''Katalin Varga'' is a 2009 film directed by Peter Strickland. The feature debut of Peter Strickland, he used the money from a bequest from his uncle to fund the project. Filmed over 17 days in the Hungarian-speaking part of the

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n region of

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, Strickland completed the project for £28,000.

Plot

Katalin Varga's husband discovers that their son Orbán is not his. Together with her child, she sets out to find Antal, the man who raped her 11 years earlier, Orbán's biological father. She meets Gergely, a friend and accomplice of Antal, who does not recognize her. She seduces and then kills him. Orbán befriends Antal, both unaware of their blood ties. Antal is now a happily married man, and Katalin strikes up an intimate friendship with his wife. On a boating trip she confronts them both about the events which occurred 11 years earlier.

Accolades

The film was in the competition for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

at the

59th Berlin International Film Festival The 59th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 February to 15 February 2009. The opening film of the festival was Tom Tykwer’s '' The International'', screened out of competition. Costa-Gavras's immigrant drama '' Eden Is West'' se ...

in 2009, where it was awarded the

Silver Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fes ...

for outstanding artistic contribution (sound design): György Kovács, Gábor ifj. Erdélyi and Tamás Székely.Berlinale. Archive. Prize winners 2009
Retrieved 27 January 2019 It won the

European Film Award for European Discovery of the Year European Film Award - Prix Eurimages or European Discovery has been awarded annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy. Originally it was called Young European Film of the Year. Winners and nominees 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s ...

in 2009.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Katalin Varga (Film) 2009 films Films set in Transylvania Romanian-language films Hungarian-language films Films directed by Peter Strickland European Film Awards winners (films) Silver Bear for outstanding artistic contribution 2009 directorial debut films