'Péter Forgács (born 10 September 1950) Hungarian media artist and filmmaker. Best known for his "Private Hungary" series of award-winning films based on found-footage home movies from 1930s to the 1970s, which document ordinary lives that were soon to be ruptured by an extraordinary historical trauma that occurs off-screen.
Biography Since 1976 Péter Forgács has been active in the Hungarian art scene as media artist/filmmaker. In the late 1970s and '80s he collaborated with the contemporary music ensemble Group 180, at the same time he started to work in the Béla Balázs Filmstudio. Forgács established the Private Photo & Film Archives Foundation (PPFA, 1983) in Budapest, a unique collection of amateur film footage from the '920, and has made this material "the raw data" for his unique postmodern re-orchestrations of history. In 2000-2002, created The Danube Exodus: Rippling Currents of the River installation,Getty Center https://www.getty.edu/, The Getty Museum and Research Institute later exhibited in New York, San Francisco, Brussels, Budapest, Helsinki, Berlin, Ulm, Kolozsvár-Cluj. His international film debut came with the Bartos Family (1988), which was awarded the Grand Prix at the World Wide Video Festival in The Hague (1990). Since Forgács has received several international festival awards in Budapest, Lisbon, Marseille, San Francisco International Film Festival, the Documentary Golden Gate Award 1998, Tribeca Film Festival 2005; and received the Prix Europe, Berlin European TV Documentary of the Year Award 1997. Forgács received the 2007 Erasmus Prize, which is "awarded to a person or institution which has made an exceptionally important contribution to culture in Europe."Praemium Erasmianum Foundation. Presentation Erasmus Prize to Péter Forgács - 29 November 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2008. In 2009 Forgács represented Hungary at the Venice Biennale, exhibiting the Col Tempo - The W. Project installation. In 2013 Forgacs created the ″Letters to Afar″ video installation at Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw with The Klezmatics Group; and at EYE Netherlands Filmmuseum Amsterdam the "Looming Fire - Stories from The Dutch East Indies 1900-1940" installation.
Filmography
2017 Kemény 80 Picturesque Epochs II. 70 min HD video 2016 Venom HD Video 30 min. novel and narration by Zsófia Bán 2015 - Mária Gánóczy Painter - Picturesque Epochs I. 2011 - GermanUnity@Balaton-Honeyland - produced by Lumen Film, Amsterdam / Uj Budapest Film / ZDF/ARTE - HD video 2009 - Video Active - documentary - for Video Active EU TV online archive promo - web version 2009 - Hunky Blues - The American Dream - produced by Filmpartners Ltd. - HD CAM 2008 - I am Von Höfler - Private Hungary 15 (video) 2007 - Own Death - fiction film - novel by Péter Nádas (HD video) 2006 - Miss Universe 1929 - Lisl Goldarbeiter - a Queen in Wien (HD video) 2005 - El Perro Negro - Stories from the Spanish Civil War (HD video) 2004 - Do You Really Love Me? (video) 2004 - Mutual Analysis (video) 2003 - Der Kaiser auf dem Spaziergang - light & image project (Installation and HD video) 2002 - The Bishop’s Garden - Private Hungary 14 (video) 2001 - A Bibó Reader - Private Hungary 13 (35mm film and video) 1999 - Angelos’ Film (video) 1998 - The Danube Exodus (video ) 1997 - The Maelstrom - A Family Chronic (video) 1997 - Kádár’s Kiss - Private Hungary 12 (video) 1997 - Class Lot - Private Hungary 11 (video) 1996 - Free Fall - Private Hungary 10 (video) 1996 - The Land of Nothing - Private Hungary 9 (video) 1994 - Meanwhile Somewhere 1940-43... (video) 1994 - The Notes of a Lady - Private Hungary 8 (video) 1994 - Hungarian Totem (video) 1993 - Conversations on Psychoanalysis - documentary series 5/5 1993 - Simply Happy - with Albert Wulffers (35mm film and video) 1993 - Culture Shavings (video) 1992 - Bourgeoisie Dictionary - Private Hungary 7 (video) 1992 - Wittgenstein Tractatus - INTERLUDE series (video) 1991 - Arizona diary - with poet György Petri (video) 1991 - Photographed by László Dudás - Private Hungary 6 (video) 1991 - D-FILM - Private Hungary 5 (video) 1991 - Márai Herbal - INTERLUDE series (video) 1990 - The Diary of Mr. N. - Private Hungary 4 (video) 1989 - Either - Or - Private Hungary 3 (video) 1989 - Dusi & Jenő - Private Hungary 2 (video) 1988 - The Bartos Family - Private Hungary 1 (video) 1987 - Episodes from the Life of Professor M.F. (video) 1986 - The Portrait of Leopold Szondi (video) 1985 - Spinoza Rückwertz (35mm film) 1978 - I See That I Look (video)
Installations and performances
2013 - Forgacs created the ″Letters to Afar″ video installation at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw with The Klezmatics Group; 2013 - "Looming Fire - Stories from The Dutch East Indies 1900-1940" installation. at EYE Netherlands Filmmuseum Amsterdam the German Unity @ Balaton - Deutsche Einheit am Balaton – Die private Geschichte der deutsch-deutschen Einheit • media installation with Gusztav Hamos • Collegium Hungaricum Berlin • 2009 • Dortmund • 2010 • Vaszary Villa - Balatonfüred/Hungary • 2010 Col Tempo - The W. Project • installation • 53rd Venice Biennale • Hungarian Pavilion • curator András Rényi • • 2009 •
Rembrandt Morphs • installation • Newcastle UK. 2006 Danube Exodus, The • installation • 2002 The Getty Museum and Research Institute CAL. LA. Der Kaiser auf dem Spaziergang • video installation • Light and Image • Aegina • 1996 The Case of My Room, • video installation • 1994 Laing Art Gallery * Dixi & Pixi • video performance with Dixi, Group 180, L. Lugo Lugosi • 1982 Dream Inventory • installation • 1995 Kiscell Municipal Museum, Budapest. Free Fall • Oratorio • Film • 1997 • Music Tibor Szemző • Prix Europe • Berlin - The Documetary Film of the Year 1997 Educational Cinema • installation • 2005 Kunsthalle, Budapest The Hung Aryan, • Video Installation • 1997 • Budapest Gallery Hungarian Totem • installation • 1995 Hungarian Video Kitchen Art • video installation • 1991 INAUGURATION • video performance • 1978 Monomotapa & The Game (the "Kempelen" installation video - with György Jovánovics • 2007) Kunsthalle Budapest, ZKM-Karlsruhe New York - BUDAPEST • paintings-photos with L.Lugó Lugosi • 1984 Paintings & photographs • One man show - Fotohof Salzburg • 1987 Pre Morgue • video installation • 1993 • The Batterfly Effect Exhibition Kunsthalle Budapest Private Exits • performance with Szemzõ • 1985 Saloon, and Then! • installation • 1997 SIGHT • photo installation • 2004 Snapshot from the Island • performance with Tibor Szemző • 1984 Stanley & Livingston • performance • 1979 Thee á' El Greco • video Installation • 1991 Two Nests and Other Things • video installation • 1991 Visit, The • installation • 2004 Work Desk • video performance and installation with Tibor Szemzõ • 1985
Awards
2020 Dragon of Dragons Award • Lifetime Achievement Award • Cracow International Film Festival, Kraków, Poland 2009 I am von Höfler • Hungarian Film Critics Special Award 2008 Own Death • Best Experimental Film Prize, 39th Hungarian Film Festival, Budapest 2008 I am von Höfler • Creative Documentary Film Prize, 39th Hungarian Film Festival, Budapest 2007 Erasmus Prize • Praemium Erasmianum Foundation, Amsterdam The Erasmus Prize is an annual prize awarded by the board of the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation. 