Ilona Kolonits

Ilona Kolonits (17 March 1922 in Budapest – 2 August 2002 in Budapest) was a Hungarian documentary film director and international news correspondent. She was an early war correspondent and also was among the first women to be film directors. Kolonits' films were known for their lyrical treatment of historical events and the lives of ordinary people. Kolonits received numerous awards, and nominations throughout her career, including international film festivals in Paris, Moscow, Oberhausen, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Berlin, Leipzig, Mexico City and Budapest. Kolonits has been awarded the title Righteous Among the Nations and the 'Pro Virtue' Award for Courage of the Republic of Hungary for saving the lives of many during the Second World War.

Biography

Kolonits was born in 1922 in Budapest to a family of notable humanitarian political activists. Her father Ferenc Kolonits and mother Paulina Kolonits (née Holka) took an active part in the Hungarian anti-fascist resistance movement in the Second World War. Ilona volunteered to rescue over 40 children from the Budapest Ghetto who were destined to be deported and killed in the Nazi's concentration camps. In 2007, alongside her mother and her two sisters, Margit and Paola Kolonits, she was awarded the Righteous Among the Nations title by Yad Vashem in recognition of saving the lives of numerous people during the Second World War. The Kolonits family sheltered in their country home and fashion boutique in Budapest a great number of Jewish people and anti-fascists persecuted by the Nazis this way saving them from being killed by the fascists in Hungary or in death camps. Ilona's elder sister, Margit rescued children of Jewish prisoners while they were being deported. Among others, the Kolonits family rescued and adopted an orphan of the Holocaust, Erzsebet Garai, the later well known film theoretician and editor of a renowned Film theory periodical, Filmkultura. In 1944, Ilona's father Ferenc was deported to the Buchenwald concentration camp for his anti-fascist activities along with other leading members of the Hungarian Social Democratic Party. He took an active role in organising the Buchenwald Resistance movement and fought to liberate the prisoners from the camp.

Ilona also took part in carrying messages during the Nazi occupation between groups taking part in resistance in various parts of Budapest. During the Siege of Budapest she was cut off from her family, on the other side of the city over the Danube river and was stranded in a cellar for several weeks without food and very little water. She wrote a farewell note to her family but was saved when the Nazis were driven out of Budapest by the advancing 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Front of the Soviet Army. Having witnessed the brutal fascist persecutions, numerous atrocities from the Nazis against minorities, and the street fights in Budapest during the Second World War made a lasting impression on Ilona and formed her lifelong commitment to international peace and humanitarian affairs.

As a child Ilona was interested in drama, acting and athletic sports. After the Second World War she studied at the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest and subsequently went on to study film directing. She wrote her thesis in Documentary Cinema, and in 1954 became a Fellow of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, one of the first women to do so, alongside Dr. Elizabeth Garai and Yvette Biro. By risking her life while filming alone on the streets during the fights, Kolonits provided authentic documentary footages of the armed conflict. The political controversy surrounding this film related to the interpretation of the events through editing in years to come overshadowed the international cinematic heritage of Kolonits' humanist documentary cinema.

Kolonits' cinematic style has been characterised as lyrical and poetic. In her films she depicted the beauty and heroism in the everyday lives of people. Her kindness and compassion won hearts both in her home country and worldwide allowing Kolonits to portray intimate moments of joy and grief, traditions and customs of minority and ethnic communities, women and children. Kolonis' 1988 film You Like Horses, Don't You? addresses animal rights. Kolonits gave a lyrical homage to the city where she was born and which she loved in her film Budapest. The films of Kolonits are filed at the Hungarian National Digital Film Archives and Film Institute and are protected by the Hungarian Society for the Protection of Audio-Visual Authors' and Producers' Rights. Her last wish was for József's poem, At The Danube (1936), expressing a hope for peace and for national and international reconciliation, to be read at her memorial service.

