Müpa Budapest bids final farewell to director Károly Makk, a giant of Hungarian cinema

2017. 08. 31.

Kossuth Prize awardee film director Károly Makk, a master of Hungarian motion picture, has passed away at the age of 91.

“He was an exceptional artist, a veritable giant among directors, one of the greatest in the history of film-making, who taught us about life: how to love it and make it lovable for ourselves and others”, said Müpa Budapest CEO Csaba Káel, a former pupil of Károly Makk.

Károly Makk was a key figure of Hungarian and universal cinema. Six of his films (Liliomfi, Szerelem (Love), Macskajáték (Cats' Play), Egy erkölcsös éjszaka (A Very Moral Night), Egymásra nézve (Another Way), Az utolsó kézirat (The Last Manuscript)) were invited to the Cannes Film Festival, where he won the Jury Prize for Szerelem in 1971. His works have been on the programme of film festivals in, amongst others, London, New York, San Sebastian and Madrid, raking in countless prizes. For decades, he taught at the Budapest College of Theatre and Film.

In the 2012/13 season, the Müpa Cinema series paid homage to his unparalleled oeuvre and in 2015, Müpa greeted the maestro, 90 years old at the time, with a Gesamtkunstwerk evening entitled “One Must Love”. It is with a heavy heart and images of this evening that Müpa Budapest bids fond farewell to an unforgettable legend of Hungarian motion picture.