JáNOS XANTUS

He was born in Budapest (Hungary) in 1953. After graduating from high school he studied photography. He worked in the Hungarian Film Laboratory, then at MAFILM Hungarian Film Studios, as a camera assistant apprentice. From 1975 he was Károly Makk's student in the Hungarian Academy of Theatrical and Cinematical Arts.

After finishing academy he became a member of the Béla Balázs Studio management, then part of the Dialóg Film Studio, and later part of Objektív Film Studio art board. He is a member of the Feature Film Director's Guild and one of the founders of the Young Hungarian Filmmaker's Society.

He has played roles in films directed by Gyula Gazdag, Miklós Jancsó and István Szabó. He co-directed the film "Another Way" with Károly Makk. He directed five feature lenght films, ten short films, many television programs and commercials. He was awarded the "Balázs Béla Prize" in 1988. In the last few years he has put six plays on stage. He has been teaching filmdirecting at the Hungarian Academy of Theatrical and Cinematical Arts since 1992. He worked for the selection committee of the First East European Scriptwriters Workshop Supported by the Sundance Institute in 1997 and 1998.

FEATURE LENGHT FILMS:

REMEMBER ME 1998 - MXbt / 56 min, BETA-SP, colour

• FILMVILÁG - XLII/4 Xantus’s idea of shooting a film on the stage results in a curious marriage between film and theater: the two media integrate in a challenging manner wich calls for new interpretations, offers possibilities for deeper comprehension and - due to the visual gags - inpires the audience to laughter. Tamás Halász

CRUEL ESTATE 1990 - Objektív Film Studio / 90 min, 35 mm, (1:1.66), colour Prize: Hungarian Filmcritic's Prize for the best actress; Anikó Für - Budapest, 1991 Festivals: Bergamo Film Meeting, IFP - New York, Festival of Fantastic Cinema - Bruxelles TV-sales: Australia, Brazil, Israel, Italy

• VARIETY, June 27, 1991 "Pic builds gradually and develops a Polanski-like atmosphere, with the wife going bananas and the old woman taking on a satanic edge. Chunks of Verdi on the soundtrack underline the operatic tone, and the bloody finale has an attractively surreal quality. Thesping is on the button, especially Polish vet Rysiowna in the double role of the twin sisters. Technically pic is fine, with crisp lensing by Tibor Klopfler and tight direction by young Janos Xantus."
• VARIETY INTERNATIONAL FILM GUIDE 1992 - HUNGARY "Strangely enough, amongst all the array of works dealing with the recent changes, the long-term future of Hungarian cinema may lie instead in works like Cruel Estate (Szoba kiáltással), a fine fourth feature by young János Xantus. Far tighter than previous works like »Eskimo Woman Is Cold« (1984), this grand-guignol mystery-thriller, about a couple who move in with an old woman and later plan her murder, is completely free of political baggage but still Hungarian in flavour. Confidently put together and with a fine trio of performances, it is the kind of movie that may well start turning up more often when the country settles down to a less haunted life in the 199o's." Derek Elly la Repubblica, March 28, 1992 "The director shot this film with plenty of irony. It presents scenes describing the difficulties of the coexistence of strangers. It is intensified to surrealism, that life is born by understanding, not by clashes. Many "bravos" for the actors: Zofia Rysiowna, Anikó Für, Andzrej Ferenc." Renzo Fegatelli
• CINEFORUM "The Hungarian director tactfully uses paradox and mystically keeps the distance and mixes up the cards with the deft hand of a skillful player." Angelo Signorelli

THE ROCK CONVERT 1988 - Társulás Studió / 104 min, 35 mm, colour TV-sales: MTV Video-distribution by MOKÉP DĆDALUS - 199o "The movie's power lies in it's sensous capturing of the vertigo of violence and it's unstoppable escalation through tilted frames and jerking camera movements. The mobility of the video camera establishes a new proximity to the dizziness and acceleration of modern life." Yvette Biró

• VARIETY Strat., 22-28 "Transfer from video to film makes for some striking images at times, though all-too-often pic looks murky. It's an unusual item and fests specializing in music pics could be interested."
• NEUE ZUERCHER ZEITUNG, March 17, 1989 "Xantus dedicates his film to the subculture of Budapest and to all those talents who work parallel to the main stream - so there is no one leading them. Even this playfully wayward piece of art has a political sting."

IDIOTS MAY APPLY 1985 - Dialóg Studio / 86 min, 35 mm, (1:1.66), colour

• A L'ECOUTE - March 2o, 1986 "Buster Keaton - in the Hungarian way... Xantus made no bones about mixing themes. The playing field explodes as well. Play becomes dangerous. Madness wins over all." Azzedine Mabrouki
• POSITIF - November 1986 "In the film »Idiots May Apply«, János Xantus praises the nonconformism of an attorney who brutally breaks away from the basic social standards of behavior. It seams Xantus has searched the original cinematography style much more than others of his filmmaking generation." Michel Taubman

ESKIMO WOMAN IS COLD 1983 - Dialóg Studio / 115 min, 35 mm, (1:1.85), colour Prizes: For the Best First Feature- Budapest, 1984 / Diploma of the International Jury and the International Filmcritics' Prize - Figuera da Foz, 1984 / Grand Prix of the Jury and Grand Prix of the Audience - Belfort, 1984 / For the Best Actor; Andor Lukáts - Laval, 1985 More festivals: Quinzaine... - Cannes, Bergamo Film Meeting, The World Film Festival - Montreal Movie-sale: France TV-sales: ZDF, Duna Television, TV2 Video-distribution by MOKÉP.

