Boldog születésnapot! – FFC Honorary President István Szabó on his 80th birthday

István Szabó has been Honorary President of the FilmFestival Cottbus for 18 years. On February 18th the Hungarian director celebrates his 80th birthday.

Szabó made his first short film ON THE SEVENTH DAY in 1959 as a student at the Hungarian Academy of Theatre and Film Arts. 1964 was the release of AGE OF DREAMS, the first feature film. With this and his subsequent works, István Szabó is one of the co-founders of the new Hungarian film founded in the 1960s. 
Szabó, born in Budapest, gained international fame through his films MEPHISTO (1981), OBERST REDL (1985) and HANUSSEN (1988). 1982 he won the Oscar in the category Best Foreign Language Film for MEPHISTO.

This year's 28th FFC (in cooperation with the Filmmuseum Potsdam) is dedicated to the work of István Szabó. István Szabó and his wife, film scholar Veronika Gyürey, will be guests in Cottbus in November. 
We are looking forward to seeing you again.

Happy birthday and all the best! Boldog születésnapot!