15/01/2016 - The feature debut by Laszlo Nemes will attempt to become the second Hungarian film to win the Oscar for Best Foreign-language Film

Son of Saul by Laszlo Nemes

It’s been an exceptionally successful week in the United States for Son of Saul [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: László Nemes
interview: László Rajk
film profile] by László Nemes. After becoming the first Hungarian filmmaker to be crowned at the Golden Globes (read the news), the young director has seen his extraordinary feature debut (which was unveiled at Cannes, winning the Grand Prix to boot) secure a place on the list of the five nominees for the Oscar for Best Foreign-language Film, which will be handed out on 28 February. 

This is the ninth nomination for this statuette for a Hungarian film, and should he be triumphant, László Nemes would become the second director from the country to take home the award, after Istvan Szabo did so in 1982 with Mephisto. For the record, the seven other Hungarian features nominated in the past were The Boys of Paul Street and Magyarok by Zoltan Fabri in 1969 and 1979, Cat’s Play by Karoly Makk in 1975, The Revolt of Job by Imre Gyöngyössy and Barna Kabay in 1984, and three other movies by Istvan Szabo: Confidence in 1981, Colonel Redl in 1986 and Hanussen in 1989.

Son of Saul was produced by Gábor Sipos and Gábor Rajna for Laokoon Filmgroup, with backing from such sources as the Hungarian Film Fund, the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation Residence, Sarajevo Cinelink and the Jerusalem Film Lab. It has been sold all around the world by French sales agent Films Distribution.

(Translated from French)