Péter Forgács

Péter Forgács (born 1950) is a media artist and independent filmmaker based in Budapest, Hungary. He is best known for his "Private Hungary" series of award winning films based on home movies from the 1930s and 1960s, 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 2002 The Getty Research Institute held an exhibit The Danube Exodus: Rippling Currents of the River. His international debut came with the Bartos Family (1988), which was awarded the Grand Prix at the World Wide Video Festival in The Hague (1990). Since then Forgács has received several international festival awards in Budapest, Lisbon, Marseilles, San Francisco International Film Festival the Documentary Golden Gate Award 1998, Tribeca Film Festival 2005; At the Prix Europa, Berlin received the 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." 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
2011 - GermanUnity@Balaton - Honeyland - produced by Lumen Film Amsterdam / Uj Budapest Film / for zdf/arte - HDCAM video 79 min.
2009 - Video Active - documentary - for Video Active EU TV online archive promo - web version 10 min.
2009 - Hunky Blues - The American Dream - produced by Filmpartners Ltd. - HD CAM 100 min.
2008 - I am Von Höfler - Private Hungary 15 (video 160min)
2007 - Own Death - fiction film - novel by Péter Nádas (video - 118min)
2006 - Miss Universe 1929 - Lisl Goldarbeiter - a Queen in Wien (video - 70min)
2005 - El Perro Negro - Stories from the Spanish Civil War (video - 84min and 52min)
2004 - Do You Really Love Me? (video - 33 min)
2004 - Mutual Analysis (video - 12min)
2003 - Der Kaiser auf dem Spaziergang - light & image project (DVD - 15'30min)
2002 - The Bishop’s Garden - Private Hungary 14 (video - 56'30min)
2001 - A Bibó Reader - Private Hungary 13 (35mm film and video - 69min)
1999 - Angelos’ Film (video - 60min)
1998 - The Danube Exodus (video - 60min)
1997 - The Maelstrom - A Family Chronic (video - 60’05min)
1997 - Kádár’s Kiss - Private Hungary 12 (video - 52min)
1997 - Class Lot - Private Hungary 11 (video - 52min)
1996 - Free Fall - Private Hungary 10 (video - 75min)
1996 - The Land of Nothing - Private Hungary 9 (video - 62min)
1994 - Meanwhile Somewhere 1940-43... (video - 52min)
1994 - The Notes of a Lady - Private Hungary 8 (video - 48min)
1994 - Hungarian Totem (video - 26min)
1993 - Conversations on Psychoanalysis - documentary series 5/5
1993 - Simply Happy - with Albert Wulffers (35mm film and video - 52min)
1993 - Culture Shavings (video - 43min)
1992 - Bourgeoisie Dictionary - Private Hungary 7 (video - 49min)
1992 - Wittgenstein Tractatus - INTERLUDE series (video - 35min)
1991 - Arizona diary - with poet György Petri (video - 53min)
1991 - Photographed by László Dudás - Private Hungary 6 (video - 45min)
1991 - D-FILM - Private Hungary 5 (video - 45min)
1991 - Márai Herbal - INTERLUDE series (video - 30min)
1990 - The Diary of Mr. N. - Private Hungary 4 (video - 51min)
1989 - Either - Or - Private Hungary 3 (video - 43min)
1989 - Dusi & Jenő - Private Hungary 2 (video - 45min)
1988 - The Bartos Family - Private Hungary 1 (video - 60min)
1987 - Episodes from the Life of Professor M.F. (video - 110min)
1986 - The Portrait of Leopold Szondi (video - 60min)
1985 - Spinoza Rückwertz (35mm film - 5min)
1978 - I See That I Look (video - 25min)
Installations and performances
2013 - Forgacs created the ″Letters to Afar″ video installation at 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 •
Black Hole • Performance, with Tamás Tóth bass guitar • 1984
Case of My Room, The • video installation • 1994
Chlorophyll • performance with L. Lugo Lugosi • 1986
Danube Exodus, The • installation • 2002
Der Kaiser auf dem Spaziergang • video installation • Light and Image • Aegina • 1996
Dixi & Pixi • video performance with Dixi, Group 180, L. Lugo Lugosi • 1982
Dream Inventory • installation • 1995
Free Fall • Oratorio • 1997
Educational Cinema • installation • 2005
Hung Aryan, The • Video Installation • 1997
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
Pig paintings • paintings • 1985
Pre Morgue • video installation • 1993
Private Exits • performance with Szemzõ • 1985
Rembrandt Morphs • installation • 2006
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 • Krakow Film Foundation, Krakow
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
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, USA
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, USA
1999 The Maelstrom • The Best Documentary Film Award, Jerusalem International Film Festival, Israel
1999 The Danube Exodus • Silver Dragon prix 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 Document 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, Wroclaw, 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, Holland
Works in Public Collections
Museum of Fine Art Budapest · Modern Collection·
Australian Center 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
Official website of Peter Forgacs
Hunky Blues - The American Dream film website
Péter Forgács' exhibition at the 53rd Venice Biennale - Hungarian Pavilion
the Col Tempo exhibition catalog
The Danube Exodus - The Rippling Currents of the River - Installation video
The Danube Exodus - The Rippling Current of the River
Danube Exodus on P.F. website
The Danube Exodus data website
videos of Peter Forgacs
Prix Europa 1997 FREE FALL awarded
Group 180
Artist website
Patricia Rebello & Rafael Sampaio, "Péter Forgacs - Arquitetura da Memória 2012" (Portuguese)
"Cinema's Alchemist: The Films of Peter Forgacs" (book), Visible Evidence
https://archive.today/20140303102932/http://www.jewishmuseum.org.pl/en/event/letters-afar-may-18th-september-30th-2013
Hungarian film directors
1950 births
Living people
Hungarian contemporary artists