film director
A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
and
screenwriter
A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
. She directed 16 films between 1962 and 2006. Her film '' Mária-nap'' was screened in the
Un Certain Regard
(; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob.
The section presents 20 films with unusua ...
section at the
1984 Cannes Film Festival
The 37th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 23 May 1984. British actor Dirk Bogarde served as jury president for the main competition.
German filmmaker Wim Wenders won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama film '' Paris, ...
.
Biography
As a child, she survived the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
first in a sheltered house on Pozsonyi Street, Budapest, and then in the
ghetto
A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...
Imre Gyöngyössy
Imre Gyöngyössy (25 February 1930 – 1 May 1994) was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. His film '' The Revolt of Job'' (1983), which he co-directed with Barna Kabay, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film ...
István Szabó
István Szabó (; born 18 February 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director.
Szabó is one of the most notable Hungary, Hungarian filmmakers and one who has been best known outside the Hungarian language, Hungarian- ...
.
During this time she was a founding member of the Balázs Béla Studio, a workshop for experimental film. In 1968, Elek made her first feature film, ''Sziget a szárazföldön'' (''The Lady from Constantinople''). From the 1980s onwards, she made historical films such as ''The Trial of Martinovics and the Hungarian Jacobins'' (1980). In the 1990s, she shot films with a Jewish theme like '' Tutajosok'' (''Memories of a River'', 1990) and ''To speak the Unspeakable: The Message of
Elie Wiesel
Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel (September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates#1980, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel bibliogra ...
'' (1996).
Elek was married to the Hungarian film director Zsolt Kézdi-Kovács (1936–2014). The cinematographer and producer Eli Laszlo Berger Eli Berger (László Berger, born in Budapest, 1970) is their son, known for the films ''A hét nyolcadik napja'' (''The Eighth Day of the Week'', 2006, directed by Judit Elek), ''Bankster'' (2016) and ''Dreams Are an Excuse'' (2023).
Filmography
Elek wrote many screenplays and directed many films, mostly in Hungarian, including:
* 1962, with Zsolt Kézdi-Kovács: ''Vásárcsarnok'' (Supermarket), short.
* 1963: ''Találkozás'' / ''Találkozás-Apróhirdetés'' (''Encounter'' / Encounter by classified ad), short, 23 minutes.
* 1966: ''Kastélyok lakói'' (''Inhabitants of Castles in Hungary in 1966''), short documentary, 27 minutes.
* 1967: ''Meddig él az ember? I-II'' (''How Long Does Man Live?''), documentary, 60 minutes.
* 1969: ''Sziget a szárazföldön'' ('' The Lady from Constantinople''), Elek's feature film debut, 76 minutes.
* 1970: ''Találkozunk 1972-ben / Sötétben-világosban'' (''We Will Meet in 1972 – In Dark and in Light''), television documentary, 35 minutes.
* 1974
** ''Egyszerű történet'' (''A Commonplace Story''), documentary, 104 minutes.
** ''Az első fénykép'' (''Tamás Cseh: The First Photo''), television documentary, 37 minutes.
* 1975: ''Istenmezején 1972-73-ban'' (''On the Field of God in 1972-73''), documentary, 78 minutes.
* 1976: '' Árvácska'' (''Nobody's Daughter''), screenwriter.
* 1980:
** ''Vizsgálat Martinovics Ignác szászvári apát és társainak ügyében'' (''The Trial of Martinovics and the Hungarian Jacobins''), feature film, 127 minutes.
** ''Majd holnap'' (''Maybe Tomorrow''), feature film, 104 minutes.
* 1984: '' Mária-nap'' (''Maria's Day''), feature film, 120 minutes.
* 1990: '' Tutajosok'' (''Memories of a River''), feature film, 147 minutes.
* 1995: ''Ébredés'' (''Awakening''), feature film, 110 minutes.
* 1996
** ''Mondani a mondhatatlant: Elie Wiesel üzenete'' (''To Speak the Unspeakable: The Message of
Elie Wiesel
Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel (September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates#1980, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel bibliogra ...
''), documentary, 105 minutes. In Hungarian, English and French.
** ''Egy szabad ember – Fisch Ernő élete'' (A Free Man – The Life of Ernő Fisch), documentary, 107 minutes.
* 2006: ''A hét nyolcadik napja'' (''The Eighth Day of the Week''), feature film, 100 minutes.
* 2009–2010: ''Visszatérés – Retrace'', feature film, 86 minutes. In Hungarian, Romanian, and English.
* 2018: ''És a halottak újra énekelnek'' (''After All the Dead Sing Again...''), music documentary, 72 minutes. In
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
and
Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
.
Awards
* Grand prize of the city of
Miskolc
Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...
1968.
* Special Prize of the Locarno Festival 1968 for ''Meddig él az ember? I.-II.'' (''How Long Does Man Live?'').
* Critics CIDALC (Comité International pour la Diffusion des Arts et des Lettres par le Cinéma) Award at the 31st
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...
1970.
*
International Federation of Film Critics
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the worl ...
FIPRESCI award 1975 for ''Istenmeze in 1973-74'' (''On the Field of God in 1972-73'').
* Chevalier (Knight) of the French
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.Memories of a River'' (''Tutajosok'').
* Grand Prix of the Créteil International Women's Film Festival 1990 for ''Memories of a River''.
* Grand Prix of the Salerno Film Festival 1996.
* Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (A Magyar Érdemrend tisztikeresztje) 2006.
* Film Review Award 2007.
*
Kossuth Prize
The Kossuth Prize (, ) is a state-sponsored award in Hungary, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionist Lajos Kossuth. The Prize was established in 1936, by the Hungarian National Assembly, to acknowledge outstanding personal and grou ...
2008.
* Hungarian Master of Motion Picture Award (Magyar Mozgókép Mestere) 2009.
Publications
Her publications include:
* with Kálmán Benda, ''Vizsgálat Martinovics Ignác szászvári apát és társai ügyében : filmforgatókönyv, eredeti iratok'', Magvető, Budapest, 1983. Film scripts and documents for ''The Martinovics Case''. In Hungarian.
* with Zsuzsa Bíró, Gábor Halász and Mihály Sükösd, ''Tutajosok : filmforgatókönyv'', Magvető, Budapest, 1990. Film script in Hungarian.
Controversy
For the purposes of the film ''Tutajosok'' (1990) 14 sheep were spread with a flammable substance, and then, at the order of Judit Elek, were burned alive. 69 scientists from the
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...
demanded that the authorities forbid Judit Elek entry to Poland. Scientists wrote among others: "No director knowing her own worth would debase herself for using so primitive and cruel methods".