Hungarian director Béla Tarr to close production company

Hungarian director Bela Tarr has revealed that he is to shut down his production company TT Filmmuhely at the end of this month.

In a statement released by Tarr and his producing partner Gabor Teni, the acclaimed director, whose last film was the 2011 feature The Turin Horse, said he had had “no choice but to acknowledge that despite all our efforts our situation has become untenable”.

The full statement read:

“We would like to inform our friends and colleagues as well as the public that TT Filmmuhely will suspend its activity and will close down its offices as of the end of May 2012. We have no choice but to acknowledge that despite all our efforts our situation has become untenable.

In the past nine years we have been working with responsibility and honour to the best of our knowledge and we have done our utmost to contribute to the development of the Hungarian and universal art of cinema.

We tried to support all initiatives and ambitions which – in a film industry shifting more and more toward show business – had little room and could not breathe.

We feel deeply sorry for not being able to support and realize projects we believed in and into which we have invested a lot of energy. 

Our films and all our manifestations were full of respect for human dignity. We have always stood by the side of humiliated and crippled people and we have defended them by using our own means.

We are proud and pleased that the last film whose realization we were part of represents our country - similar to our other productions – at an “A” category film festival.

We are confident and convinced that the time will come when freedom of the arts and their independence of politics will be accepted and respected.”