• LE MONDE - November 18, 1986 "János Xantus' first feature film short-circuits all psychology to expose the caracter's locked-in vicious reactions." Louis Marcorelles
• LIBÉRATION - November 18, 1986 "...Eskimo Woman Is Cold is a rare deep meaning film from which one can bring to surface all kinds of political parables. One thing is for sure: the director, János Xantus belongs to an original, extravagant species (if we can say that) in the Eastern Cinematography field. His film vibrates from it's daring manner." Olivier Seguret
• CAHIERS DU CINEMA - November 1986 "...Eskimo Woman Is Cold is the magnificent first film of János Xantus..., it revives a classical genre, the melodrama." Frédéric Sabouraud
• SCREEN INTERNATIONAL - February 25, 1984 "Xantus' film is a little long, but has some wonderful moments, and shows an interesting new talent." Anne Head One of the ten best films of 1986 -selected by Antoine Baecque

SHORT FILMS:

WHY SHOOT IN HUNGARY? 1999 - Vidicop / 9 min, BETA-SP, colour

THE MOREL BOY 1999 - MTV-SFF-Felhôc / 32 min, 35 mm, (1:1.66), colour

ON THE ROAD 1998 - EBU-MTV / 15 min, BETA-SP, colour TV-sales: DR, RTR, RTVBH, SABC2, SK-STV, SVT, TVE, TRT, UKIB-S4C, YLE-FST

KRASSÓ GYÖRGY - A POSTHUME PORTRAIT - 1997 - Unio Civilis / 30 min, BETA-SP, colour TV-sales: Duna Television

AQUARELLES 1991 - Artimage / 15 min, 16 mm, colour

FIL BLEU 1990 - Artimage / 22 min, 16 mm, B&W and colour

THE MIRACULOUS SINGER 1982 - MTV FMS / 39 min,16 mm, colour Festivals: Veszprém TV-Meeting

IN FEMALE HANDS 1981 - Balázs Béla Studio / 24 min, 35 mm, (1:1.66), colour Prize: Special Prize of the Festival Committee - Oberhausen, 1981

DIORISSIMO 1979 - Balázs Béla Studio / 29 min, 16 mm, B&W and colour Festival: Lille

AND SO... AND SO ON 1978 - Hungarian Academy of Theatrical and Cinematical Arts / 21 min, 16 mm, B&W Prize: Grand Prix of the Jury - Tours, 1980 Festival: New-Delhi

WERTHER AND HIS LIFE 1976 - Hungarian Academy of Theatrical and Cinematical Arts - / 29 min, 16 mm, B&W Prize: Special Mention - Tours, 1977

PREPARATION 1975 - Hungarian Academy of Theatrical and Cinematical Arts / ?? min, (lost) 16 mm, B&W

THEATER:

PLAN SÉQUENCE DANSE Written by Jean-Daniel Magnin and János Xantus 1997 - Trafó, Petôfi Hall Budapest

GOOD EVENING SUMMER, GOOD EVENING LOVE! Written by Endre Fejes, music composed by Gábor Presser 1995 - Pécsi Nemzeti Színház

ANNA KARENINA - A MUSICAL - OPERA Composed by Tibor Kocsák, lyrics by Tibor Miklós 1994 - Rock Theater, Budapest

• NÉPSZABADSÁG - January 22, 1994 (the largest Hungarian daily newspaper) "The Rock Theater benefitted from the work of János Xantus. Already, the latest production of the theater presented at their haunt in Bethlen square, shows the co-ordinated strenghts of the company. The director disciplined the team well for a precise participation in Anna Karenina. He directs the plot in the theater with the same buoyancy as he does in films. He goes between the duality of signs and inspiring illusion. Curtains move up and down, narrowing the space, opening up the view, swinging forward in the story, then turning back the pages. The principles of creating scenes reminds us of the dramatization Volkov presented for Madame Tarasova, which was played by Gizi Bajor in Magyar Színház (Hungarian Theater)." Péter Molnár Gál

THE SLICE - OR THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON - Written by Jean-Daniel Magnin, translated by János Xantus 1993 - Repertory Theater of the National Theater in Pécs

• SZÍNHÁZ - XXVII. year 3rd. ed. (THEATER, Hungarian magazine) "János Xantus' Hungarian text precisely and perceptibly conveys the play's original idiomatic pecularities. Xantus, as a director, directs the play with empathy. He put »The Slice« on stage by uncovering all layers of the drama. »The Slice« was the first of aplanned series of unusual, irregular plays in the Repertory Theater, and - it seems - it found and gripped its targeted audience: the young people and the intellectuals of the town." István Nánay

ASSASSINS - A MUSICAL Written and composed by Stephen Sondheim, based on the original play of John Weidman, translated by Tibor Miklós and János Xantus 1994 - Rock Theater, Budapest

THE WALL Written by Roger Waters, translated by Tamás Nyirkos staged by János Xantus 1992 - Ódry Playhouse