Selected awards 1963 - The Béla Balázs Award, Hungarian State Award for the Arts 1965 - The 'SZOT' Hungarian State Award 1973 - Distinguished Artist, Hungarian State Award 1979 - Award of The International Olympic Committee 1980 - Outstanding Artist, Hungarian State Award 2007 - 'Righteous Among the Nations', awarded by the Commission for Designation of the Righteous of the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority (Yom HaShoah), Jerusalem, Israel They Need Peace (Nekik béke kell), 1952 - Winner of the 1954 Children's Film Festival, Paris, France Matyasföld, (Matyásföld), 1953 Before the Decision (Választas elött...) 1953 Budapest, 1953 In the Land of 'Matyo', 1953 Budapest Industrial Expo (Budapesti Helyipari Vásár), 1955 A Journey In Szabolcs (Utazás Szabolcsban), 1955 Birthday (Születésnap), 1955 On The Embankment Of The Sajo River (Sajoparti Történet), 1955 Six Boys, Six Buses (Hat fiu, hat busz), 1956 Change of Programme (Müsorváltozás), 1957 Ez It Happened (Így törtent), 1957 Talking Fruits (Beszélö gyümölcsök), 1957 Nowhere Else Apart From Here (A nagyvilágon e kivul), 1957 May I? (Szabad?), 1958 We Will Meet In Vienna (Bécsben találkozunk), 1959 The Last Curtain (Az utolso felvonás), 1959 Bridges, Embankments, People, (Hidak, partok emberek)1960 History Lesson For Boys (Törtenelmi lecke fiuknak), 1960 April Greetings (Áprilisi köszöntö),1960 In the Footsteps Of Childhood (Gyermekévek nyomában) 1961 Two Harvests in Markaz (Két szuret Markazon) 1961 Off To Baghdad (Irány Bagdad), 1961 Festival In Helsinki (Fesztival Helszinkiben) 1962 Minutes Observed (Ellesett percek) 1962 - Winner of the 3rd Hungarian Short Film Biennale, Budapest The 'Puszta' in Winter (A Puszta télen) 1963 The Last Stop (Végállomas) 1964 Thoughts About A Street's Name (Gondolatok egy utca névhez) 1964 Seasons, Masters, Artworks (Evszakok, mesterek, muvek) 1964 Five Times a Week (Hetenkent ötször) 1965 - 1st Prize of Silver Javelin OTSH Film Festival, Budapest, 1965 ,1st Prize of the Italian Film Production Companies, Cortina d'Ampezzo, 1966, CIDALC Award, Grenoble, 1968 Chanson (Sanzon) 1966 Red Signs On The Path of War (Vörös jelek a hadak utján) 1966 - Russian Historical State Award This Is As Well Budapest (Ez is Budapest) 1967 Ode (Oda) 1967 To My Soldier Son (Katonafiamnak) 1968 - 1st prize of the Veszprem Army Film Festival, Hungary Madonnas (Madonnak) 1968 …And There Will Be A Millions Of Us (Es million leszunk) 1968 5 x 1 (5x1), 1969 - Winner of OTSH Film Art Festival, Silver Javelin Prize, 1970, Budapest, Hungary The Train (A Vonat), 1970 Variations On a Theme (Valtozatok egy temara), 1970 On The Conveyer-belt of History (A tortenelem futoszallagan), 1970 Self-portrait (Onarckep), 1971 Two Cities, One Day (Ket varos, egy nap), 1972 With Abandon, (Onfeledten), 1972 Two Towns, (Két város), 1972 Red Gold (Piros Arany), 1973 My World (Az en vilagom), 1973 Sparkles (Csillagszorok), 1973 Those Who Are Waited For (Akiket varnak), 1973 A Week On A Mountain (Egy hét egy hegyen), 1973 Sport, Rhythm, Music (Sport, ritmus, zene), 1974 Together Again (Ismet egyutt), 1974 Eroica, 1975 - Golden Prize of the Moscow Film Festival 1975, Distinction at the Tampere Film festival, Finland 1976 Meeting In Peace (Talakozás békében), 1975 White Acacia (Fehér akác), 1976 Let Them Have Reverence (Adassék neki tisztelet), 1976 Thank You For The Clay (Köszönöm az anyagot), 1976 Good Morning Siberia! (Jo reggelt Sziberia!) - The Prize of the City of Leipzig, Germany In Several Voices (Több szolamban), 1977 The Continuation of A Film (Egy film folytatása), 1978 Nursery Olympics (Óvis Olympia), 1979 - Award of the International Youth Committee, 1980, Award of the International Olympic Committee 1980, Award of the Russian Olympic Committee, 1980, Silver Javelin Prize, 1980, Budapest, Hungary The Survivals (A tulélök), 1980 Thank You, We Are Well… (Koszonjuk, jol vagyunk...), 1981 Greeting Life (Eletköszöntö), 1982 House of Lace ( A csipkeház), 1982 Painting With Background (Festmény háttérrel), 1983 A Nuclear Power Station (Atomeromu), 1983 Goose Empire (Libabirodalom), 1983 The Daughters of Laos (Laosz lányai), 1984 The Fourth Meeting (Negyedik találkozás), 1985 The City Of The Golden Budda (Az arany Buddha városa), 1985 The Fourth Meeting (A negyedik talákozás), 1985 You Do Love Horses, Don't You? (A lovakat szeretik, ugye?), 1988 - Award of Montecatini, Special Prize of the Festival Of Tourism, Special Prize at the Hungarian Sport Film Festival, Budapest