the fact that she is lonely, unable to find her place.

On the Move

1979

On the Move poster
5.0

Barbara is a forty-year-old woman of Polish origin living in Budapest. She is a biologist, a wife and a mother. The death of her woman friend opens her eyes to the fact that she is lonely, unable to find her place.

On the Move

1979

Diary for My Children poster
6.9

After having lost her parents, young Juli returns from the Soviet Union to her native Budapest. Scarred by the wounds of the past, the ghost of Stalin’s oppression haunts her as she reunites with her aunt and adoptive mother Magda.

Diary for My Children

1984

Diary for My Children poster
6.9

After having lost her parents, young Juli returns from the Soviet Union to her native Budapest. Scarred by the wounds of the past, the ghost of Stalin’s oppression haunts her as she reunites with her aunt and adoptive mother Magda.

Diary for My Children

1984

The Inheritance poster
6.7

During the rising of nazism, Sylvia, a rich but sterile woman, needs an heir to inherit her father's money. So she bribes Irene, a Jewish girl, to have a child by her husband.

The Inheritance

1980

The Inheritance poster
6.7

During the rising of nazism, Sylvia, a rich but sterile woman, needs an heir to inherit her father's money. So she bribes Irene, a Jewish girl, to have a child by her husband.

The Inheritance

1980

The Girl poster
6.5

On receiving a letter from her mother, a quiet working-class girl leaves the state orphanage in Budapest where she grew up and takes a trip to the rural countryside to visit her.

The Girl

1968

The Girl poster
6.5

On receiving a letter from her mother, a quiet working-class girl leaves the state orphanage in Budapest where she grew up and takes a trip to the rural countryside to visit her.

The Girl

1968

Edith and Marlene poster
7.0

The lifelong friendship of Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich.

Edith and Marlene

1993

Adoption poster
6.7

When middle-aged Kata realises that her life will only be complete if she has a baby of her own, her longstanding-but-married boyfriend Joska refuses to comply. But by developing an unlikely friendship with the angst-ridden teenage orphan Anna, who is also involved in a controversial relationship, Kata discovers aspects of herself, and her role as a woman, that have gone unexamined throughout her entire, lonely life.

Adoption

1975

Adoption poster
6.7

When middle-aged Kata realises that her life will only be complete if she has a baby of her own, her longstanding-but-married boyfriend Joska refuses to comply. But by developing an unlikely friendship with the angst-ridden teenage orphan Anna, who is also involved in a controversial relationship, Kata discovers aspects of herself, and her role as a woman, that have gone unexamined throughout her entire, lonely life.

Adoption

1975

Everyday Stories poster
7.0

Short movie by Marta Meszaros

Everyday Stories

1955

Everyday Stories poster
7.0

Short movie by Marta Meszaros

Everyday Stories

1955