Béla Tarr: “When you watch a film, you see the director laid bare and you see who they truly are. You can't hide.”
Interview by Claudia Negrea
Hungarian director Béla Tarr is being honored this year at TIFF, where eight of his feature films are being screened. He will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award during the Closing Gala on Sunday, June 22, at the Cluj-Napoca National Theatre. Tarr is a cornerstone of European cinema and a major influence on filmmakers around the world.
Welcome to TIFF! What do you think of this year’s festival? Have you seen anything interesting so far—any films?
I'm very busy, I haven’t seen anything. I’m just with you guys. Today I have two Q&A sessions, interviews…
In the past, you’ve expressed discontent with storytelling, saying that all stories are the same or that everything has already been told. That could be seen as a rather controversial statement. Do you still stand by it?
You know, we’re all different—you see life differently than I do. And we’re just trying to learn. When you’re a filmmaker, your job is to share with people what you see, and that’s the essence of it. And of course, the differences are what’s interesting—not the story. For example, I know a few directors, some of them are my friends, but we see different things. Still, if I can see that they’re honest and strong, then sometimes I don’t even care what the story is—I just watch the images. When you watch a film, you see the director laid bare and you see who they truly are. You can’t hide.
This year’s festival theme is closely linked to the rise of artificial intelligence. There’s even a dedicated section for AI-themed films—stories about dystopian worlds where humanity is under threat in various ways. How do you see the future of cinema in a world increasingly reliant on AI?
I don’t know what this artificial intelligence is, but I know what life is. And if I listen to life, then of course I don’t need this kind of bullshit. Seriously. It’s enough if you have two eyes, if you can feel the air, if you can see miserable people and how they live. It’s a matter of sensitivity. I really don’t believe in this kind of fake crap. Sometimes I’m asked what advice I have for young filmmakers… My answer is very simple: they have to be themselves. They have to find their own language. And you know what? If you have a phone, you can shoot with that phone, you can edit on a laptop, and you can distribute it on the internet. You can say “fuck off” to the film industry and all this profit-driven bullshit. Because there’s no reason to… you’ll just become a prisoner of it. There’s no point in waiting for money or favors from them.
Béla Tarr Masterclass – June 21, 10:30 AM / Radisson Blu Hotel
Damnation – June 22, 5:15 PM / Sapientia University