István Szabó is amongst Hungary’s internationally best known and most significant directors and screenwriters. He learned his handiwork at the Academy of Theatrical and Cinematic Arts in Budapest. In 1980, Szabó managed to create two internationally recognised and successful films, GREEN BIRD and CONFIDENCE.
The film CONFIDENCE, which was also nominated for an Academy Award, won him a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and a Silver Palm for Best Screenplay at Cannes. There, Szabó also won the award for Best Director for the film HANUSSEN. Szabó is known as a sensitive observer of societies marked by dictatorship or heteronomy. His stories, which often deal with identity and adaptation, revolve around the fate of individuals under the influence of historic events.
