Hungarian movie director István Szabó was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Tribute by the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) on Friday evening at the 78th Cannes International Film Festival, before the screening of the restored version of his film 'Sunshine'.
The 4K resolution digital version of the Hungarian film classic, shot 25 years ago and restored by the National Film Institute, was screened during the official Cannes Classics program.
The audience gave a standing ovation to the 87-year-old Oscar-winning director, praised on stage by the director Thierry Frémaux, who said that 'Sunshine' "is very topical, despite being a true classic".
In his acceptance speech, István Szabó recalled that his 16-minute graduation film Concert was invited to Cannes in 1962 and won the Best Short Film prize.
"After that, I was invited several times with my films, and now I am very grateful to the festival for having me back and welcoming me back to Cannes and to cinema", he said. István Szabó's films have been in the festival's competition program five times, he won the Jury Prize (for 'Colonel Redl') in 1985 and was a member of the Jury in 1986.
'Sunshine' was cinematographed by Lajos Koltai, starring international stars such as Ralph Fiennes, Jennifer Ehle, Rosemary Harris and Rachel Weisz, and produced by András Hámori and Robert Lantos. Following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1999, the film won three European Film Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Cinematography and was released worldwide.
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