IFF Rotterdam 2025: László & Marta Mészáros

54 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) presents Program "Katja Raganelly meets Marta Mészáros": "In memoriam László Mészáros", "At the Lőrinc Spinnery", "Bóbita", "Márta Mészáros – Portrait einer ungarischen Filmregisseurin".

IFF Rotterdam 2025

"In memoriam László Mészáros" by Marta Mészáros, 1969, 14'

A tribute from a daughter to her father. László Mészáros, a man from humble origins, was a promising sculptor in 1930s Hungary. As a dedicated socialist, he migrated with his family to the USSR in 1935. Three years later, he was arrested on false charges, throwing his destiny into dispute. When Márta Mészáros’ mother died giving birth, she found herself alone in the world, and far from home.

 Olaf Möller

"In memoriam László Mészáros" by Marta Mészáros

"At the Lőrinc Spinnery" by Márta Mészáros, Hungary, 1972, 16'

A candid portrait of the women working at the Lőrinc spinning mill. As with so many of Mészáros’ shorts, this work has foundations in autobiography, and as is visible in "Márta Mészáros – Portrait einer ungarischen Filmregisseurin", she would later return to this particular world in one of her fiction features.

 Olaf Möller

"At the Lőrinc Spinnery", by Marta Mészáros

"Bóbita" (Blow-Ball) by Márta Mészáros, Hungary, 1965, 21'

Instead of going to school, a young boy roams the streets of Budapest. With unhappily divorced parents, where else should a lonely child go? A superb example of Mészáros’ early cinema of poetics and social concern where the grit of daily life fuses with moments of weightless joy.

"Bóbita" by Marta Mészáros

"Márta Mészáros – Portrait einer ungarischen Filmregisseurin" by Katja Raganelly, Germany, 1979, 55'

One thing always leads to another with Katja Raganelli, it’s therefore no surprise to see Delphine Seyrig here, during the shooting of Útközben (1979), one of the less discussed films of Márta Mészáros – probably because of its more international character. Besides long interview passages with Mészáros herself, the presence of her second and third husbands, director Miklós Jancsó and actor Jan Nowicki, add unexpected angles to this portrait.

 Olaf Möller

"Márta Mészáros – Portrait einer ungarischen Filmregisseurin"

by Katja Raganelly