2006 El perro negro • Documentary Film Grand Prize, 37th Hungarian Film Festival, Budapest 2005 El perro negro • The Maysles Brothers Documentary Film Grand Prize, Denver International Film Festival, United States 2005 El perro negro • Feature Length Documentary, Grand Prize, Tribeca International Film Festival, New York 2001 A Bibó Reader • Official selection Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, Cannes Film Festival, France 2001 A Bibó Reader • Best Director Prize of Short & Experimental Film, 33rd Hungarian Film Festival, Budapest 2000 Angelos' Film • Documentário Longa Grand Prize, XI Encotros Internacionalis De Cinema Documental, Portugal 1999 The Maelstrom • Grand Prize, Out of That Darkness International Film Competition, London 1999 Angelos' Film • Documentary Golden Gate Award, the Golden Spire, San Francisco International Film Festival, United States 1999 The Maelstrom • The Best Documentary Film Award, Jerusalem International Film Festival, Israel 1999 The Danube Exodus • Silver Dragon prize and FIPRESCI prize, Kraków Int. Doc. & Short Film Festival, Poland 1999 The Danube Exodus • Documentary Film Grand Prize, 30th Hungarian Film Festival, Budapest 1998 The Balázs Béla Film Award, Hungarian Republic, Budapest 1999 Free Fall • The Best Documentary-Fiction and the Best Film Music Prize, Hungarian Film Critics Prize, Budapest 1997 Free Fall • PRIX EUROPA, Best Non-Fiction Program of the Year, Berlin 1997 Free Fall • Grand Prize & CNC "Image de la culture" special award, Marseilles International Documentary Film Festival, France 1997 Free Fall • Short & Experimental Film, Grand Prize, Budapest 28th Hungarian Film Festival, Budapest 1995 Meanwhile Somewhere • "Lattücht" Prize Dokument, ART 95 Festival, Neubrandenburg, Germany 1994 Wittgenstein Tractatus • Grand Prize, Montecattini, Terme, Italy 1993 Culture Shavings • St. Germaine de Geneva Prize, 5th Semaine Internationale de Video, Switzerland 1993 Wittgenstein Tractatus • Video Grand Prize, VIPER Film & Video Festival, Lucerne, Switzerland 1993 Wittgenstein Tractatus • Sound Base Arts Video Festival, Grand Prize, Wrocław, Poland 1992 The Private Hungary series • Best Hungarian Documentary Film Prize, Hungarian Film Critics, Budapest 1991 Dusi and Jenő • Grand Prix, European Document Film Biennial, Marseilles, France 1990 The Bartos Family • Grand Prize, World Wide Video Festival, The Hague, Netherlands
Works in Public Collections
Museum of Fine Art Budapest · Modern Collection· Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) CINEMEDIA, Melbourne C3 Media Art Center, Budapest Centre National du Cinématographe, Paris Centre Pompidou & Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris Getty Museum, Special Collection, Los Angeles Harvard College Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts USA Haus der Dokumentarfilm collection, Stuttgart Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest KIASMA Contemporary Art Museum, Helsinki Ludwig Contemporary Art Museum, LUMU, Budapest Moffitt Library UC Berkeley, California USA MOMA, Film and Video collection, New York Montreal Cinematheque, Permanent Collection Museum of Fine Arts, 20th century Collection, Budapest Nederland Filmmuseum, Amsterdam New York University, Bobst Library NYU N.Y. USA Open Society Archive, CEU, Budapest Pacific Film Archives, Berkeley CA USA Samlung Oppenheim, Bonn Stanford University Library, Green Library, USA UIAH Helsinki University Art Department collection University of Southern California Film School - Annenberg Center for Communications, Los Angeles Yad Vashem, The Visual Center, Jerusalem Zentrum für Medien Kunst, ZKM collection, Karlsruhe
Secondary literature *Cinema’s Alchemist. The Films of Péter Forgács, ed. by Bill Nichols and Michael Renov, Minneapolis, Minn.[etc.] : University of Minnesota Press, 2011
References
External links [http://www.danube-exodus.hu/ The Danube Exodus data website
Péter Forgács' exhibition at the 53rd Venice Biennale - Hungarian Pavilion the Col Tempo exhibition catalog The Danube Exodus data website videos of Péter Forgács on vimeo.com